Campbell, CA, January 22, 2018 — Dark Horse Consulting, a leading provider of consulting services for the cell and gene therapy industry, today announced the appointment of Katy Spink, Ph.D. as a Managing Partner of the firm. Dr. Spink will join Anthony Davies, Ph.D., CEO and Founder, and Felicity Martin, CPA, Senior Director of Finance and Customer Relations as a member of the newly formed Executive Leadership Team (ELT) of the practice.
Dr. Spink brings to Dark Horse deep expertise in strategic and operational management of innovative cell therapy programs. Most recently, Dr. Spink served as Chief Operating Officer of Asterias Biotherapeutics, a company developing autologous and allogeneic cell therapies in the fields of neurology and immune-oncology, from 2013 to January 2018. In this role, Dr. Spink led Asterias’ manufacturing, quality, product development, research, program management, business development, facilities, and intellectual property functions. Prior to Asterias, Dr. Spink was Senior Vice President of Cell Therapy Program Operations at Geron Corporation, where she was employed in roles of increasing responsibility within the R&D and Business Development groups from 2003 through 2011. Earlier in her career, Dr. Spink was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, advising clients in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical device industries on matters relating to R&D strategy, business development, and marketing. Dr. Spink graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in Biochemistry from Rice University and received her Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from Stanford University as a Howard Hughes Predoctoral Fellow.
“I’m very excited to announce the expansion of Dark Horse’s leadership team through Katy’s appointment,” said Dr. Davies. “Katy brings to Dark Horse a unique combination of deep expertise in the technical, business, and legal considerations our clients face in developing their innovative programs. Her expertise in manufacturing, quality, process development and program management will complement our existing team very well, and she will bring incremental capabilities in strategic planning, portfolio management, business development, and intellectual property strategy to further expand and build our service offerings.”
“I’m honored to have the opportunity to join the exceptional team at Dark Horse, the premier provider of consulting services within the innovative cell and gene therapy industry” said Dr. Spink. “I look forward to applying the lessons learned from my years in the industry to help Dark Horse’s clients in their daily work of bringing therapies to patients in need.”
About Dark Horse Consulting
Dark Horse Consulting (DHC) specializes in providing strategic and operational support for the Cell and Gene Therapy industry. All of our consultants have deep Cell and Gene Therapy industry experience, spanning diverse functions such as process development, device development, manufacturing, quality, regulatory, program management, business development, strategy, and financing/investor relations. Many of our consultants also bring experiences from adjacent more mature sectors, including traditional biologics, small molecules, medical devices, and management consulting. As a result, we deeply understand the unique challenges faced by Cell and Gene Therapy developers and are able to apply best practices from other industries to address the needs of our clients.
Our team of Cell and Gene Therapy professionals brings deep technical expertise to help you tackle the unique challenges of our exciting young field.
