Mayo Pujols (pictured below) will lead Nationwide Children’s affiliate clinical manufacturing company, Andelyn Biosciences.
Nationwide Children's Hospital is pleased to announce Mayo Pujols as CEO of Andelyn Biosciences, an affiliate company that will manufacture gene therapy products for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Pujols most recently served as the vice president and global head of Cell and Gene Therapy for Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
“The goal of Andelyn Biosciences is to support the advancement of novel gene therapies for rare genetic diseases by building commercial manufacturing capacity which is needed as more of these treatments are developed over the coming years,” said Dennis Durbin, MD, MSCE, chief scientific officer, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s. “Mayo brings a wealth of knowledge in commercial and clinical manufacturing. His more than 20-year industry track record of leading operations at national and international sites for biologics, vaccines, immunotherapies, and more recently cell and gene therapies, will greatly benefit the continuing development of Andelyn Biosciences.”
Pujols has had a distinguished career since 1992 working in roles including technical operations, quality operations, validation, process development and cGMP manufacturing. He joined the Novartis cell and gene team in 2018 and was responsible for internal/contract manufacturing operations, strategy creation, product development, capacity expansion, external collaborations and technology innovation.
Prior to this role, Pujols was vice president global CAR‐T operations and technology at Celgene responsible for building their commercial manufacturing capabilities. He also worked in other key roles throughout his career at Merck, Advaxis, MedImmune and Schering-Plough. He received a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey and a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University in New York.
“I believe Andelyn Biosciences will be in a unique position to offer a wide portfolio of capabilities and services that will ultimately be game changing for our clients,” said Pujols. “I also envision significant opportunities for the new company to become a world class presence in the Columbus area by developing novel technology platforms and by developing a vibrant workforce through partnerships with national and local institutions. I am thrilled to be a part of this new venture and for the continued opportunity to serve patients that need these types of breakthrough therapies.”
Andelyn Biosciences is a for-profit manufacturer, but its unique business model leads to reinvestment into pioneering research conducted at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s. This research ranges from basic discovery science to clinical studies to population health research, all to address the challenges affecting children’s health.
Pujols will be relocating to the Columbus area with his wife Amy and his two teenage sons, Alex and Jason. He will begin his role as CEO on May 18, 2020.