Commitment to Life
Our medicines have a profound impact on lives, because everything we do focuses on that goal
Working together, we solve problems and achieve goals
Kyowa Kirin North America is a fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical company, where people work together to understand clinical needs and opportunities for innovation that can result in real advances for patients. Since 2018, the North American organization has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market 3 first-in-class medicines – achievements we share with the scientific, medical, and advocacy communities who contributed greatly to the success of these programs.
Our values drive our achievements
At Kyowa Kirin, our Core Values drive us to do everything we can to answer the needs of patients, their families, and medical professionals. We act consistently with these Core Values in mind – Commitment to Life, Innovation, Integrity, and Teamwork/Wa.
Integrity
Innovation
Teamwork/Wa*
*Wa = The Japanese principle of seeking the harmony of the team over personal interests.
Teamwork is at the heart
of our business, and our success
Within our walls and across our industry, collaboration is the way Kyowa Kirin North America does business. Our history of innovation is built on forming and fostering collaborations that accelerate the delivery of new science to patients and heighten the impact of every person involved.
Some collaborations start small and grow to deliver extraordinary results. This has been true throughout Kyowa Kirin’s history. The Kirin Amgen joint venture, which lasted from 1984 until 2017, resulted in the development, worldwide commercialization, and manufacturing of epoetin alfa (marketed as Epogen® in the US, Espo® in Japan), filgrastim (Neupogen® in the US, Gran® in Japan), pegfilgrastim (Neulasta® in the US, G-Lasta® in Japan), and darbepoetin alfa (Aranesp® in the US, NESP® in Japan). Today, Kyowa Kirin continues to enjoy strong, enduring relationships with the La Jolla Institute for Immunology Research and a variety of other business partners focused on advancing discoveries for patients. We also continue to work across our business to find new ideas in need of acceleration.
When you join our team, you become part of an organization that believes in an integrated and collaborative approach to solving problems and achieving goals. We welcome people who share our spirit of innovation and enthusiasm for helping patients to join us.
Kyowa Kirin North America Leadership
Gary Zieziula, MBA
President, North America, Director on Board of Directors
Mr. Gary Zieziula became president, Kyowa Kirin North America effective April 1, 2020; he has been a member of the Kyowa Kirin North America Board of Directors since 2019. Prior to joining Kyowa Kirin full time, Mr. Zieziula was president and managing director at EMD Serono, North America, a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, where he drove the commercialization of major products and the establishment of franchises in oncology, central nervous system (CNS), immunology, fertility, and endocrinology. Mr. Zieziula's experience also includes senior commercial and sales leadership roles at AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Roche, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Merck & Co. Mr. Zieziula is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo and also holds a master of business administration degree from Canisius College.
Gary Zieziula, MBA
President, North America, Director on Board of Directors
Ana Bastiani-Posner
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Ana Bastiani-Posner joined Kyowa Kirin in June 2020 as EVP, chief financial officer for Kyowa Kirin North America. Prior to Kyowa Kirin, Ms. Bastiani-Posner held the position of SVP, finance and administration at the New York Genome Center as a member of its executive team. In the last 20 years, Ms. Bastiani-Posner held positions of increasing responsibility in the pharmaceutical industry at Schering-Plough, Novartis and Allergan across multiple functions including R&D, G&A, commercial finance, and corporate financial planning & analysis. She developed deal models, led Merger and acquisition activities, business integration and synergy efforts through several pharmaceutical deals including the proposed mega-merger of Pfizer-Allergan. She is originally from Brazil where she began her finance career in the banking industry in 1985. She holds a bachelor's degree from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul and a master of international management from Thunderbird American Graduate School of International Management.
Ana Bastiani-Posner
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Tara D’Orsi, JD
Executive Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel
Ms. Tara D’Orsi joined Kyowa Kirin in September 2017 and was appointed EVP, chief compliance officer and general counsel in 2019. Prior to joining Kyowa Kirin, Ms. D’Orsi was a member of the Life Sciences group at Lowenstein Sandler LLP, where she advised biotech and pharmaceutical companies on legal and compliance matters throughout a medicine's lifecycle, from development through commercialization. Throughout her career, Ms. D’Orsi has played a leadership role in providing legal and compliance advice designed to minimize risk and achieve her clients’ business objectives. She previously served as the General Counsel of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway and spent 6 years as Senior Counsel of Reliant Pharmaceuticals, before it was acquired by GlaxoSmithKline in 2007. She began her career with a judicial clerkship in the New Jersey State Superior Court before taking positions in the Life Sciences and Healthcare groups at Gibbons PC and K&L Gates LLP.
Tara D’Orsi, JD
Executive Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel
Andrew J. McKnight, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer, Kyowa Kirin Research
Dr. Andrew McKnight joined Kyowa Kirin as chief scientific officer (CSO) in 2015. He currently holds the position of president and CSO at Kyowa Kirin Pharmaceutical Research. He is responsible for early-stage drug discovery within Kyowa Kirin’s Immunology & Allergy division. Dr. McKnight trained as an immunologist. He earned a doctor of philosophy degree from the University of Oxford, followed by post-doctorate work in research labs at Harvard and Oxford. He moved into the biopharma industry with Celltech in the UK (subsequently acquired by UCB) as head of molecular biology and project leader for both inflammatory disease and oncology projects. He joined Pfizer's Global R&D Division in the UK and later transferred to their site in Boston, USA. At Pfizer, Dr. McKnight managed a research group focused on the discovery of fully-human mAbs from individuals who had recovered from bacterial infections and also participated in business development activities while scouting for external scientific alliances with specialized biotechs. In 2012, Dr. McKnight joined AnaptysBio in San Diego, where he was instrumental in reinvigorating their R&D pipeline, resulting in their first independent clinical studies and a successful IPO.
Andrew J. McKnight, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer, Kyowa Kirin Research
Ernesto Aycardi
Chief Development Officer
Dr. Aycardi brings more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and clinical development to his role as Chief Development Officer. Before joining KKNA, he served as Xenon Pharmaceuticals’ Chief Medical Officer. Throughout his career, Dr. Aycardi has also held key roles in clinical development, biostatistics, data management, translational medicine and medical research with Teva Pharmaceuticals, EMD Serono, Biogen Idec and Merck & Co. Dr. Aycardi’s has worked in multiple therapeutic areas throughout his career, but has concentrated heavily in Neurology and conditions of the Central Nervous System. He received his medical degree in his home country of Colombia, and was a practicing neurologist there prior to joining industry.
Ernesto Aycardi
Chief Development Officer
Eslie Dennis, MD, MBChB, FCP(SA)
SVP, Chief Medical Officer Kyowa Kirin North America
Dr. Eslie Dennis joined Kyowa Kirin in May 2021 as SVP, Chief Medical Officer for Kyowa Kirin North America. Prior to joining this organization, she was Vice President and Head Global Medical Affairs at Ventana/Roche Tissue Diagnostics. She is a physician with 10 years experience in clinical practice (internal medicine and hematology/oncology) and research, and over 20 years international biopharma experience holding positions of increasing responsibility in pharmaceutical and diagnostic organizations at MSD, Novartis and Roche, including leadership of public-private consortia at the Critical Path Institute. Throughout her career, Dr. Dennis has championed innovative science and solutions to address unmet needs for patients and society, particularly addressing healthcare disparities. Dr. Dennis received her MBChB from the Godfrey Huggins School of Medicine in Harare, Zimbabwe, and was the recipient of the Winston Churchill, Margaret Low, and Prankard-Jones Scholarships, as well as the Guy Elliot Bursary. She is a Fellow of the College of Physicians of South Africa and received her internal medicine and hematology/oncology training at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.
Eslie Dennis, MD, MBChB, FCP(SA)
SVP, Chief Medical Officer Kyowa Kirin North America
Casilda Barnes, PharmD
Vice President, Head of Regulatory Affairs
Dr. Casilda Barnes is VP of Regulatory Affairs at Kyowa Kirin, North America. Dr. Barnes has more than 25 years of global experience in Regulatory Affairs which includes Pre and post approval regulatory strategy, advertising and promotion regulatory compliance which was gained at leading pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Celgene, and Schering Plough. She has led biologic and small-molecule NDA/BLA filings in oncology, rare disease, neurology, Immunology and Inflammatory disease areas, at all product lifecycle phases through commercialization. Most notably, Dr. Barnes has provided strategic regulatory leadership to successfully bring market applications from filing through approval and post launch, resulting in treatments to include psoriatic arthritis, migraine headaches , and chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting. Dr. Barnes holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy from Howard University and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Albany College of Pharmacy. She recently received her Drug Information Association Regulatory Affairs Certificate (RAC).
Casilda Barnes, PharmD
Vice President, Head of Regulatory Affairs
Paul Testa, MS, MBA
Executive Vice President, Supply Chain and Operations
Mr. Paul Testa joined Kyowa Kirin in 2019 as EVP for supply chain and operations. Previously, he held senior executive positions in global supply chain and operations at Shire (acquired by Takeda) and Johnson & Johnson — most recently leading 500+ professionals in 25+ countries, leading a supply chain strategic transformation, and helping Shire to grow its revenue from $3 billion to ~$15 billion. He earned a bachelor of science degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a master of science degree from Washington University, and a master of business administration degree from Boston University.
Paul Testa, MS, MBA
Executive Vice President, Supply Chain and Operations
Britt Byers, MA
Senior Vice President, Human Resources North America
Nancy Maher
Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer
Toshio Suda, MS
Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Planning Department
Naoki Sawada, RPH
Vice President, Global Product Lead for Poteligeo
Katsuyoshi Tsukii
Vice President, Global Product Lead for istradefylline
Joseph Zarkoski
Vice President, North America Quality Assurance
Doug Grant
General Manager, Canada
Nilay Gami, RPh, MPH
VP, Global Head of PV Operations & NA Regional Head of PV
Lauren Walrath, MBA
Vice President, Public Affairs
Global directors and officers
“Working in Rare Disease at KKNA allows me to take the expertise I developed over the years and take advantage of opportunities to grow professionally, while fulfilling my passion of doing my part to help individuals faced with the challenges of rare and ultra-rare diseases.”
– Angie Dale, Senior Director
Medical Affairs Rare Disease
“Innovation is at the forefront of everything we do; the research labs apply novel technologies, sourcing novel ideas from other academic institutions and bringing them into our organization. Of the three products that have been approved, they’ve all been first-in-class, new molecular entities.
That’s innovation.”
– Deb Braccia, VP
Medical Affairs
