VBI Vaccines Inc. (NASDAQ: VBIV) (“VBI”), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation infectious disease and immuno-oncology vaccines, is pleased to announce the appointment of Vlad Popovic, M.D., as Vice President, Clinical Development and Medical Affairs, reporting into Francisco Diaz-Mitoma, M.D., Ph.D., VBI’s Chief Medical Officer. In this new role, Dr. Popovic will oversee global clinical development operations for all pipeline programs and, in collaboration with Dr. Diaz-Mitoma, will oversee the medical affairs strategy for the company’s pre-launch efforts for Sci-B-Vac®, VBI’s third-generation Hepatitis B vaccine.
“Vlad brings a wealth of experience in managing R&D and Medical Affairs teams for multiple infectious disease and oncology indications,” said Dr. Diaz-Mitoma. “His in-depth knowledge and hands-on experience in product development and commercialization of a variety of pharmaceutical products, including therapeutics and vaccines, will be a terrific asset to VBI.”Dr. Popovic joins VBI with 20 years of experience in leadership positions in the biopharmaceutical industry. Most recently, he served as Regional Medical Director, Canada, at Intercept Pharma, Inc., where he was responsible for establishing and implementing global and regional strategic and operational medical plans, guiding the advancement of therapeutic products related to chronic liver disease, and providing medical governance for multiple Phase 2 – 4 clinical and investigator initiated studies.
Prior to joining Intercept, Dr. Popovic held various Medical Affairs and Clinical Development management roles at, among others, Celgene Corp., Amgen Inc., and Gilead Sciences Inc., where he provided leadership, strategic planning, and medical expertise for R&D, regulatory approval, market access, and early adoption of key medical products into clinical practice. He also established and successfully managed Medical Affairs teams at the Canadian affiliates of these companies to support product launches based on local medical and business objectives.
“The VBI team has developed a remarkable pipeline of prophylactic vaccines and immuno-therapeutic candidates building on impressive science and pre-clinical and clinical data,” said Dr. Popovic. “I am excited to join the VBI team, and look forward to helping maximize the potential of the entire pipeline.”