Nanotherapeutics, a biologics-focused contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), announced that Robert J. Hennessey has been appointed chairman of the board.

Commenting on the announcement, Peter H. Khoury, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Nanotherapeutics, stated, “We are pleased to welcome Bob as chairman of the board. As a shareholder for the past 15 years and as a past board member, we have benefited greatly from Bob’s expertise, including his 25 years’ experience serving at large pharmaceutical companies. We anticipate more fully leveraging his insights and knowledge, specifically within health care corporate strategy, deal-making, financings and strategic alliances.”

“As Nanotherapeutics continues to grow and expand its global footprint, I am delighted to accept the new role and responsibilities of Chairman of the Board and look forward to helping guide the Company in the achievement of its strategic vision,” noted Mr. Hennessey.

Hennessey currently serves as chief executive officer of Mitotherapeutix, a privately-held biotechnology company he founded in 2014. The company is focused on the development of novel therapies for the treatment of diseases that can be targeted by modifying or influencing metabolic pathways in the cell, with a current focus on liver disease, including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Prior to founding Mitotherapeutix, Hennessey was Chairman of the board and business consultant to Genome Therapeutics (formerly known as Collaborative Research), where he also held the position of chief executive officer. During his tenure, Hennessey successfully restructured Collaborative Research into a drug discovery and genomics company through the execution of several key pharmaceutical alliances, and increased the company’s market capitalization from $15 million to more than $1.5 billion.

Before that, Hennessey was an Independent Consultant and Principal at Hennessey & Associates, specializing in the structuring of unencumbered strategic alliances between biotechnology and major pharmaceutical companies. Clients included Aventis (now Sanofi-Aventis), Genentech, Mannkind, Nycomed-Amersham, Pharmacyclics and others.

Prior to Hennessey & Associates, Hennessey was senior vice president of Corporate Development for Sterling Drug and also served as director, International Strategic Planning and Business Development for Abbott Laboratories. Earlier in his career, Hennessey held a number of positions with SmithKline, working on corporate strategy and managing the vaccines, biologics and diagnostics business in Europe.