Simon Pedder
As a global industry leader, Dr. Pedder brings years of product development experience to Voltron Therapeutics and is expected to be instrumental in the further development and eventual commercialization of its Self Assembling Vaccine (SAV) platform, driven by cancer immunotherapy and infectious disease, including HaloVax, its COVID -19 vaccine candidate.
Dr. Pedder brings to Voltron a wealth of development and commercial experience in the life science industry, gained primarily through his career at at Hoffmann-LaRoche and Chelsea Therapeutics. Dr Pedder held several executive positions at at Hoffmann-LaRoche, including Vice President of Oncology Pharma Business and Life Cycle Leader and Global Project Leader of Pegasys/IFN and Head of Hepatitis Franchise. Under Dr. Pedder’s leadership, these franchises developed and commercialized numerous blockbuster brands, including Pegasys, Copegus, Northera, and Klisyri. Further, his career in drug development has included recent leadership roles as President and CEO of Cellectar Biosciences, President and CEO of Chelsea Therapeutics and Chief Business and Strategy Officer of Athenex Pharmaceuticals.
Dr Pedder has served on ten life sciences boards. He began his career as a faculty member in the Department of Pharmacology in College of Medicine in the University of Saskatchewan, where he obtained his PhD in Pharmacology. In addition to his PhD in Pharmacology, Simon obtained a Master of Science in Toxicology from Concordia University, a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo, and completed the Roche-sponsored Pharmaceutical Executive Management Program at Columbia Business School.
“Most current vaccine platforms have shortcomings including their limited engagement of the entire immune system, they are not rapidly adaptable to tumor mutations or variant strains, their side effect profile, and they lack modularity, said Dr. Pedder. The Voltron team has made significant progress in validating their vaccine platform that more broadly stimulates the cellular immune system and is designed to address the aforementioned vaccine weaknesses. I am excited to have the opportunity to contribute to moving this scientifically robust platform forward into humans in 2022.’
“I am delighted to have Simon join Voltron’s Board of Directors. He brings his considerable development skills to the Voltron team at an incredibly important time for The Company. With the 4 to 5 new indications in both oncology and infectious disease starting proof of concept pre-clinical trials in the next 12 months, Simon’s guidance will be critical. Further, as we pursue an IND for HaloVax, our cell-mediated COVID-19 vaccine, his regulatory background will help us highlight the meaningful advantages our vaccine offers,‘ said Pat Gallagher, Chief Executive Officer, Voltron Therapeutics, Inc.
Anthony Zook, Voltron Executive Chairman commented, “The SAV platform has the potential to generate products that can provide tremendous benefits to patients with cancer or at risk of dangerous infectious diseases. Voltron’s multiple proof of concept programs will significantly benefit from the deep development expertise Simon brings in general and in oncology and infectious disease, specifically. ”
James Ahern, founding partner of LVP added: “Simon joining the leadership team of Voltron will be critical to the company’s platform and operational development. Further, his experience building and selling Chelsea Therapeutics will help Voltron better position itself strategically. This addition also underscores the added value LVP provides to our portfolio companies.”