NEWARK, NJ – The New Jersey Innovation Institute’s (NJII) Biopharma division is pleased to announce the formation of their advisory committee which includes experts from across the industry.

The committee will meet quarterly and provide strategic direction to the division as well as help identify emerging opportunities and challenges in the area of regenerative medicine.

“This group of recognized experts will provide insights and strategic advice to help us develop capabilities and tools to support the biopharma industry’s ability to adapt to new technologies and innovations in cell and gene therapy,” said NJII Senior Vice President for Biopharma, Dr. Haro Hartounian. “I’ve known many of the committee members for years, but getting them all together, on our team, is a great honor.”

The chairwoman of the committee will be Dr. Joanne Beck, chief operating officer of Boston Pharmaceuticals. “NJII has made significant progress in the area of regenerative medicine and we are very excited for the launch of their new center and the opportunity for companies of varying sizes to leverage the center for cell and gene therapy development and manufacturing projects as well as workforce development.” Beck stated.

Members of the committee include:

• Joanne Beck, Chief Operating Officer, Boston Pharmaceuticals
• Steve Dziennik, Director, Global Technical Operations Biologics, Merck
• Haro Hartounian, Senior Vice President, Biopharma, New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII)
• Kelvin Lee, Director, National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL)
• Peter Marks, Director – Center For Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), serving as liaison with FDA
• Rick Morris, SVP of Research & Development, Pall Biotech
• David Pollard, Head of Advanced Materials and Processing, Corporate Research, Sartorius
• Hari Pujar, Chief Technology Officer, Spark Therapeutics
• Mayo Pujols, Global Head, NTO Cell & Gene Therapy, Oncology, Novartis
• Greg Russotti, Chief Technology Officer, Century Therapeutics
• Joseph Tarnowski, SVP, Cell and Gene Therapy Platform, GlaxoSmithKline, Medicinal Science and Technology, R&D

The Biopharma division that Dr. Hartounian leads provides both well-established bio-pharmaceutical companies and promising start-ups access to a more affordable, efficient and flexible option for product development as well as workforce development programs that focus on the latest advances and technologies for cell and gene therapy development and manufacturing.

NJII, a New Jersey Institute of Technology corporation, is set to open the multi-million dollar Cell and Gene Therapy Development Center on the university’s Newark, NJ campus this May. The facility will be the first center of its kind in Newark, NJ and the only center of its kind on a University campus here in the United States.