Stellar Appoints Tessie Che, Ph.D. to Board of Directors
Complete the form below to unlock access to ALL audio articles.
Stellar Biotechnologies, Inc. has announced the appointment of Tessie Mary Che, Ph.D. to the Company’s Board of Directors.
Dr. Tessie Che is currently Chair of the Board of Directors of Amaran Biotechnology, Inc., a private biotech company based in Taiwan. Stellar’s recent US$12 Million Private Placement included a $5 Million investment by Amaran Biotechnology.
“Dr. Che brings to Stellar extensive experience pertinent to our key corporate goals at this high-growth stage,” said Frank Oakes, Stellar President and CEO.
Oakes continued, “She co-founded and successfully led a biopharmaceutical firm from development to commercialization of a new drug product to treat Clostridium difficile. In addition, Dr. Che has extensive scientific and operations acumen, as well as strategic ability transforming research programs and pipelines into high-value business assets.”
“It is my pleasure to join Stellar’s Board of Directors,” said Tessie Mary Che, Ph.D. “Stellar’s proprietary strength in KLH protein manufacturing and its vision to target the active immunotherapy market makes this an impressive company with very high commercial potential.”
Dr. Che co-founded Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OPTR:NASDAQ) in 1998 and served over ten years as Optimer’s Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs.
During the process development years of Optimer’s flagship drug, DIFICID®, Dr. Che built and led the company’s Chemistry, Manufacturing and Quality Control (CMC) teams through the successful and cost-effective registration and commercialization of DIFICID® in the United States, Canada and Europe in 2011.
Prior to Optimer, Dr. Che’s industrial experience included 20 years in research, management and operations at large companies including Exxon Mobil Corporation, Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and EniChem S.p.A.
She also served as Vice President, Operations of M and D Precision Science Group, Inc. in 1988 and co-founded Cinogen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (China) serving as Vice President from 1994 to 1996. Cinogen later became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pharmanex, Inc., where Dr. Che served as Sr. Director of Quality Assurance and Sourcing.
Dr. Che holds bachelors’ degrees in chemistry from Illinois State University and Fu-Jen Catholic University (Taiwan), a Ph.D. in physical-inorganic chemistry from Brandeis University, and did post-doctoral work at Columbia University. She has authored numerous scientific publications and holds over twenty U.S. patents in material synthesis and applications.
