24 January 2019 - - Swiss biopharmaceutical company Ferring Pharmaceuticals has appointed Sophie Opdyke, Pharm.D., MBA as vice president, general manager, oncology, effective immediately, the company said.

She most recently served as vice president, Immuno-Oncology Lead at Pfize Opdyke's role is Ferring's first major executive appointment of 2019.

She will be responsible for building the US division, leading its day-to-day operations, and shaping its long-term strategic business plan. This includes leading the potential commercial launch of an investigational gene therapy for bladder cancer patients.

Opdyke has more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Most recently at Pfizer, she led the development and execution of Pfizer's strategy in Immuno-Oncology.

Specifically, she oversaw all associated commercial activities from pre-clinical through launch for the company's portfolio, including check point inhibitors, novel Immuno-Oncology targets and innovative technologies such as allogenic CAR-T and immune therapy-based vaccines.

During her tenure, Opdyke was also instrumental in building and leading Pfizer's Global Biosimilars organization, driving a core component of its biotherapeutics strategy.

Opdyke holds a doctorate of Pharmacy and Master of Pharmaceutical Business from Université Paris Descartes and an MBA in finance and international business from Columbia Business School. She will report to Paul Navarre, CEO, Ferring Pharmaceuticals.

Ferring Pharmaceuticals is a research-driven biopharmaceutical company focused on identifying, developing and marketing innovative products in the fields of reproductive health, women's health, urology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, oncology, and orthopaedics.