Morrisville, N.C., August 17, 2021 — As the number of next-generation oncology therapies in the clinical trial pipeline surges, Premier Research today announced three new oncology leadership team hires to strengthen the company’s expertise in the fast-growing areas of cell and gene therapies and immuno-oncology. Premier Research is a leading provider of clinical research, product development, and consulting services to the biotech, specialty pharma, medical device, and diagnostics sectors, notably in oncology.
“Over the past 20 years, the number of oncology studies nearly quadrupled from 421 to 1,489, according to a recent Tufts study,” said Krista Armstrong, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Clinical Development Services. “These extraordinarily complex studies require longer Phase 2 and 3 screening and treatment compared to other drug trials and generate huge volumes of data and more protocol amendments. Our deep oncology bench is expanding to anticipate the needs of sponsors as their development of oncology therapies intensifies.”
Slawomir Wojtowicz-Praga, M.D., has joined the company’s skilled oncology team as Vice President, Global Head of Medical Affairs. Ayesha A. Pandit, M.D., M.S., MBA, has been named Vice President, Medical Oncology Strategy, and Ashley Herrick, Ph.D., has joined as Executive Director, Oncology Strategy.
“Oncology is the most active sector of drug development,” Dr. Pandit noted. “In this new landscape, sponsors need a truly collaborative partner who can deliver the end-to-end clinical development, therapeutic, and regulatory expertise essential for running global oncology studies effectively — all areas in which Premier Research excels in providing valuable scientific expertise and collaborative partnership to the biotech sector.”
Over the past five years, Premier Research’s experts have supported more than 190 hematology and oncology projects, including managing more than 40 rare oncology and hematology studies and 19 cell and gene oncology studies. Premier Research leverages its extensive geographic footprint to provide sponsors with greater access to the right patients and enhanced operational support in some of the world’s fastest-growing regions for clinical development, including significant experience in the Asia-Pacific region. More details on Premier Research’s oncology and hematology experience can be found here.
“We offer a complete suite of services, from product development to regulatory strategies, led by experts skilled not just in all phases of oncology drug development but also the commercialization process,” said Dr. Armstrong. “Working with sponsors from the beginning, we’re able to better help them take advantage of adaptive designs that make trials more flexible and efficient as well as remote and decentralized clinical trial approaches that reduce patient and sponsor burden in an ever-changing clinical research landscape. With the newest additions to our oncology team, sponsors can feel even more confident in choosing Premier Research as a strategic partner to bring their new life-changing therapies to market.”
“Oncology drug development has been our focus for several decades,” Dr. Wojtowicz-Praga said. “The spotlight has shifted recently, however, from chemotherapy protocols to remarkable innovations in immunology, molecular and cell biology, and genetics, disciplines that are right in our wheelhouse.”
Dr. Wojtowicz-Praga brings more than 20 years of experience in key leadership positions in the pharmaceutical industry and extensive consulting experience. At another large CRO, he served as Senior Medical Director, Oncology, and has held high-level medical director and medical affairs positions at Genentech/Roche, Talon Therapeutics, Sankyo Pharma Development, Aventis, and Theradex. He earned his M.D. from the Medical University of Gdansk, Poland, and completed an oncology fellowship at Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University School of Medicine.
Dr. Pandit is a board-certified hemato-oncologist with 18 years of biopharma and consulting experience in top companies, including AbbVie, Johnson & Johnson, and MD Anderson Hospital. She also has led and supported global hematology/oncology clinical trial strategy and managed high-profile clinical programs within the clinical trial industry. She earned her M.D. from King Edward Medical University, Pakistan, and her postdoctoral degree from King’s College London with MRCGP. Dr. Pandit also holds an M.S. in molecular oncology from the University of Madrid and an MBA in healthcare management from the National University of Singapore.
Dr. Herrick possesses more than 13 years of oncology development and research experience. Her most recent role within the CRO sector was as Director, Operational Strategy Management. Previously she served as Senior Clinical Research Program Coordinator at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. She earned her Ph.D. in molecular biology from Baylor College of Medicine.
About Premier Research
Premier Research, a clinical research, product development, and consulting company, is dedicated to helping biotech, specialty pharma, and device innovators transform life-changing ideas and breakthrough science into new medical treatments.
As a global company, Premier Research specializes in the use of innovative technologies for smart study design and trial management to deliver clean, conclusive data to sponsors.
Whether it’s developing product lifecycle strategies, reducing clinical development cycle times, securing access to patients, navigating global regulations, maximizing the impact of limited rare disease data, or providing expertise in specific therapeutic areas, Premier Research is committed to helping its customers answer the unmet needs of patients across a broad range of medical conditions. Visit premier-research.com.
Media Contact: Karen Brown, Vice President, Marketing, Karen.Brown@premier-research.com