Sven Kili
Chief Development Officer
CCRM’s values reflect so many areas I think are critical to supporting the cell and gene therapy ecosystem, but I most strongly identify with integrity. What we are doing for patients is so critical – especially when they are unwell and at their most vulnerable – that it is imperative we act with integrity in everything we do. I also see integrity as central to all of the other values, ensuring we collaborate and are purposefully accountable requires integrity to be effective, and a pure purpose requires integrity to drive the excellence patients and their families need.
Read more about CCRM’s values.
Dr. Sven Kili is the Chief Development Officer (CDO) for CCRM and OmniaBio. He is responsible for supporting all research, development, and service provision of the various technology platforms within CCRM and OmniaBio, drawing on his deep experience in creating and leading small and large companies in the CGT space. Sven maintains his role as Principal of Sven Kili Consulting Ltd., where he provides specialist strategic consulting services to innovative cell and gene therapy companies with a focus on creation through to clinical development and commercialization, as well as investment. He has deep experience in all stages of cell and gene therapy development, including previous roles as CEO of Antion Biosciences, where he built an academic team into a financed development company focused on engineered CAR-T therapies; he was also Head of Development for the CGT division of GSK Rare Diseases where he led teams developing and commercializing gene therapies for a variety of rare genetic disorders including Strimvelis®, the first ex-vivo gene therapy to be approved for children with ADA-SCID; Wiskott – Aldrich syndrome (WAS); Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD) and Beta-Thalassemia and others. Prior to this, he led the Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine group for Sanofi (Genzyme) Biosurgery, which included the clinical development, approval, and commercialization activities of the first combined ATMP product in the EU for MACI®. He and his team also prepared and submitted various advanced therapy regulatory filings for Australia and the US, including health technology assessments, and he was responsible for late-stage developments for Carticel® and Epicel® in the US.
Sven trained as an Orthopaedic surgeon in the UK and South Africa and, since leaving full-time clinical practice, has developed expertise in cell and gene therapy strategic company formation, clinical development, regulatory compliance, value creation, risk management and product safety, product launches and post-marketing activities. He chairs a number of boards, including UK BIA CGTAC, UK Innovation Hubs, ARM Gene Therapy committee, CCRM Investment Committee and co-chairs the ISCT Business Development and Finance committee. He further sits on the LGC Corporation SAB, ISCT Strategic Advisory Council and Saisei Ventures Investment Board. Sven received an academic appointment as Chair at UCL for the course “MSc in Manufacture and Commercialisation of Stem Cell and Gene Therapies,” where he leads the course steering committee. E: sven.kili@ccrm.ca
