Singapore-based clinical-stage biotechnology company Tessa Therapeutics has appointed a new CEO and president. Thomas Willemsen, who comes with more than 25 years of industry experience, has been appointed as the new CEO and president of the company. He will be based in Tessa’s global headquarters in Singapore.

Before Willemsen’s appointment to the post, John Ng was serving as the acting CEO of Tessa Theraputics since November last year. John will continue as a chief technical officer.

As CEO and president of Tessa, Willemsen will be responsible for maximising the company’s clinical development of immune cell therapies for cancer. Tessa was founded in 2012.

Willemsen, a former Asia-Pacific senior vice president at Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical Company is known for leading the transformation of Takeda across 10 markets and enhancing its focus on rare and genetic diseases, oncology, and vaccines.

Prior to Takeda, Willemsen worked as vice-president for oncology at GlaxoSmithKline for its intercontinental and emerging markets business, as well as GSK’s chairman and general manager in China. He also headed German oncology unit of Merck. He spent 12 years with Merck in Asia-Pacific.