David Jenkins
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals has appointed David W. Jenkins, Ph.D., as its first chief scientific officer, a newly created executive role designed to strengthen the company’s research strategy as it expands its rare disease pipeline through external innovation and partnerships. The appointment is effective immediately, with Jenkins reporting to Chief Research and Development Officer Dr. Sandeep Menon and operating from BioCryst’s Boston office
The Research Triangle Park, North Carolina-based biotechnology company said Jenkins will build and lead a research organization focused on identifying and advancing externallyolving research and development model, which is placing greater emphasis on collaborations and external innovation to accelerate the development of treatments for rare diseases while improving capital efficiency
Jenkins brings more than two decades of biopharmaceutical industry experience spanning drug discovery, research leadership and external innovation across multiple therapeutic areas and development stages. Most recently, he served as senior vice president and head of research and external innovation at Ipsen, where he oversaw the company’s preclinical drug discovery portfolio across oncology, rare diseases and neuroscience. During his tenure, Ipsen expanded its development pipeline by adding more than 35 assets across a range of therapeutic areas and stages of development.
Announcing the appointment, Menon said BioCryst’s increasing focus on externallyluation to identify therapies with the greatest potential. He said Jenkins’ experience in assessing and advancing promising drug candidates will help the company accelerate the delivery of rare disease treatments while building a higher-value research portfolio
Jenkins said BioCryst is entering a period of strategic change as it broadens its research approach beyond an exclusively internal discovery model. He noted that the company has established a commercial foundation with ORLADEYO, its once-daily oral therapy for hereditary angioedema, and is now positioning its research organization to expand its pipeline through partnerships and external scientific opportunities
Before joining Ipsen, Jenkins held scientific leadership positions at TESARO, MedImmune, Novartis and AstraZeneca, giving him experience across large pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology organizations. His background includes research leadership spanning multiple therapeutic modalities and drug development programs
Jenkins earned a doctorate in Molecular Pharmacology and Neuroscience and a master’s degree in Pharmacology from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom
BioCryst develops and commercializes therapies for hereditary angioedema and other rare diseases. In addition to marketing ORLADEYO (berotralstat), the company continues to advance a pipeline of investigational therapies aimed at addressing unmet needs in rare disease treatment. The creation of a dedicated chief scientific officer role signals a greater operational focus on sourcing, evaluating and integrating external scientific assets as BioCryst seeks to broaden its development portfolio while maintaining its commercial momentum in rare disease therapeutics.
