French biotechnology company TxCell, which is developing personalised T-cell immunotherapies for severe chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, has appointed Stéphane Boissel as Chief Executive.
In addition, Miguel Forte, previously SVP Clinical and Regulatory, is promoted to Chief Operating Officer. Boissel succeeds Damian Marron, who has resigned from the company to pursue other interests.
Boissel will continue to develop the exclusive worldwide licensing option agreement signed by Ferring and TxCell in December 2013 for the development of TxCell’s lead product Ovasave for the treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD), including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
Ovasave is currently in a Phase IIb clinical trial for refractory Crohn’s disease (CATS29 study). Top line results of this study are expected at the end of 2016/early 2017.
Forte will focus on the development of the TxCell product portfolio and the supply chain. He will also continue to develop Col-Treg, the company's second product candidate from its ASTrIA platform. Col-Treg is set to start a Phase I/II proof of principle clinical study in autoimmune uveitis in the middle of this year.
Prior to joining TxCell, Boissel was CEO of Genclis, a molecular diagnostic company. He was previously EVP and CFO of Transgene (2010 to 2014). He has also worked at Innate Pharma, first as CFO and then as EVP and CFO (2002 to 2010). During his tenure at both Transgene and Innate Pharma, he led several rounds of private and public placement totalling more than EUR150m. He has also negotiated several major business deals in the US, EU and Asia. In the early part of his career, Boissel joined the investment banking group Lazard, where he mostly worked in principal investment in France, Singapore and Hong Kong (1994 to 2002).
In addition to his role as COO of TxCell, Forte is also Chair of the Commercialisation Committee for the International Society of Cellular Therapy, and a Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of the RCP (UK).
Appointed to TxCell as CMO in 2010, Forte brought 17 years of broad pharmaceutical industry experience from UCB, Nabi Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers Squibb and the European Medicines Agency.
