Genezen, a cell and gene therapy Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) specializing in lentiviral and retroviral vector manufacturing, continues to scale and expand its commercial operations with the appointment of Jeff Whitmore as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO).

With a career in biotechnology spanning over 25 years, Jeff joins Genezen from mRNA Therapeutic CDMO, TriLink BioTechnologies, part of Maravai LifeSciences, where he most recently served as Vice President of Commercial Operations and had responsibility for commercial expansion and strategy. Prior to this, he held leadership positions at biostability technology company, Biomatrica, and immunodiagnostics maker, Singulex.

Looking to bolster the buildout of Genezen’s commercial presence, Jeff will maximize growth opportunities at the organization’s recently expanded viral vector process development and cGMP production facility in Fishers, Indiana (US). Jeff’s leadership will help clients and customers take advantage of the facility’s enhanced capabilities and increased capacity in a shared goal to bring life-saving therapies to market.  

Ray Kaczmarek, CEO at Genezen said: “We are excited for Jeff to join the Genezen team. He brings a proven track record of streamlining and accelerating organizational growth, creating value for both customers and shareholders. His tremendous leadership presence, strong strategic focus, and great understanding of how to partner with our customers will be extremely important as we bring critical life-saving therapies to the clinic.” 

Commenting on his appointment, Jeff said: “Genezen’s new facility is state of the art and demonstrates their commitment to being a leader in the development and manufacture of lentiviral and retroviral vectors. It is an exciting time to join the team.”

“I am passionate about helping life sciences organizations achieve scalable and sustainable growth and I look forward to injecting this passion into my new role as CCO. Following Genezen’s latest expansion, I look forward to connecting biopharma companies with the capabilities and capacity they need to bring their products to market and fastrack conversion of their concepts to commercialization.”

Jeff’s appointment comes following a significant period of growth for the organization as demand for lentiviral and retroviral GMP vectors continues to rise. During his time at TriLink, Jeff was instrumental in successfully guiding the firm through a rapid increase in demand for mRNA production during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This experience will be invaluable as Genezen responds to an increase in demand for its services as it continues to focus on developing strong partnerships and improving patient lives. 

Genezen recently unveiled the latest phase of the buildout of its viral vector process development and cGMP production facility. It features additional process development, analytical development and quality control labs as well as GMP cell banking and GMP vector manufacturing suites with an expanded GMP warehouse. 

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About Genezen, Inc.

Founded in Indianapolis in 2014, Genezen is focused on supporting the demands of the current and future gene and cell therapy manufacturing market worldwide— making viral vector production accessible to both early-stage, growth-oriented companies and established industry leaders. Genezen offers early-phase process development, GMP lentiviral vector production, retroviral vector production, and analytical testing services, building on the company's expansive knowledge and experience in the industry and working with the nation's leading institutions. For more information, or to learn more about services offered in Genezen's new cGMP facility, please visit Genezen.com.