Anika Therapeutics Hires COO, CMO

Bedford, Mass.-base Anika Therapeutics Inc., a global, integrated orthopedics medicines company specializing in therapeutics based on its proprietary hyaluronic acid (HA) technology, has appointed Stephen R. Mascioli, M.D., MPH, to the role of chief medical officer (CMO) and Dana M. Alexander to the role of chief operations officer (COO). Mascioli and Alexander will report to Anika’s President and CEO, Charles H. Sherwood, Ph.D.

“We’re pleased to add Dr. Mascioli and Mr. Alexander to our executive leadership team as we enter a pivotal phase in Anika’s growth, which is driven by pipeline advancement and global commercial expansion,” said Sherwood. “With Dr. Mascioli spearheading the preclinical and clinical development of our robust pipeline and Mr. Alexander overseeing and building our manufacturing and operations capabilities, we anticipate tremendous progress in executing our long-term growth strategy.”

Mascioli, a medical executive with 25 years of leadership experience, previously held the inaugural CMO position at Terumo Americas Holdings, where his primary responsibilities included establishing the build-out of the company’s medical department, providing strategic leadership for regulatory and clinical programs, and managing risk assessment and mitigation analysis on patient safety issues. Prior to joining Terumo, Mascioli served as CMO of the Vascular Therapies division of Covidien, a global medical device company, and he also held senior medical leadership positions at Boston Scientific and American Medical Systems. Mascioli holds an M.D. from Boston University School of Medicine, a master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, and a BA in biology from Brandeis University.

“Anika has an impressive track record in research and development, which has led to a solid and diversified pipeline that spans the continuum from pain management to healing, repair, and regeneration,” said Mascioli. “I’m excited to drive the clinical development strategy, rally the support of key physician thought leaders, and work with our regulatory team to bring Anika’s important therapeutic advances to patients.”

Alexander brings nearly two decades of operational expertise in manufacturing and supply chain management, and he spent the last 14 years in various leadership roles at Genzyme Corporation. Prior to assuming his position as COO at Anika, Alexander served as senior director of biologics manufacturing operations, where he led manufacturing at Genzyme’s flagship biologics plant including overseeing production planning and execution, bringing new manufacturing capacity on-line, and implementing new production and quality systems. During his tenure at Genzyme, Alexander provided operational oversight for the construction, start-up, and approval of a new cGMP cell culture facility, managed chemistry, manufacturing, and control activities for a variety of late stage and commercial products, and led operation product teams across complex supply chains to deliver global clinical and commercial supply requirements. Alexander holds an MBA from Boston University, and a BS in chemical engineering from Northeastern University.

“I look forward to building upon Anika’s strong operational framework and processes to establish a manufacturing and production powerhouse that will function as the cornerstone of Anika’s global commercial expansion effort,” said Alexander.

As part of its direct commercialization buildout, Anika also expanded its commercial team with the hire of Jean A. Bjerke as vice president of marketing. Bjerke will report to Richard Hague, Anika’s chief commercial officer, and her primary focus areas will be global and domestic market development and commercial launch planning and execution. Prior to joining Anika, Bjerke spent 15 years specializing in marketing with the orthopedic device segments for Smith & Nephew and Depuy Orthopedics.