Exothera S.A., a full-service Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) specialized in gene therapy, vaccines, and oncolytic viruses, today announced that it has appointed Darren Leva as Chief Business Officer. Darren’s extensive commercial experience in biotherapeutics CDMOs will further extend Exothera’s business and commercial capability across existing and brand-new markets.

Darren brings 20 years of broad commercial expertise to Exothera from a range of experiences with CDMOs, therapeutics, and software companies. Most recently, he held leadership positions in Cell and Gene Therapy at Thermo Fisher Scientific while also being deeply involved in the manufacturing response to the Covid-19 pandemic. As Head of Commercial Operations, he helped build and lead both GMP Plasmid and GMP Cell Therapy businesses. Darren’s diverse experiences in the software industry has helped him develop a deep understanding of data-driven processes, which, combined with Univercells’ unique technologies and bioprocessing capabilities, will help Exothera realize its vision of making cell & gene therapy available to all.

Prior to joining Thermo Fisher, Darren held various commercial roles at several start-ups and growth-stage companies, including IntroMaps, Althea Technologies (now Ajinomoto), Cerimon Pharmaceuticals, and Seven Bridges Genomics. In his new role at Exothera, Darren will leverage his experience in scaling cell and gene therapy businesses to help Exothera accelerate its growth in viral vector manufacturing.

Thibault Jonckheere, CEO of Exothera, commented: “We are delighted that Darren has joined us in our mission, bringing his extensive experience in CDMO business development to accelerate what we have built over the last three years. His passion and commitment are already spreading within our team, with new ideas and new challenges to further grow and better help our clients reach their goals.”

Commenting on his appointment, Darren Leva said: “I have been truly impressed with the team at Exothera and their commitment to excellence across the organization. Combined with their state-of-the-art GMP facility, I am not surprised by their stellar track record with customer experience. As part of the Exothera family, I couldn’t be more humbled to help deliver cell and gene therapies to patients.”