Tocagen, a clinical-stage, cancer-selective gene therapy company, has named John Wood vice president of regulatory affairs and quality assurance. Wood holds more than 20 years of regulatory affairs experience focusing on first-in-class drugs for diseases with high unmet need. While at IDEC Pharmaceuticals, he played a leading role, in close collaboration with Genentech, in the first regulatory approval of RITUXAN for the treatment of immune system B-cell malignancies.

"John holds extensive experience in regulatory affairs activities, including overseeing drug approvals by the FDA and international regulatory agencies," said Harry Gruber, M.D., chief executive officer of Tocagen. "As Tocagen continues to enroll patients in Toca 5, our phase II/III clinical trial in patients with recurrent high grade glioma, John's expertise and insights will be extremely beneficial."

Prior to joining Tocagen, Wood led regulatory affairs at Arena Pharmaceuticals, where he played an integral role interfacing with Eisai. regarding regulatory strategy for life cycle management for BELVIQ. Wood also led regulatory affairs and alliance management at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, where he directed activities surrounding the first regulatory approvals of SYMLIN and BYETTA in the U.S., served as program leader for BYETTA and acted as the primary interface with Eli Lilly. Prior to his position at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Wood held regulatory leadership positions at Quintiles Consulting and Gensia.