Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the appointment of Jacqueline E. Shea, PhD, as Inovio's Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Executive Vice President. Dr. Shea is an experienced life sciences senior executive with an extensive track record of leadership, strategy development, operational management, product development and international corporate development achievements. She most recently served as CEO and COO of Aeras, the leading not-for-profit organization dedicated to developing new tuberculosis vaccines. At Inovio, Dr. Shea will be responsible for Inovio's manufacturing, commercial, business development, and alliance management operations as well as serving as a key member of the executive team along with CFO and CSO in formulating and implementing overall corporate strategy. Dr. Shea replaces Dr. Niranjan Y. Sardesai who now serves as Chief Executive Officer of Geneos Therapeutics, a spin-out of Inovio developing personalized cancer treatments. Across the board, Inovio has taken steps to streamline its management responsibilities to better align comprehensive development strategy from discovery to commercialization. Effective immediately, Inovio's global clinical and R&D functions will report to Dr. Laurent Humeau, Inovio's Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President. As a part of this realignment, Dr. Mark Bagarazzi, formerly Chief Medical Officer, has left the company. In place of the Chief Medical Officer position, Inovio's newly formed Medical Council will oversee all clinical studies and medical-related reporting and monitoring activities and will report to Dr. Humeau. Inovio's Medical Council comprises three of Inovio's current Vice Presidents of Clinical Development: Prakash Bhuyan, MD (HPV program); Jeffrey Skolnik, MD, (cancer); and Scott White, MD (infectious diseases). Prior to her role at Aeras, Dr. Shea held top management positions at two biotechnology companies: Emergent Product Development UK (part of Emergent BioSolutions) and Microscience Ltd; and was general manager of The Oxford-Emergent Tuberculosis Consortium, a global health joint venture formed between Oxford University and Emergent BioSolutions.