Matica Bio, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in the GMP production of cell and gene therapies (CGT), appointed Laura Parks executive vice president of commercial operations and Heather Sugrue vice president of alliance management.

Parks will drive Matica Bio’s commercial efforts, including sales team development, marketing, and strategy. She brings to the company more than two decades of business leadership experience, driving the development of high-performance, market-focused teams in the life sciences.

Prior to Matica Bio, Parks served in senior roles for several life science companies and CDMOs, including Patheon Pharmaceuticals, where she led strategic commercial efforts, integrating diverse service offerings and driving global pricing initiatives. Before Patheon, Parks served as president of DSM Pharmaceuticals’ Finished Dose CDMO business unit after successfully leading its marketing and sales team. She earned a Ph.D. in food science from the University of Georgia and a Bachelor of Science from Ohio State University.

Sugrue will oversee Matica Bio’s business development strategy and execution for the company’s Alliance Management division. Sugrue has led the growth of several business development teams across notable companies including Catalent Pharma Solutions, where she managed the sales team for the company’s CGT services as the North American head of business development.

Prior to Catalent, Sugrue’s previous appointments included vice president of sales at Syngene, vice president of sales and marketing for Societal (previously Recro) and senior director of business development at Patheon Inc. Sugrue earned her master’s degree in chemistry from Boston University, and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Ithaca College.

“I’m excited to join Matica Bio’s team of highly experienced CGT manufacturing professionals, and to support biopharmaceutical developers in their mission to produce therapies that improve the lives of patients,” said Parks. “I’m particularly excited to be working in Texas alongside some of the industry’s brightest scientists in a purpose-built GMP facility, accelerating the path to market of clients’ life-changing therapies.”

“CGT is the future of medicine, and Matica has spent the last three years building state-of-the-art facilities and recruiting an outstanding team of technical experts, making them the partnering CDMO of choice for CGT drug development,” said Sugrue. “In addition, they have created a data-driven, system-based approach to gene therapy, coupled with a customized cell line, MatiMax, which addresses every aspect of cell line optimization, and utilizes innovative processes and advanced analytics to develop assays. There’s never been a more exciting time to work in CGT, and I’m honored to join the Matica team to help further drive the growth of this CGT-specialized CDMO as VP of alliance management.”