Oxford-based SpyBiotech, a biotechnology company with a novel vaccine platform technology targeting infectious diseases, cancer and chronic diseases, has appointed Simon Jones as vice-president of finance and operations.

Jones replaces Vien Phan, who held the role of interim finance director, steering the company through its Series A fundraising in February this year. Phan will become a strategic advisor to SpyBiotech for a transitional period.

Jones has worked as a chief financial officer in the life sciences sector for 18 years, working with early- to mid-stage, high-growth healthcare and medtech businesses ranging from drug development and drug delivery through to marketing licensed products. He most recently spent eight years at Karus Therapeutics, an Oxfordshire-based clinical-stage biotech company developing small molecule enzymatic inhibitors for the treatment of haematological and solid-tumour cancers. Jones qualified as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young and subsequently held positions in a number of large telecoms firms, including Vodafone. He is a member of the Bioindustry Association’s finance and tax advisory committee.

Sumi Biswas, co-founder and chief executive of SpyBiotech, said: “Simon brings a wealth of experience from across the UK life sciences industry which will be invaluable as we embark on the next phase of the company’s development. SpyBiotech is at the forefront of medical innovation in vaccinology and Simon’s appointment, as well as the expansion of our scientific team, reflects the progress we are making in scaling up our scientific and operational resources.”

“Vien joined SpyBiotech in April 2019 and has played a key role in bringing on a high calibre of new investors in our first major funding round. I would like to thank Vien for his contributions over the past two years and am pleased that he will continue to support the company during this period of transition.”

Jones added: “I am delighted to be joining SpyBiotech at this exciting time. Its unique platform technology has broad applicability and the scope to tackle some of the biggest challenges in healthcare. I look forward to working with the team to ensure we are future-ready as we expand our operations and advance our pipeline of innovative vaccine candidates.”