SK Bioscience hires executive from big pharma to strengthen R&D and portfolio

SK Bioscience announced on the 20th that it has consecutively recruited executives from global big pharma companies. The photo shows Richard Kensinger (left), Executive in charge of R&D, and Lee Dong-su, Vice President. Photo by SK Bioscience

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] SK Bioscience announced on the 20th that it has consecutively recruited executives from global big pharma companies. The strategy is to secure professional personnel ahead of the full-scale expansion of overseas business to strengthen sustainable growth momentum.

SK Bioscience announced on the same day that it has newly recruited Richard Kensinger, a former research executive at the global healthcare company Sanofi Pasteur, as an executive in charge of research and development (R&D) projects at its U.S. subsidiary.

Richard Kensinger is an expert who has led research at global bio companies for over 20 years, having served as a Global Bioprocess Expert executive at Sanofi Pasteur and a process development research executive at Affinivax. He majored in health sciences at Eastern University in the U.S. and holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Pennsylvania State University.

He will be responsible for discovering and managing SK Bioscience’s major global R&D research projects, establishing systems, conducting process research, and seeking collaborative projects with global partners. The company explained that since obtaining U.S. cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practice) certification, considered the most stringent standard worldwide, is essential for Korean pharmaceutical and bio companies to enter the U.S. market, the executive appointments were made to expand global competitiveness.

Additionally, SK Bioscience recruited Lee Dongsu, head of the Americas business division at Jinscript ProBio, an emerging bio venture in the cell and gene therapy (CGT) field, as vice president of the Bio Business Development Office at the Pangyo R&D Center. Vice President Lee is an expert with diverse practical experience in R&D, business development, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) at domestic and international biopharmaceutical companies including Gilead Sciences, Crystal Genomics, BioMarin Pharmaceuticals, Vinex, and Samsung Bioepis. He majored in molecular and cell biology at UC Berkeley and earned an MBA from INSEAD Business School in France.

Based on his specialized experience in the CGT field, Vice President Lee will play a pivotal role in accelerating SK Bioscience’s new growth strategy of securing a CGT platform, discovering bio businesses beyond vaccines, and securing future growth engines.

Through the successive recruitment of experts, SK Bioscience plans to internalize advanced-level capabilities across its business and expand globally, including the U.S. and Europe. Furthermore, the company aims to expand its business into the bio sector beyond vaccines by promoting partnerships with global CDMOs, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), joint venture (JV) establishments, and expanding its global network.

Jaeyong Ahn, CEO of SK Bioscience, said, “Beyond Korea, it is now time to expand our scale based on our elevated status in the global market,” adding, “By strategically recruiting global talent, we will advance and specialize our business to leap into the top tier of the vaccine and bio industry competing with global big pharma.”