A former Republican Congressman with a background in veterinary medicine has joined the ranks of a Cincinnati biopharma startup looking to develop a universal flu vaccine.
Ted Yoho (R-Florida) was appointed head of business development at Blue Water Vaccines, effective in April, one of two new additions the CincyTech-backed company announced this month. Andrew D. Skibo, a veteran vaccine manufacturing specialist, also joined the company June 1 as its global head of biologics operations.
Blue Water, which formed in 2018, is developing a universal influenza vaccine, or a single-dose vaccine that would protect against all flu strains, as well as a vaccine candidate for streptococcus pneumoniae, designed to specifically prevent middle ear infections, known as acute otitis media, or AOM, in children.
The additions will be key as the company moves toward market entry and looks to expand its vaccine pipeline, Joseph Hernandez, Blue Water Vaccines chairman and CEO, said in a release.
"Their experience will help Blue Water Vaccines navigate the processes from preclinical vaccine development to clinical testing and finally enabling BWV's vaccine candidates to be market-ready," Hernandez said.
Yoho brings over 28 years of experience to the role, including eight years in the U.S. House of Representatives. Yoho, first elected in 2012 to Florida’s 3rd Congressional District, served as a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
He earned his bachelor's degree in animal science from the University of Florida, and a doctor of veterinary medicine from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine.
Skibo, meanwhile, has over four decades of experience in leading manufacturing operations and process development. He began his career in biologics operations at San Fransisco-based Genentech and was involved in the development of the first large-scale, mammalian cell culture processes still in use today. Later, he worked at Amgen, his own business, and several large international engineering firms including Foster Wheeler.
Prior to retiring in April 2019, Skibo served for 11 years as MedImmune's EVP of operations and AstraZeneca's head of global biologics operations. The latter role included responsibilities for Astra Zeneca's biologics and vaccine franchises. He has served as chairman of the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers and chairman of the Global Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Leadership Forum.
He earned his bachelor's in chemistry and master's in chemical engineering from MIT.
Due to Covid, the Blue Water team continues to work remotely, and the company recently sold its Norwood headquarters, the former Norwood Baptist Church school building on Courtland Avenue, for $517,000, per Hamilton County property records. It lists its new address as 201 E. Fifth St. downtown.
The startup's clinical trials have also been delayed. Spokeswoman Olipriya Das told me Blue Water anticipates entering Phase I with its streptococcus pneumoniae vaccine in 2022. Its other vaccine candidates will follow. The Phase I clinical trial will take place in Cincinnati, and Medpace (Nasdaq: MEDP) is serving as its clinical trial and regulatory partner.
To date, Blue Water has raised $7 million in capital. CincyTech, the Uptown-based seed fund, led that funding round in 2019.
