SpyBiotech expands scientific team and appoints new VP, Finance and Operations

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Nicky Godding

SpyBiotech, an Oxford biotechnology company with a novel vaccine platform technology targeting infectious diseases, cancer and chronic diseases, today announces the appointment of Simon Jones as VP of Finance and Operations, and the expansion of its scientific team with four new hires.

Simon takes up the permanent position of VP Finance and Operations from Vien Phan, who held the role of Interim Finance Director, steering the company through its Series A fundraising in February this year. Vien will continue to serve as a strategic advisor to SpyBiotech for a transitional period.

Simon has served as a CFO in the life sciences sector for 18 years, working with early- to mid-stage, high growth healthcare and medtech businesses ranging from drug development and drug delivery through to marketing licensed products. Most recently, Simon spent eight years at Karus Therapeutics, an Oxfordshire-based clinical-stage biotech company developing small molecule enzymatic inhibitors for the treatment of haematological and solid-tumour cancers. After graduating in Physics from the University of Warwick, Simon qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young and subsequently held positions in a number of large telecoms firms, including Vodafone. He is currently a member of the Bioindustry Association’s Finance and Tax Advisory Committee.

In addition to Simon’s appointment, SpyBiotech has further strengthened its scientific expertise with the addition of four new hires in virology, immunology and protein production. The Company will continue to build out its scientific resources with further appointments planned.

Sumi Biswas, co-founder and CEO of SpyBiotech, commented: “I am pleased to welcome Simon Jones as our new VP of Finance and Operations. Simon brings a wealth of experience from across the UK life sciences industry which will be invaluable as we embark on the next phase of the Company’s development. SpyBiotech is at the forefront of medical innovation in vaccinology and Simon’s appointment, as well as the expansion of our scientific team, reflects the progress we are making in scaling up our scientific and operational resources.”

“Vien joined SpyBiotech in April 2019 and has played a key role in bringing on a high calibre of new investors in our first major funding round. I would like to thank Vien for his contributions over the past two years and am pleased that he will continue to support the company during this period of transition.”

Simon Jones added: “I am delighted to be joining SpyBiotech at this exciting time. Its unique platform technology has broad applicability and the scope to tackle some of the biggest challenges in healthcare. I look forward to working with the team to ensure we are future-ready as we expand our operations and advance our pipeline of innovative vaccine candidates.”

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.