Witty, Ex-CEO of GSK, keeps busy with two new roles in two days

It was always unlikely that Andrew Witty, former CEO of GSK, would take his ‘retirement’ from the company literally, but he has stepped up his work after the company into a new gear, with two appointments in as many days.

First, he was announced as a venture partner at Hatteras Venture Partners and, the day after, he was revealed to have joined Synthego’s advisory board.

It is little surprise that Witty would be in demand from companies seeking to bolster their expertise with his knowledge of the industry, as well as his contacts that reach beyond the pharma spectrum. Only back in July, Witty had joined as a board member of G1 Therapeutics, a biotech that actually has links to Hatteras.

Hatteras aims to fund emerging biotechs and academic science from early stages into the clinic, an approach that resulted in the formation of G1 Therapeutics.

"We are thrilled to welcome Andrew to Hatteras Venture Partners. He brings unparalleled strategic insights and extensive industry experience to the firm and to our portfolio of emerging companies," said Bob Ingram, General Partner of Hatteras Venture Partners. "Having had the pleasure of serving as Andrew’s mentor when I was CEO of Glaxo, it is hard to fully express my pride in having him join our dynamic team of company builders."

Joining this venture was shortly followed by agreeing to join Synthego, a company that provides genome engineering solutions based in Silicon Valley. The company provides RNA kits designed for CRISPR genome editing and research, and will likely to stand to benefit from Witty’s contacts across the industry as it looks to have its technology taken on board by the biotech industry.

At present, the company notes that its customers already include eight out of the top 10 biotech companies, as well as leading biology universities.

"Andrew's broad experience in the biopharmaceutical space will help us unlock the full value of our platform and grow in key areas of the industry. This is part of the next step in bringing Synthego's bioinformatics and experimental expertise to new applications and markets," said Paul Dabrowski, CEO of Synthego. "Andrew's appointment strengthens the company's position as a leader in genome engineering solutions, we are privileged to have him join our advisory board."