Deborah L. Birx, M.D., was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Armata on July 10, 2023. Prior to joining Armata, Dr. Birx served as a member of Innoviva’s Board of Directors from March 2021 until July 2023.
Dr. Birx is a world-renowned medical expert and leader who most recently served as the response coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Previously, she served as Ambassador-at-Large, when she assumed the role of the Coordinator of the United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS and U.S. Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy. Dr. Birx also served as the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator where she oversaw the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) at the CDC and as the Director of the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (USMHRP) at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.
From 1980 until 2008, Dr. Birx served in the United States Army, retiring with the rank of colonel. Dr. Birx has published over 230 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, authored nearly a dozen chapters in scientific publications, as well as developed and patented vaccines. She received her medical degree from the Hershey School of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University, and beginning in 1980, she trained in internal medicine and basic and clinical immunology at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Birx is board certified in internal medicine, allergy and immunology, and diagnostic and clinical laboratory immunology.
Pierre Kyme, Ph.D., was appointed Chief Business Officer of Armata in June 2024. Dr. Kyme also currently serves as a member of the boards of directors of Armata’s Australian subsidiaries. Dr. Kyme is devoted to Armata’s business and corporate development activities, a role that started at C3J Therapeutics in 2015. Previously, Dr. Kyme served as a lead Scientist and Director of Product Development at C3J Therapeutics from 2012, leading a team that set strategy and delivered key data essential for advancing a lead antimicrobial molecule through Phase 2 human clinical trials. He also contributed to the company’s pipeline programs, providing medical and commercial rationale to justify pipeline expansion. Prior to joining Armata, Dr. Kyme spent 5 years maturing his drug development career at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center leading project teams from concept through preclinical research in infectious disease and immunology. In this capacity, he worked closely with the Technology Transfer Office, and was the recipient of the Malaniak Award for Excellence in Research. Prior to this, in partnership with Qiagen Pty. Ltd., Dr. Kyme worked at Sydney’s Millennium Institute, as part of a priority national grant for urgent research into avian influenza. Dr. Kyme has also served as Scientific Advisor for the Australia Desk and Life Sciences & Healthcare Practice at Cappello Global, a boutique investment bank, and as consultant analyst to a global specialist life sciences investment firm, evaluating multiple therapeutic areas. His work contributed to a $60 million capital raising for a private U.S. oncology biotech, which in 2012 initiated the world’s largest Phase 3 human clinical trial for a melanoma vaccine. Dr. Kyme earned his Ph.D. in Medicine from the University of Sydney, Australia, the bulk of which was accomplished as an invited scholar at the University of Tübingen, Germany. He completed his postdoctoral training at the Michael Smith Laboratories in Vancouver, Canada, under an $8M grant from the Gates Foundation Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative, developing Innate Defense Regulators in partnership with Inimex Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Soligenix).
David House was appointed Senior Vice President, Finance and Principal Financial Officer on August 16, 2024. Previously, Mr. House served as Corporate Controller and Vice President of Accounting at ZO Skin Health, Inc., a multi-channel physician-dispensed skincare company, from October 2018 to May 2024. At ZO Skin Health, he led global accounting operations, managed financial reporting, and played a crucial role in the company’s acquisition by Blackstone. He also established international subsidiaries and oversaw financial integration for mergers and acquisitions. Mr. House’s experience includes similar financial leadership roles at Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, and Avid Bioservices, Inc., a contract development and manufacturing organization, where he served as Controller and was responsible for implementing ASC 606, managing technical accounting, and conducting Securities and Exchange Commissionreporting. Mr. House’s career also includes roles at Viant, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSP), Sourcing Solutions, LLC, and Apria Healthcare, where he held various accounting and financial management positions. In the early stages of his career, Mr. House worked as a Senior Auditor at Windes & McClaughry Accountancy Corp., a public accounting firm. There, he managed comprehensive audits for public, private, and not-for-profit entities and contributed to SEC filings and internal control evaluations. Mr. House holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with an Accounting concentration from California State University, Fullerton. He obtained his California Certified Public Accountant license, which is currently inactive.
Peter leads Armata’s operations team with over 17 years of experience in biotech and pharmaceutical production with companies like Baxter Bioscience, GlaxoSmithKline, Pacira Pharmaceuticals and Kite Pharma. Most recently, he was the Director of Manufacturing at Armata Pharmaceuticals where he led the manufacturing team starting in 2022 and helped to build out greater manufacturing capabilities. Prior to joining Armata, Peter helped to mature manufacturing operations at Kite Pharma. He has experience leading Right First Time Initiatives, cost savings projects, and streamlining manufacturing operations. Peter holds a B.S. degree in Biology from the University of Redlands. He also holds an M.B.A. from Pepperdine Graziadio Business School with an emphasis in Leadership and Organizational Change.
Ms. Arwa Shurrab leads Armata’s regulatory strategy and operations team. Arwa brings 30 years’ experience in global regulatory affairs for biologics across various therapeutic areas including infectious diseases, hematology/oncology, and rare diseases. Her experience covers work in both small and large biotechnology companies, and includes INDs, CTAs, BLAs, MAAs and post-marketing regulatory activities. Prior to joining Armata, Arwa was Senior Director, Strategy and Agency Liaison at ICON plc (previously PRA Health Sciences), a large global clinical research organization, where she oversaw U.S. regulatory affairs for clients from the Asia-Pacific region and other clients worldwide. Arwa previously served as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Catalyst Biosciences (NASDAQ:CBIO) where she led U.S. and global activities. Arwa also served as Director of Regulatory Affairs at Shire (acquired by Takeda), where she led the Hematology CMC team on regulatory strategy development and regulatory submissions worldwide. Prior to Shire, Arwa spent 20 years at Baxter International, Inc. (NYSE:BAX) and Baxalta (NYSE:BXLT) leading regulatory activities, including strategy and CMC, BLA approvals and expansion to over 70 countries. Earlier in her career, Arwa held various positions in quality control and quality assurance. Arwa holds B.S. Degree in Chemistry with a minor in biology from the American University in Cairo (AUC).