Cincinnati, OH, December 15, 2022 — Sus Clinicals, Inc.TM announced today that Dr. Auro Nair will be serving as an advisor to Company leadership, helping guide the Company’s scaling of the Oncopig Cancer ModelTM (OCM) as well as its pipeline of future innovations, to support the work of cancer researchers around the world.
Sus Clinicals accelerates qualification of life-saving cancer therapeutics through proprietary pig-based pre-clinical testing services. In collaboration with top research institutions, the Company’s FDA-cleared, predictive large animal model can more quickly identify drugs, diagnostics and devices that have the highest potential for success in human clinical trials, allowing its clients to focus their resources and advance more quickly to in-market success.
“I couldn’t be more pleased that Auro has agreed to come on board as an advisor,” said Jeffrey D. Weedman, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. “He has a wealth of experience in biomedical research, and a passion for helping cancer researchers accelerate bringing new therapeutics to market.”
Auro Nair has over 30 years of leadership experience in the biopharma, life sciences, and biomedical research space. He most recently served, until September 2022, as Executive Vice President of The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) and President, JAX® Mice, Clinical and Research Services (JMCRS). Dr. Nair joined JAX in 2007 as associate general manager and, with a strong focus on innovation and customer experience, led the expansion of JMCRS into an enterprise that is seven times larger than it was when he joined.
Following multiple promotions, Dr. Nair was named the first President of JMCRS in 2017 and was also promoted to Executive Vice President of The Jackson Laboratory in 2018. He has driven the international expansion of JAX, most recently through the establishment of JAX’s first joint venture company in China in November 2020 and the acquisition of Charles River Japan in October 2021. He served as the chairman of the board for both of these international organizations. In recognition of his leadership impact, Dr. Nair was named as a co-honoree of The Robert Alvine Family Endowed Chair that was established by Robert Alvine, chair emeritus of the JAX Board of Trustees.
Prior to JAX, Dr. Nair had served as Vice President for worldwide marketing and North American sales with Caliper Life Sciences (now part of PerkinElmer) where he led the launch of multiple new products and services. He began his career in commercial leadership upon joining Zymark, Caliper’s predecessor organization in 1997 as director of business development. From 1990 to 1997 he served in positions of increasing scientific and operational management responsibility at GlaxoSmithKline’s FDA-approved site in Singapore, ultimately managing all Quality Compliance and Analytical Services.
Dr. Nair is a graduate in chemistry of the University of Science, Penang, Malaysia; holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Oklahoma, Norman; and has an executive MBA from Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts.
“I am delighted to join the Sus Clinicals team as an advisor.” said Dr. Nair. “Jeff Weedman and his team have made remarkable progress in a short period of time. I look forward to providing counsel on how the Oncopig Cancer Model can help more cancer researchers to accelerate their work. I also believe Dr. Larry Schook [Sus Clinicals’ Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder] and his scientific team have an impressive pipeline of future innovations which can open up new pathways for predictive, translational cancer research.”
Sus Clinicals is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, with scientific facilities in Chicago and Urbana, Illinois.
