Insmed CEO elected BioNJ chair, alongside other appointments

Life sciences association BioNJ elected Insmed Inc. CEO Will Lewis chair of the board Wednesday.

Lewis was elected alongside Vice-Chair Dr. Monika Vnuk, vice president of R&D business development at Pfizer Inc.; Treasurer Greg Oakes, North America president of Vifor Pharma; and re-elected as Secretary Michele Korfin, Gamida Cell COO and chief commercial officer.

Lewis succeeds Soligenix Inc. President and CEO Christopher Schaber, who concluded a two-year term and now moves into the role of immediate past chair.

“A proven and highly respected industry leader and successful entrepreneur, Mr. Lewis’ knowledge, passion and experience will be invaluable as we continue to support New Jersey’s life sciences community in its ongoing response to COVID-19 and to ensure that the Garden State remains an innovation hub while advocating on behalf of medical innovation and access for all,” said BioNJ President and CEO Debbie Hart in a prepared statement.

Hart called Schaber the “Mentor’s mentor” and described “his devotion to supporting entrepreneurship — by helping today’s leaders and fostering tomorrow’s — second to none.”

Lewis joined Insmed in Bridgewater in 2012 as president and CEO. He’s the co-founder and former president and CFO of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Vice Chair Vnuk joined Pfizer in 2008 and currently leads an international team responsible for executing all pre-clinical business development transactions for Pfizer. She’s been responsible for leading the evaluation, execution and negotiations of many business transactions, including licensing deals, collaborations, joint-ventures and mergers and acquisitions, in support of Pfizer’s Innovative Medicines and Established Medicines businesses across developed and emerging markets.

Oakes joined Vifor Pharma in September 2020. Previously, he served as corporate vice president and global integration lead for the $2 billion company Otezla at Amgen. Prior to Amgen, Oakes held roles at Celgene, including as global commercial integration lead where he helped steer the $74B acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb and the $13.4B divestiture of Otezla.

BioNJ also named four new members to its board of trustees Wednesday, including Bristol Myers Squibb Senior Vice-President of Global Policy & Government Affairs Amadou Diarra; PsychoGenics Inc. President and CEO Emer Leahy; BioAegis Therapeutics Inc. CEO Susan Levinson; and Adastra Pharmaceuticals Inc. President and CEO Scott Megaffin.