Panther Life Sciences Hires New R&D Chief

Panther Life Sciences has appointed Dr. Matthew Hepburn as executive vice president of Research and Development. In this role, Dr. Hepburn will drive Panther’s strategic commitment to commercialize its patented MAP technology, with a primary focus on reducing time-to-market and delivering the first commercial product to customers within the next two years.

Dr. Hepburn’s hiring aims to accelerate Panther’s pipeline of treatments across several categories, capitalizing on the multi-billion-dollar market opportunity of shelf stable, direct-to-consumer treatments for immune-mediated diseases and other conditions.  

“With over three decades of experience in drug development and medical innovation, Matt will drive the development and deployment of Panther’s patient-centric MAP treatments,” Panther Life Sciences CEO Carlos Bhola said. “Matt’s leadership and vision are vital as we expand our suite of MAP applications and accelerate commercialization through clinical trials and regulatory approval. Matt truly embodies Panther’s mission of enabling better health for all, globally.”

Dr. Hepburn is a seasoned expert in infectious diseases and played a pivotal role as the COVID-19 vaccine development lead for Operation Warp Speed during the first Trump Administration, where he delivered the first SARS-CoV-2 vaccine shots to patients less than a year after the pandemic’s outbreak. Throughout his U.S. Army and U.S. Department of Defense career, Dr. Hepburn was selected for strategic pandemic preparedness and biodefense roles at the White House. As a physician and U.S. Army veteran with 23 years of service, Dr. Hepburn’s practical experience with patient care and his track record in rapid product development will be instrumental as Panther scales its MAP platform to address various conditions including cancer, allergies and infectious diseases globally.  

“By making our innovative MAP platform widely-accessible, Panther is poised to revolutionize the way treatments are delivered, improving patient outcomes and significantly reducing healthcare cost throughout,” Dr. Hepburn stated. “I am inspired by the potential of Panther’s MAP technology and with our partners, I am fully committed to bringing established and novel treatments to market faster and more efficiently.”

Panther Life Sciences is a life sciences company committed to enabling better health for all. By unlocking the skin’s unique immune properties and applying advanced engineering, via its patented microarray patch (MAP) platform, Panther is improving delivery of shelf-stable treatments directly to consumers globally. Panther’s patient-centric treatments demonstrate higher efficacy with little to no side effects and transform consumers’ end-to-end user experience.