BioTheryX appoints new president and CEO

BioTheryX appoints new president and CEO

BioTheryX, Inc., a clinical stage company focused on degrading proteins to create life-saving medicines, chose experienced biotechnology leader Robert F. Williamson III as president and CEO and a member of the BioTheryX board of directors. 

“Rob is an extremely talented biotech executive with more than two decades of experience in building and financing companies through critical phases of growth,” says David Stirling, Ph.D., executive chairman and chief development officer of BioTheryX. “His proven track record in leading high-functioning teams and executing partnerships and financings, position us well to advance our pipeline of protein degraders and modulators to create life-saving medicines for patients. The board and I welcome him as CEO, and we are excited to have him lead our company as we build on our expertise in protein modulation based drug development.”

Before joining BioTheryX, Williamson served as CEO of both PharmAkea and ATXCo, oncology and fibrosis drug development companies financed through a partnership with Celgene, through PharmAkea’s acquisition by Galecto and ATXCo’s acquisition by Blade Therapeutics. Prior to PharmAkea and ATXCo, Williamson was CEO of Arriva Pharmaceuticals, president and chief operating officer of Eos Biotechnology, which was acquired by Protein Design Labs, and chief operating officer of DoubleTwist Inc. through its acquisition by Merck and Hitachi. 

In addition to his executive leadership roles, Williamson has served as a board member for privately held and publicly traded companies, most notably at Pharmasset Inc., where he helped finance, grow, and advance the company to the public markets through its acquisition by Gilead in 2011 for $11 billion. He also served as a member of the board of Progen Pharmaceuticals. Currently, Williamson serves as chairman of HAYA Therapeutics SA and as a member of the board of the Coulter Center in Miami. 

Before his management roles in the biotech industry, Williamson was a partner with The Boston Consulting Group and was a research assistant for the Federal Reserve Board. He received a B.A. in economics from Pomona College and an MBA from Stanford GSB. 

“I am thrilled to assume this role and for the future of BioTheryX, which is poised for rapid growth in the fast-paced category of protein degradation and modulation,” Williamson says. “The BioTheryX team is truly exceptional, composed of decorated scientists who created one of the most successful anti-cancer drug franchises in history and are the pioneers in the protein degradation space. I look forward to leading the team to bring this unmatched expertise to bear and to advance our clinical-stage program for liquid and solid tumors, and to expand our PHM platform and develop first-in-class therapies for oncology, inflammatory and other diseases.”