VBI Vaccines has appointed Dr Francisco Diaz-Mitoma as Chief Medical Officer. In his new position, he will oversee clinical development initiatives at the US-based firm.
Dr Diaz-Mitoma is a medical scientist and infectious disease researcher who has been involved in the clinical development of nine licensed vaccines, and has participated in more than 50 antiviral and vaccine clinical trials. He has also authored more than 130 scientific papers and textbook chapters.
Jeff Baxter, VBI's President and CEO, said Dr Diaz-Mitoma brings significant immunology, vaccine development, and hepatitis B experience to the firm.
Most recently, Dr Diaz-Mitoma was a professor at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM). While in this position, he was Vice President of Research at Health Sciences North and founder of the Advanced Medical Research Institute of Canada and served as its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientist. AMRIC is focused on translational medical and vaccine development research.
Prior to joining the faculty at the NOSM, Dr Diaz-Mitoma was a professor of Paediatrics, Pathology, Laboratory Medicine, and Microbiology at the University of Ottawa. While in this position, he founded the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Centre at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), a paediatric health and research centre.
In 2001, Dr Diaz-Mitoma co-founded Variation Biotechnologies (now VBI) and was its Chief Executive Officer until September 2009. He has continued to stay involved at VBI as an independent medical consultant.
Dr Diaz-Mitoma received his medical degree from the University of Guadalajara, completed fellowship training in Infectious Diseases at the University of Manitoba, and earned a PhD in Virology from the University of Alberta.
