Boonton-based Enteris BioPharma Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of SWK Holdings Corp., on Monday said Dr. Rajiv Khosla was hired as chief executive officer effective immediately, replacing Joel Tune who has led the company since 2016.

Khosla will lead Enteris as it targets multiple growth opportunities built around Peptelligence, the company’s proprietary oral peptide and small molecule drug delivery platform.

As CEO, Khosla will spearhead the advancement of Enteris’ external and internal programs, as well as the development of new external licensing and partnership opportunities that leverage the company’s PeptelligenceTM platform.

“Following a comprehensive search, the management teams of SWK Holdings and Enteris BioPharma are confident that Rajiv is the ideal executive to lead Enteris as it advances its mission to be the industry leader in developing oral tablet formulations of peptides and other molecules with low oral bioavailability or permeability,” said Winston Black, chairman and CEO of SWK Holdings.

With more than 30 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience as both a consultant and senior corporate executive, Khosla has demonstrated an ability to successfully apply his expertise at multiple companies, Enteris said.

In 2011, Khosla founded CEUTEC LLC, a strategy and business development consultancy serving biopharmaceutical companies and venture capital firms. In that capacity, he consulted with companies such as NPS Pharma to evaluate potential out-licensing deals with large pharmaceutical companies and served as CEO at Orasi Medical, a neurodiagnostic medical technology company. Khosla also worked with IntelGenx Corp., an oral drug delivery company, to implement a drug delivery 505(b)(2) product pipeline, and business development strategies, leading to successful U.S. Food and Drug Administration filings.

Prior to CEUTEC, Khosla held several senior roles in large and small biopharmaceutical companies, including five years at the former Biovail Corp. as vice president of business development. There, he led the transaction process for more than 75 business development opportunities in various therapeutic areas.

Khosla  previously sat on the boards of Orasi Medical, IntelGenx and BioNJ. He also serves as an assistant professor of International Entrepreneurship at the Norm Brodsky College of Business at Rider University. A licensed pharmacist in the U.K., Khosla is a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. He received a Bachelor of Pharmacy with honors and a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Drug Delivery from the University of Nottingham in England. He earned an Executive M.B.A. from the Henley Business School at the University of Reading.