Cytovance Biologics, a biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), has appointed Dr. Jesse McCool to chief executive officer. Dr. Yan Wang will step down as Cytovance’s interim chief executive while continuing to serve as director of the board for Cytovance and chief executive officer of SPL. Dr. McCool will report to Frank Sun, executive director and vice chairman of the board for Shenzhen Hepalink Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. and chairman of the board for Cytovance. In this new appointment, Dr. McCool will lead Cytovance through another phase of the business transformation strategy that began in 2018 under the leadership of Dr. Wang.
 
Dr. McCool has 20 years of practice in the biotech field and has held various management and technical positions at Lonza Pharma & Biotech and Mascoma Corp., a subsidiary of Lallemand.  He joined the site leadership team of Cytovance in 2013 to help position the company for growth and acquisition. Prior to his appointment as chief executive, Dr. McCool served as the chief technology officer.
 
“Jesse has been a driving force of the senior leadership team and has been critical to the business transformation strategy,” said Dr. Wang. “His depth of knowledge of our industry, professional reputation and professional network have helped to propel Cytovance into a leading CDMO that is well recognized for responsiveness, reliability and resourcefulness. In his role as CTO, Jesse was focused on fleshing out the strategy and aligning it with the strategic intent of our parent company. As CEO, he will propel the company even further.”