SOTIO Appoints Richard Sachse as Chief Medical Officer

SOTIO, a clinical stage immuno-oncology company owned by PPF Group, today announced the appointment of Richard Sachse, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Medical Officer effective July 1, 2020. Dr. Sachse brings more than 25 years of experience in the biopharma industry as a physician and scientist and was most recently the deputy Chief Medical Officer of SOTIO.

“Dr. Sachse has professional expertise in pharmaceutical development covering the entire value chain from preclinical through to registration across various therapeutic areas including oncology. This valuable experience positions him well to successfully help advance SOTIO’s diverse pipeline of assets, ranging from preclinical to late clinical stage,” said Dr. Radek Špíšek, Chief Executive Officer of SOTIO. “In addition to registrational studies, he is especially experienced in the design and implementation of translational programs to bridge research to the clinic, a key skillset as we work to translate compelling science into patient benefit. As we welcome Dr. Sachse to his new appointment, we’d also like to thank Dr. Harald Fricke for the work he has done in a demanding Chief Medical Officer position at SOTIO.’’

Throughout Dr. Sachse’s 25 year career as a physician and scientist, he has held positions at Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Aeterna Zentaris and Neovii Pharmaceuticals at various levels of management. Prior to his work as deputy chief medical officer at SOTIO, Dr. Sachse was most recently Chief Scientific Officer at Neovii Pharmaceuticals where he led medical, development and regulatory activities. Prior to his time at Neovii Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Sachse was Chief Scientific Officer and Chief Medical Officer at Aeterna Zentari where he was responsible for all research, preclinical and clinical development activities and was successful in achieving FDA approval of Macimorelin. This was preceded by positions at Bayer, Peptor, Schwarz Pharma, UCB and Boehringer Ingelheim. Dr. Sachse earned his M.D. and Ph.D. at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg. He completed his residency at the Hospital of the University of Erlangen Internal Medicine and received his postdoctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Center Research Institute Oncogene Division in Tokyo.

Dr. Sachse added, “I look forward to bringing the learnings from my 25 year career to SOTIO where I can help to advance its exciting and diverse pipeline of immunotherapies, including a promising early stage IL-15 program as well as a differentiated late stage cell therapy platform.”