Gilead Sciences appoints Flavius Martin as Executive VP, Research
Foster City: Gilead Sciences has recently announced that Flavius Martin, MD will join the company as Executive Vice President, Research, and will become a member of the company's senior leadership team, reporting to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel O'Day.
Dr. Martin will assume responsibility for Gilead's research organization effective April 12, 2021. Bill Lee, PhD, is retiring from Gilead after three decades.
Dr. Martin brings to his new role significant experience overseeing industry-leading research, with particular expertise in oncology and inflammation. He joins Gilead from Amgen, Inc., where he most recently served as Vice President, Research Biology, leading discovery for Oncology, Inflammation and Cardiometabolic Research. He was also the site-head for Amgen South San Francisco. Prior to Amgen, Dr. Martin worked as a scientist and leader at Genentech, Inc.
"Flavius brings decades of experience in early drug discovery research and identification of promising therapeutic candidates," said Mr. O'Day. "He has deep scientific expertise across therapeutic areas and has led the creation of high-quality portfolios in prior roles. I am delighted to welcome him to Gilead as we continue to expand and diversify our portfolio of new medicines."
Dr. Martin received his MD at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, Romania. He completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the Division of Developmental and Clinical Immunology. He has published numerous papers on the role of immune cells in driving inflammatory diseases and cancer, and holds a number of patents related to his discoveries.
"Gilead has outstanding research and clinical development programs across Virology, Immunology and Oncology, and I am tremendously excited to be joining an organization with such a deep and talented scientific core," commented Dr. Martin. "Throughout my career, I have been focused on translating scientific discoveries into the development of potential new therapies with the goal of helping people with unmet medical needs. I look forward to pursuing this mission together with the talented team at Gilead."
Dr. Lee joined Gilead in 1991. Over his 30-year career with the company, he has overseen research programs across multiple therapeutic areas and has led the advancement of numerous therapies from early-stage research into clinical development. His expertise contributed to the discovery of medicines and the identification of external partnerships.
"Bill's contributions over three decades have allowed Gilead to bring important new medicines to patients around the world," said Mr. O'Day. "I am grateful to Bill for the high bar he has set for Gilead's research organization and the commitment he demonstrated pursuing scientific advancements that transformed care for people with serious diseases."
