Burnham Hires Paul Laikind

The La Jolla, CA-based Burnham Institute for Medical Research said it has hired Paul Laikind, the co-founder of Gensia Pharmaceuticals, Viagene, and Metabasis, to be the institute’s senior vice president of business development and chief business officer. The hiring is a sign of the Burnham’s increasing emphasis on spinning out technologies, and forming deals with partners who can further develop and commercialize its ideas, said Greg Lucier, the chairman of the Burnham board of trustees, in a statement.

Author: Luke Timmerman

Luke is an award-winning journalist specializing in life sciences. He has served as national biotechnology editor for Xconomy and national biotechnology reporter for Bloomberg News. Luke got started covering life sciences at The Seattle Times, where he was the lead reporter on an investigation of doctors who leaked confidential information about clinical trials to investors. The story won the Scripps Howard National Journalism Award and several other national prizes. Luke holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and during the 2005-2006 academic year, he was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.