Management

Sanj K. Patel
President & Chief Executive Officer

Sanj Patel was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer and to the Company's Board of Directors in June 2008. Sanj brings 19 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. He joins Synageva from Genzyme Corporation (1999 to 2008), where most recently, he was Head of US Sales, Marketing and Commercial Operations for Genzyme Therapeutics and led the commercial US launch for Myozyme®. Previously, Sanj held several cross-functional senior leadership roles at Genzyme including Vice President, Clinical Research and Head of the Global Clinical Research Operations Council. He was responsible for clinical operations and development for all cross-business Genzyme products and was instrumental in the path to commercialization for several treatments. Notably, Sanj led the Fabrazyme® clinical operations team and development program to FDA approval in April 2003. Prior to Genzyme, Sanj held roles in clinical research and commercial development with increasing levels of responsibility at Burroughs Wellcome, Hoechst Marrion Roussel and Fujisawa Pharmaceuticals. Sanj obtained his BSc with Honors in Pure and Applied Biotechnology from South Bank University, London. He attained his post-graduate management and business degree from Ealing College, London, and completed his Doctorate program in Clinical Pharmacology from King's College and The Wellcome Foundation.

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Anthony Quinn MBChB (MD), PhD, FRCP

SVP, Chief Medical Officer & Head of Research & Development

 

Anthony Quinn was appointed Chief Medical Officer of Synageva in August 2009.  Dr. Quinn is responsible for all aspects of Synageva's research and development including its clinical programs and strategies, and biomedical and regulatory affairs operations.  He joins Synageva from Roche where, most recently, he was Vice President and Global Head of Clinical Research & Exploratory Development for Inflammation.  While at Roche, Anthony managed programs in rheumatology and respiratory indications in exploratory development, and biomarker and translational medicine activities in the late clinical and registration phase for MabThera™/Rituxan™, Actemra™ and ocrelizumab.  Dr. Quinn joined Roche Palo Alto in 2005 to build the translational medicine and exploratory development capacity at the site across a broad range of therapeutic areas including CNS, virology and inflammation.  Prior to joining Roche he was Director of Experimental Medicine at AstraZeneca, Charnwood in the UK, and before that he was Professor of Dermatology at Barts & The London School of Medicine, London, England. He has authored or co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, reviews and editorials, predominantly on hedgehog signaling and the molecular biology of non-melanoma skin cancer. He received his Bachelor of Medical Science with First class honors and his MBChB (MD) with commendation from the University of Dundee, UK. Dr. Quinn trained in internal medicine, dermatology and molecular biology at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and was also awarded his PhD there.   He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at UCSF and is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians London.

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Eric Grinstead

Senior Vice President, Corporate and Business Operations

 

Eric Grinstead is responsible for corporate and business operations for Synageva.  He brings over twenty years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and most recently was a member of Alexion’s management team as Vice President of Government Affairs and Market Access. At Alexion, he had responsibility for pricing, policy, health economics, distribution, and payor and channel segments supporting the Soliris launch. Prior to joining Alexion, Eric held senior positions with responsibilities spanning commercial operations, market access sales, marketing, reimbursement and government affairs at companies including Amgen and GSK. Eric earned a BA (cum laude) from Wesmont College, Santa Barbara, CA.  

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Brian Conner
Vice President Quality and Regulatory Affairs/ GM - Atlanta Office

Brian Conner is responsible for Quality, Regulatory Affairs Management, and General Operations at Synageva’s Atlanta area office and production facilities. Brian brings more than 15 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and most recently served as the Corporate Compliance Officer for Stiefel Laboratories. At Stiefel he was responsible for leading the Corporate Compliance strategy for all commercial business units and R&D. Prior to joining Stiefel, Brian held leadership positions within the areas of regulatory affairs (several companies including Merck & Co.), basic R&D (TEVA USA), manufacturing (Merck & Co.), sales/marketing (Merck & Co.) and healthcare communications (Saatchi & Saatchi). Brian earned a BS from Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA. 

 

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Mark C. Leavitt, PhD
Vice President, Research and Product Development

Mark Leavitt is responsible for Synageva's R&D and Product Development programs. In this role, Dr. Leavitt oversees candidate protein evaluation, regulatory affairs, clinical production and quality control. Dr. Leavitt has over fifteen years of research and industry experience in the areas of gene therapy, molecular biology, and development of therapeutic products at Immusol Inc. and Agouron Pharmaceuticals (a subsidiary of Pfizer Corporation). Dr. Leavitt holds a BS and PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Arizona and has completed extensive post-doctoral training in Molecular Virology at the University of California, San Diego.

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John C. Taylor

Vice President, Business Development

John Taylor is responsible for Synageva’s product and technology licensing and its business development functions.  John has over 15 years of experience in business development, licensing, marketing, and sales in the biopharmaceutical industry, along with a highly successful track record of closing value accretive product licensing and technology deals throughout his career.  John comes to Synageva from Javelin Pharmaceuticals, where he was Vice President, Business Development and was responsible for the company’s business development and licensing functions.  Prior to Javelin, John was a member of the business development team at Eurand, Inc., a GI specialty pharmaceutical and drug delivery company.  John has also held positions in business development, licensing, marketing and sales with Sarnoff Corporation, Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, and BioWhittaker.  He received his BS from Clemson University and a Masters in Technology Management from the Wharton School of Business/ University of Pennsylvania.

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Chris Heberlig
Head of Finance and Administration

Chris Heberlig is responsible for finance, human resources and the administrative functions at Synageva. He has over a decade of experience in finance with broad expertise in biotech and pharmaceutical companies spanning budgeting, strategic planning, equity and debt financing, and financial reporting. Prior to joining Synageva, Chris served as Director of Finance and Controller at Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded pharmaceutical company, and held senior financial management positions at EPIX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and NetGenesis Corp.  He began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and is a Certified Public Accountant. Chris holds a BA in Economics from Saint Lawrence University and an MBA from Boston University.

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