Alligator Bioscience, a biotechnology company developing antibody-based pharmaceuticals for tumour-directed immunotherapy, announced the appointment of Anu Balendran, PhD, as vice president business development.

Dr Balendran will be responsible for leading Alligator’s preclinical projects towards out-licensing. He has a PhD in biochemistry and will join Alligator from his current role as external innovation director, AstraZeneca. He will assume his new role on May 1, 2018.

This appointment follows those of Charlotte A Russell, MD, PhD, as chief medical officer and Peter Ellmark, PhD, associate professor, as vice president discovery, in December 2017, as Alligator prepares a number of drug candidates for clinical studies, partnerships and licensing deals.

“With three preclinical projects approaching clinical development and our business model to out-license projects after proof-of-concept in cancer patients, we are very pleased to make this important appointment to the management team. We look forward to welcoming Anu to Alligator. He brings extensive international experience in drug licensing and collaboration, complementing the growing team at Alligator”, said Per Norlén, CEO at Alligator Bioscience.