Pebble Labs hires 3

Santa Fe, N.M.-based Pebble Labs Inc., the biotechnology company developing biologically engineered solutions to eliminate the transmission of mosquito-carried diseases including Zika and dengue, has appointed three medical industry executives to its management team:

• Dr. Rick DeRose, director of product innovation, has more than 25 years of experience in Ag Biotechnology at Syngenta and Bayer developing innovation strategies for R&D projects. He was co-inventor of the first commercialized Roundup Ready Corn varieties. Dr. DeRose received the ASPB 2017 Innovation Prize for Agricultural Technology for successfully translating discovery research into demonstrable, real-world outcomes on Global Agriculture, and is an Industry Fellow for the Center for Innovation Management Studies at North Carolina State University. He received a Ph.D. in medical microbiology and immunology from Wake Forest School of Medicine. Dr. DeRose reports to Jon Bloodworth, COO of Pebble Labs.

• Dr. Anne Lo, director of strategic development, trained as a veterinary surgeon and worked in a number of clinical positions. She subsequently joined management consulting firm Bain & Co in London, before moving to a strategy role with WorldPay. Dr. Lo was most recently with Horizons Ventures based in Hong Kong, where she primarily covered science and healthcare investments. Dr. Lo received her BSc and BVM&S degrees from the University of Edinburgh and Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. Dr. Lo reports to CEO and Chairman Michael Harrison.

• Dr. Tichafa Munyikwa, director of regulatory affairs, has more than 20 years’ experience working in major ag biotechnology companies in positions as senior research scientist and global regulatory expert. He is an inventor with granted worldwide scientific patents and a track record of international product development and registration. His expertise lies in regulatory policy development and advocacy, as well as business strategy and implementation. Dr. Munyikwa received his Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology from Wageningen University (The Netherlands). Dr. Munyikwa reports to Bloodworth.