SciFluor Life Sciences Appoints Life Sciences Executive Arthur Hiller as CEO

SciFluor Life Sciences, LLC, a drug development technology company that provides a revolutionary capability to enable late-stage fluorination of pharmaceutical drug candidates, announced that it has appointed Arthur Hiller, recent CEO of venture-backed cardiovascular device start-up Heartscape Technologies, Inc., and former Senior Vice President at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, as its Chief Executive Officer. The company utilizes patented technology developed by Tobias Ritter, PhD., Associate Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University, to provide drug companies with a new tool in their arsenal to increase the likelihood of bringing new drug candidates to market."Despite its potential to improve stability, potency, bioavailability and other key attributes that enhance the profile of a drug, the addition of fluorine to underlying structures of new drug candidates has often proved elusive or technically challenging to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies," according to Hiller. "The patented SciFluor technology offers companies a solution to the challenge of fluorination that has the potential to significantly accelerate and improve the drug discovery and development process," he said. Hiller went on to say that "the platform also gives SciFluor an opportunity to identify fluorinated versions of currently marketed products that may support partnerships with drug companies and ultimately offer physicians and their patients new and enhanced treatment options."Hiller brings to SciFluor a strong record of successful leadership and start-up experience across pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical devices. Most recently, at Heartscape he raised $22M in B-round funding, built a Management and field team that placed the novel ECG cardiovascular technology in 30 institutions nationwide, and ultimately closed a transaction for the sale of the technology to the medical device subsidiary of a $5B Fortune 1000 company. Prior to Heartscape, Hiller held executive positions in general management, marketing, sales, and business development at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Merck and Co."We believe the SciFluor technology platform has the potential to be a game-changer in addressing one of the key challenges in drug development," said Chris Silva, CEO of the private equity company Allied Minds, which recently invested $5 million in SciFluor. "Arthur brings a highly relevant balance of experience, creativity and leadership to the SciFluor organization," he said.