Array BioPharma announced that Shalini Sharp, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc., joined the company’s Board of Directors, effective April 27, 2017. Ms. Sharp has been appointed to the Audit Committee of the Board.
Ms. Sharp has served as Chief Financial Officer of Ultragenyx, a biopharmaceutical company focused on rare diseases, since 2012, where she is responsible for leading the corporate finance, strategy, and information technology functions and is a member of the company’s executive leadership team. Ms. Sharp brings nearly 20 years of experience in the life sciences industry.
Ron Squarer, Chief Executive Officer of Array, noted, “Shalini has an ideal background to complement the expertise of our Board of Directors. Her financial leadership at healthcare organizations will be invaluable as we focus our efforts in oncology and prepare for commercialization.”
Ms. Sharp added, “Array has built an impressive development pipeline of therapeutics that is advancing in late-stage clinical trials and provides the opportunity to significantly benefit patients in areas of unmet need. I’m excited to join the company’s Board at such an important time in its history, as it nears commercialization of its drugs. I look forward to working with Ron and my fellow Board members through this important evolution of Array.”
Ms. Sharp is also a member of the Board of Directors of Agenus Inc. (formerly Antigenics Inc.), a publicly traded immuno-oncology company, where she served as Chief Financial Officer from 2006 to 2012. She joined Agenus in 2003 and held increasing roles of responsibility spanning strategic planning, corporate development, investor relations, corporate finance and business development. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the TB Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and distribution of treatments for tuberculosis in the developing world. Prior to Agenus, Ms. Sharp held similar roles at Elan Pharmaceuticals from 1998 to 2003, including serving as chief of staff to the Chairman of the Board of Directors during that company’s restructuring. She has spearheaded numerous financing and business development transactions that were critical to the success of Agenus and Elan. Ms. Sharp was also a management consultant at McKinsey & Company as well as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, specializing in pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Ms. Sharp holds both a B.A., magna cum laude, and a M.B.A. from Harvard University.
Ms. Sharp will serve as a Class II director on the Board with a term that expires at the Annual Meeting of Array’s stockholders in 2017.