A biotech firm that recently made its home in Cincinnati has tapped one of the world’s most well-known cancer clinicians and researchers to head up a new advisory board as it continues to grow its footprint both locally and beyond.
Orange Grove Bio, a preclinical drug investment and development firm, appointed University of Cincinnati’s Dr. John Byrd as chair and inaugural member of its academic scientific advisory board.
Orange Grove said the appointment, along with two others it announced Thursday, strengthens the firm’s leadership team as it continues to put down roots in Cincinnati and across the state.
Orange Grove officials have said Byrd was a key factor in the firm’s decision to relocate from New York to Cincinnati last November. Byrd had joined UC’s College of Medicine as chair and professor of the department of internal medicine months earlier, in July 2021.
During his career, he has spearheaded a range of drug development efforts that have directly resulted in Food and Drug Administration approval — including four novel cancer therapeutics in the past two decades. Byrd is also a leading expert in the field of hematologic oncology.
Prior to joining UC, he served as director of the division of hematology in the department of medicine at Ohio State University.
“I look forward to contributing my deep expertise to support Orange Grove’s vision of creating biotechnology companies that will develop the medicines of tomorrow,” Byrd said in a release. “I am particularly pleased the company has established its headquarters in Cincinnati, a burgeoning biotech market bursting with talented individuals I engage with every day. Equally significant is the opportunity to work closely with the company to cement Cincinnati’s position as a biopharma innovation hub.”
Byrd said Orange Grove Bio is “well positioned” to drive innovation across the biopharmaceutical industry based on its model.
As a holding company, Orange Grove partners with universities, academic medical centers and entrepreneurs outside the Boston and San Francisco ecosystems, which are considered traditional biotech hubs, to spin out new treatments and technologies. Orange Grove also invests in preclinical stage biotech companies. Its focus areas include oncology, cellular and gene therapies and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
The firm currently has more than 50 partnerships across the country — including with UC and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Those relationship allow Orange Grove to streamline and speed up the development process, the firm said, and get drugs to market faster.
A spokesperson told me Orange Grove Bio will work closely with Byrd to build out the academic scientific advisory board. Orange Grove did not say how many members would be included in the group, although its non-academic senior advisory board includes 10 leaders in all.
Overall, Byrd was one of three new leadership appointments. In addition, the firm named Dr. Rob Scott, retired chief medical officer and head of development at Chicago-based AbbVie, to its senior advisory board. Michael Kalos was also tapped to head Orange Grove Bio’s cellular therapy business unit. Kalos most recently served as executive VP and head of R&D at San Francisco-based ArsenalBio, a synthetic biology-based cell therapy startup.
Marc Appel, Orange Grove Bio’s CEO, said the appointments provide Orange Grove with deep drug discovery, development and commercialization expertise.
“Over the past year Orange Grove Bio has dramatically expanded its footprint across the U.S. Our recent appointments of Drs. Byrd, Scott and Kalos align with this recent significant uptick in business and partnering activity,” Appel said in the release.
Orange Grove Bio last year signed a lease to relocate its headquarters to UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub.
Its team now includes roughly 30 employees.
