BASEL, Switzerland & BEIJING & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BeiGene (NASDAQ: BGNE; HKEX: 06160; SSE: 688235), a global biotechnology company, today announced the appointment of Julius Pryor III as its first Global Head of Diversity and Health Equity, effective immediately.
Mr. Pryor has more than 30 years of experience in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEI&B) efforts, having successfully built transformational DEI&B programs for biotechnology companies, as well as global consumer-focused businesses. In this newly created role, he will lead BeiGene’s efforts to elevate the company’s health equity and DEI&B initiatives, ensuring representation is at the forefront in BeiGene’s commitment to colleagues as well as patients, caregivers, and other external stakeholders in combatting disparities in healthcare.
“As a global company determined to deliver accessible and affordable medicines to more patients around the world, health equity and diversity are central values for BeiGene,” said Graham Hardiman, Head of Global Human Resources at BeiGene. “Julius brings a wealth of experience to our team and a commitment to advancing corporate diversity initiatives as well as improving the lives of patients and caregivers. We are excited to expand our efforts in this space under Julius’ transformative leadership.”
In addition to Mr. Pryor’s appointment, BeiGene has formed an internal Diversity & Health Equity Council with the goal of expanding the company’s DEI&B initiatives as well as the affordability and accessibility of its medicines and ensuring greater patient diversity in the company’s global clinical trial ecosystem, which has enrolled more than 20,000 patients to date across more than 45 countries and regions.
“BeiGene is engaging in a fundamental shift in how it jointly considers the unique needs of the company’s diverse external stakeholder base and its employees. I’m excited to join this team at a pivotal moment in its growth and continue to ensure that equity and diversity are at the center of our work moving forward,” said Pryor.
Mr. Pryor joins BeiGene from the J. Pryor Group, where he served as a General Managing Partner. Previously, Mr. Pryor held executive roles at Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Genentech, Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), Russell Athletic, Abbott, Takeda, and Cerner. He was Vice President of Global Diversity at both J&J and CCE, and served as Head of Innovation, Diversity & Inclusion at Genentech. He is chair of the Board of Directors at the Center for Healthcare Innovation, a nonprofit research and educational institute making healthcare more equitable.
About BeiGene
BeiGene is a global biotechnology company that is developing and commercializing innovative and affordable oncology medicines to improve treatment outcomes and access for far more patients worldwide. With a broad portfolio, we are expediting development of our diverse pipeline of novel therapeutics through our internal capabilities and collaborations. We are committed to radically improving access to medicines for far more patients who need them. Our growing global team of more than 9,000 colleagues spans five continents, with administrative offices in Basel, Beijing and Cambridge, Mass. To learn more about BeiGene, please visit www.beigene.com and follow us on Twitter at @BeiGeneGlobal.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws, including statements regarding the ability of the Global Head of Diversity and Health Equity to lead BeiGene’s health equity and DEI&B initiatives to combat disparities in healthcare, the potential for the Diversity & Heath Equity Council to improve the affordability and accessibility of BeiGene’s medicines and to provide greater patient diversity in BeiGene’s clinical trials, and BeiGene’s plans, commitments, aspirations, and goals under the heading “About BeiGene.” Actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including BeiGene's ability to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of its drug candidates; the clinical results for its drug candidates, which may not support further development or marketing approval; actions of regulatory agencies, which may affect the initiation, timing and progress of clinical trials and marketing approval; BeiGene's ability to achieve commercial success for its marketed medicines and drug candidates, if approved; BeiGene's ability to obtain and maintain protection of intellectual property for its medicines and technology; BeiGene's reliance on third parties to conduct drug development, manufacturing and other services; BeiGene’s limited experience in obtaining regulatory approvals and commercializing pharmaceutical products and its ability to obtain additional funding for operations and to complete the development of its drug candidates and achieve and maintain profitability; and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on BeiGene’s clinical development, regulatory, commercial, manufacturing, and other operations, as well as those risks more fully discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in BeiGene’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in BeiGene's subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and BeiGene undertakes no duty to update such information unless required by law.
