PeopleExecutive team
Executive team
Executive teamEmmanuel HanonChief Executive OfficerBioEmmanuel HanonChief Executive OfficerLinkedInEmmanuel Hanon(Manu) is the Chief Executive Officer of Vicebio and has more than 20 years experience in vaccine research & development. He led the merger between Novartis and GSK R&D organisations and ran global vaccines R&D at GSK for 7 years. Manu has broad functional knowledge including R&D, medical, clinical, regulatory, technical CMC, manufacturing and quality operations. At GSK, he oversaw the discovery and development of four major vaccines : quadrivalent influenza (Fluarix and Flulaval Quadrivalent), shingles (Shingrix), malaria (Mosquirix), and RSV older adult vaccines.Manu received his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine and completed his PhD in Veterinary Sciences at the University of Liège, Belgium. Additionally, he spent 2 years at Imperial College (St Mary’s), London UK, as a post-doctoral researcher.Keith ChappellLead Scientific AdvisorBioKeith ChappellLead Scientific AdvisorLinkedInKeith Chappell is the Principal Scientist of Vicebio. He is a molecular virologist and Professor at the University of Queensland, Australia. Keith completed his PhD at the University of Queensland in 2006, which focused on West Nile virus, and a subsequent postdoctoral posting at the Carlos the Third Institute of Health in Madrid, Spain, which focused on respiratory syncytial virus. Keith is one of the inventors of the Molecular Clamp platform technology and co-lead of a program to establish a rapid response vaccine pipeline that was funded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). In response to the COVID-19 outbreak at the beginning of 2020, Keith co-led the production of a Molecular Clamp stabilised vaccine that progressed from sequence information to clinical trial dosing within 6 months.Giovanni Della CioppaChief Medical AdvisorBioGiovanni Della CioppaChief Medical AdvisorLinkedInGiovanni Della Cioppa is the Chief Medical Advisor of Vicebio and is an independent consultant specialising in clinical R&D. Over the years, his clients included GSK, Novartis, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK Government and several medium size and start-up pharmaceutical companies. From 2015 to 2017 Giovanni was the Head of the Siena R&D Centre, one of three GSK global centres devoted to vaccines research and development. From 2007 to 2015, with Novartis and then GSK, Giovanni led the clinical development of numerous vaccines, including H1N1 pandemic influenza vaccines and vaccines against invasive meningococcal disease (Menveo and Bexsero). Previously, Giovanni spent most of his career with Novartis Pharma, where he held positions of increasing responsibility in Switzerland, UK and US, leading development of novel therapeutics in respiratory, dermatological and infectious diseases. Giovanni received his medical degree from the University of Naples, Italy, and holds post-graduate degrees in Internal Medicine and Pharmaceutical Medicine.Jean SmalChief Technology OfficerBioJean SmalChief Technology OfficerLinkedInJean Smal is the Chief Technology Officer of Vicebio and is a senior consultant with global experience in the R&D and manufacturing vaccine industry. He is currently supporting the vaccine projects of various companies and serves as a member of the WHO Advisory Panel for the Polio Eradication Program. He is chairman or independent board member of several biotech companies. He has previously served as Vice-President, Head of New Product Development at GSK Vaccines, covering development and scale-up of manufacturing processes, analytical methods, manufacturing for Phase I-III clinical trials, development strategy and organisational development. In this role, he directly contributed to the development and the launch of 12 new vaccines from 1998 to 2016, totalling over €4bn in sales in 2020. Prior to joining GSK, Jean was General Manager of Eurogentec, CDMO Division, a company offering development and GMP services for biopharmaceutical products. Jean Smal holds a degree in Bioengineering, a PhD in Biochemistry and post-graduate degree in Business Management. He has published over 50 peer reviewed scientific papers/communications in the biochemical field.Juana MagdalenaChief Development OfficerBioJuana MagdalenaChief Development OfficerLinkedInJuana Magdalena is the Chief Development Officer of Vicebio. Juana has 20 years’ experience in vaccine development, gene therapy and research product development. At GSK, Juana was the Project Team Leader for the development of the shingles vaccine Shingrix and contributed to the development of respiratory influenza and RSV vaccine candidates. Juana also headed the Product Development Quality Team for the global R&D pipeline at GSK. Prior to joining Vicebio, Juana was Director of gene therapy technical development at UCB, where she oversaw the gene therapy portfolio.Juana holds a degree in Biochemistry, a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Liège (ULg) and published over 20 peer reviewed scientific publications from her academic research in virology (ULg, Lelystad Veterinary Institute) and bacteriology (Institut Pasteur, Albert Einstein College of Medicine).Pascal LestrateChief Preclinical Science OfficerBioPascal LestrateChief Preclinical Science OfficerLinkedInPascal Lestrate is the Chief Preclinical Science Officer of Vicebio. He has 20 years of experience in vaccine development. Along his career he held various positions, he started as CMC Regulatory associate at Pfizer Animal Health; then at GSK he spent 10 years in clinical immunology providing technical and scientific support for the licensure of Synflorix, Nimenrix, Menhibrix and Shingrix vaccines. Furthermore, he built processes, systems and organisation for the R&D Quality oversight and led the digital transformation of the GSK Quality department. Prior to joining Vicebio, Pascal was the Head of Quality for GSK Global R&D.Pascal has a degree in Molecular Biology and a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Namur, he co-authored several publications in the fields of bacterial pathogenesis and clinical immunology.Frank VandendriesscheChief Regulatory OfficerBioFrank VandendriesscheChief Regulatory OfficerLinkedInFrank Vandendriessche is the Chief Regulatory Officer of Vicebio. Frank has more than 25 years of experience in Regulatory Affairs amongst others in vaccines including on chemistry, manufacturing and control aspects. He built this experience at two major vaccine companies where he was part of the Regulatory Affairs Management Teams and matrix-wise supported Vaccine Development and Business Unit Heads. Since 2014, he worked as a consultant including assignments on several vaccine projects, for big pharma, biotech start-ups and non governmental organizations. He has a broad functional knowledge covering quality/CMC, non-clinical and clinical regulatory aspects of vaccine development, registration and commercialization as well a good grip on regulatory procedural and project management aspects. In these roles he has supported business and public health strategies through innovative science and data driven strategies and pro-active interaction with relevant regulatory authorities globally. He directly contributed to the development, registration and/or commercialisation of more than 20 vaccinesKoen HuygensChief Quality OfficerBioKoen HuygensChief Quality OfficerKoen Huygens is the Chief Quality Officer of Vicebio and has more than 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical development, early clinical stage to commercial manufacturing and supply chain operations of biopharmaceutical and Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs). As a senior consultant, he provides strategic advise to various clients in Europe, USA and Asia in process development, technology transfer, quality management, facility design and GMP manufacturing. Koen has established the GMP manufacturing and QA operations at TiGenix in Belgium and USA and was instrumental in the CMC development and EU approval of ChondroCelect, the first cell therapy approved in Europe. Over the years Koen has supported a variety of projects in a broad range of therapeutic indications and technologies. More recently, Koen acted as Qualified Person and Senior Director Process Development at Etherna immunotherapies, a Belgian mRNA technology company. Koen holds a PharmD and Industrial Pharmacist degree from the Universities of Leuven and Antwerp and a Postgraduate in Business Management from the University of Leuven. He is a licensed pharmacist and certified EU Qualified Person.Wim TiestChief Information OfficerBioWim TiestChief Information OfficerLinkedInWim Tiest is the Chief Information Officer of Vicebio and has a long experience in vaccine and drug research & development with deep understanding of the complex data collections and interactions involved. At GSK he oversaw the operations of the cancer vaccine program, and the integration program between GSK and Novartis vaccine R&D. Since 2016 he has been active both in vaccine development at Etherna and R&D services at Innoser and 2Bridge, and co-founded a lab specialized in digital histopathology – C-Path – where he developed a proprietary software solution for lab and pathologist. These skills and interests enable the interface between Life Science and Digital. Wim is a Bio-Engineer, holds an MSc in AI from KU Leuven.Javier Ruiz-GuiñazúChief Medical OfficerBioJavier Ruiz-GuiñazúChief Medical OfficerLinkedInJavier Ruiz-Guiñazú, an Argentine pediatrician specialized in pediatric infectious diseases and with a solid track record in clinical vaccine research.Clinical Experience: Javier has 12 years of clinical practice before joining the pharmaceutical industry, where he worked in vaccine clinical research at GSK and Johnson & Johnson (J&J)Roles in the Pharmaceutical Industry: Since 2009, he has held global positions at GSK, focusing on pediatric pneumococcal vaccines and RSV vaccines for older adults.In 2020, served as Medical Leader for the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine program. As of 2023, hold the position of Medical Leader of the ExPEC (extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli) program at J&JEducation: He holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Trials from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.Publications: He has contributed to numerous scientific publications on vaccines and clinical trials, most notably his participation in the development of the COVID-19 vaccine. 9 10Skills and Competencies: He is a self-motivated, flexible, and resilient professional with scientific and strategic leadership skills in the field of vaccine researchSandra BransonChief Human Resources OfficerBioSandra BransonChief Human Resources OfficerLinkedInSandra Branson is the Chief Human Resources Officer of Vicebio. With over 20 years of HR experience, she has successfully guided organizations through complex transformations, building agile and people-centric HR functions. Sandra holds a Master’s degree in Commercial Engineering (Magna Cum Laude) from Solvay Management School and began her career as a Change Management Consultant at Accenture. She has extensive expertise in Talent Management, Leadership Development, Employee Engagement, Corporate Culture, Rewards, Social Relations, the HR side of M&A and HR Transformations. Before joining Vicebio, Sandra held senior HR roles at global organizations, including GrandVision BeNe, Allianz Benelux, Puilaetco Dewaay, and Euroclear where she oversaw end-to-end HR functions, advised executive teams, and led strategic initiatives to enhance employee experience and organizational performance.
active0
Roles
board_chairexecutiveadvisor
Timeline
Current Company
