U.S. subsidiary of CHA Biotech appoints new executives

Matica Biotechnology, a US subsidiary of CHA Biotech, has appointed Laura Parks as EVP of commercial operations and Heather Sugrue as VP of alliance management to enhance its cell and gene therapy contract manufacturing capabilities.

From left: Laura Parks, executive vice president of commercial operations at Matica Biotechnology; Heather N. Sugrue, vice president of alliance management [CHA BIOTECH]

Matica Biotechnology, a U.S. subsidiary of CHA Biotech, announced new executive hires on Tuesday.

The newly appointed members of the leadership team, who have extensive backgrounds in the global pharmaceutical market, will bolster Matica’s contract manufacturing capabilities in cell and gene therapy, the company hopes.

Matica named Laura Parks as the executive vice president of commercial operations, and Heather Sugrue as vice president of alliance management.

Parks previously served in senior roles at DSM and Patheon Pharmaceuticals. Sugrue held senior roles in Catalent, a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), as well as Syngene and Patheon.

Matica Biotechnology, founded in 2022, is a CDMO specializing in cell and gene therapy. A CDMO engages in the early stages of developing a client’s products and takes charge of mass production.

“When the ongoing project to build a second plant in the United States is completed successfully, our CDMO capabilities will quadruple from the current 500 liters to 2,000 liters,” said Matica Biotechnology CEO Song Yun-jeong.

“With our Executive Vice President Laura Parks and Vice President Heather Sugrue, who have extensive experience in global pharmaceutical companies and CDMOs joining the team, we will actively pursue orders together,” Song added.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]