Samsung Biologics, a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), said on Thursday that it appointed two global biopharmaceutical experts to strengthen its competitiveness in quality management and regulatory affairs. 

The two appointments include Gail Ward as Executive Vice President and Head of the Quality Center, and Lee So-jeong as Vice President and Head of Regulatory Affairs.

Ward is a U.S. citizen who is a seasoned pharmaceutical executive with almost four decades of extensive quality experience in both large pharmaceutical companies and entrepreneurial biotech companies. 

Prior to joining Samsung Biologics, Ward served as Head of Quality adn Vice President at ProKidney Corporation, a late clinical-stage biotech company specializing in treatments for chronic kidney disease. Her experience also includes quality assurance leadership roles at Celltrion, and senior positions at Diosynth RTP, Lederle-Praxis Biologics, and Biogen.

Ward is expected to take office from Sept. 1.

Samsung Biologics also appointed Lee So-jeong as the Vice President and Head of Regulatory Affairs to oversee and manage the company's response and relationship with global regulatory agencies. Prior to this role, Lee served as the Regulatory Affairs Director at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in Korea.

“We plan to focus on enhancing the quality and competitiveness of biopharmaceuticals based on the expertise and know-how from Gail Ward and Lee So-jeong,” said  Samsung Biologics.