InVivo Therapeutics Appoints Board Chairman, Chief Medical Officer

Cambridge, Mass.-based InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. has appointed Mark D. Perrin as chairman of its board of directors, effective immediately. Perrin has served as a board member and CEO of the company since January 2014. John A. McCarthy, Jr., current non-executive chairman of the board since September 2013, will remain on the board and will continue to chair the audit committee.

“I look forward to taking on the challenges of board chair,” Perrin said. “We all appreciate John’s broad input and expertise, and we know his support for InVivo’s future will be important as we move ahead with the Neuro-Spinal Scaffold and other development programs.”

The company also has appointed Lorianne Masuoka, M.D., as chief medical officer (CMO), effective March 2. She will be taking over for the interim CMO, Lou Vaickus, M.D., who is also founder and president of Akta Pharmaceutical Development LLC, a life sciences consulting firm.

Prior to joining the InVivo team, Masuoka served as senior vice president and chief medical officer at Cubist Pharmaceuticals from July 2013 until Jan 2015. As a member of Cubist’s executive management team, she managed over 150 employees in the areas of clinical research, drug safety, biostatistics and data management, and clinical operations. Prior to her time at Cubist, she served in various roles of increasing responsibility at Nektar Therapeutics, including senior vice president and chief medical officer from August 2008 until August 2011. Masuoka served as vice president, clinical development at FivePrime Therapeutics from July 2003 until August 2008.  Prior to that, she served as director, clinical development, oncology at Chiron.

Masuoka has a medical degree from the University of California, Davis, where she also completed her residency in neurology. She completed her epilepsy fellowship at Yale University and has a board certification from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

“I am very pleased to have Lorianne joining the InVivo team,” Perrin said. “Her medical background in neurology and extensive experience in clinical development, managing early to late stage clinical trials in neurological indications and many other multidisciplinary indications will make her an invaluable asset as we move forward with our current and future clinical programs.”
InVivo is a biomaterials and biotechnology company with a focus on treatment of spinal cord injuries.