Inventiva appoints five new independent directors to its Board

Biopharmaceutical company Inventiva (specialising in the development of drugs interacting with nuclear receptors, transcription factors and epigenetic modulators) has appointed five new independent directors.

These five new independent directors will serve alongside Frédéric Cren (Chair and CEO), Pierre Broqua (COO and CSO) and Jean-Louis Junien (Senior Science Advisor and Director).

Karen Aiach

Karen Aiach is the founder and CEO of Lysogene, a biotechnology company active in fundamental research and the clinical development of gene therapies for central nervous system diseases.

Aiach began her career with Arthur Andersen, where she worked for seven years in audit services and international transactions, before setting up and running her own financial services firm.

Karen has also served as a patient representative and member of the Paediatric Committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

She is a founding and executive member of the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC). Karen holds a DEA postgraduate diploma from University of Paris VIII and is a graduate of ESSEC Business School.

Chris Buyse

Chris Buyse has more than 30 years’ expertise in international finance and financial management. He was CFO of CropDesign, a Belgian company acquired by BASF.

He was also CFO of ThromboGenics, a biotechnology company listed on the New York Stock Exchange and on Euronext Brussels.

He has held various positions with Spector Photo Group, Lyonnaise des Eaux (Suez) and Unilever. He currently holds a Director position in several private and public companies.

Buyse gained a master’s degree in applied economic science from the University of Antwerp and a MBA from the Vlerick School of Management in Ghent.

Philippe Goupit

Philippe Goupit was Vice President Corporate Licences at Sanofi. He has more than 30 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical sector and spent more than 20 years at Sanofi.

Goupit’s business development experience encompasses mergers and acquisitions. He was Head of Mergers and Acquisitions at Sanofi, as well as of the in-licensing and out-licensing activities. For several years, he was also the Head of Investor Relations at the Sanofi.

Goupit is a member of MedDay’s Board of Directors and a graduate from the Paris Faculty of Pharmacy.

Chris Newton

Chris Newton was a founding member and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of Argenta Discovery. On moving to BioFocus, Newton was a Director and CSO once again.

He was then appointed Senior Vice-President of Galapagos Services, managing the services business of Galapagos after the acquisition of BioFocus.

Previously, Newton held several senior positions within Rhône-Poulenc/Aventis R and D organisation. Chris holds an MA from the University of Cambridge and MSc and PhD degrees from the University of Sheffield. He is also a Chartered Chemist and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Annick Schwebig

Annick Schwebig was the founder and Chair and CEO of Actelion Pharmaceuticals France, a pharmaceuticals company specialising in developing drugs for orphan diseases.

He has held many senior positions in the pharmaceutical industry, including VP Medical Affairs France and VP Research and Development Europe at Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Schwebig has been a member of Cellectis’ Board of Directors since 2011 and is a graduate of the Paris Faculty of Medicine.

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