AskBio Declares Independence After Bayer Acquisition

Will Not Be Hamstrung By Bureaucracy

26 Oct 2020

The gene therapy specialist's CEO Sheila Mikhail tells Scrip she is excited to be getting access to the German group's late-stage clinical and operational expertise while keeping AskBio's entrepreneurial culture and carrying on as an autonomous company on an arm’s-length basis.

3d people - man, person with a financial chart . Businessmen and different part — AskBio will operate as a separate unit of Bayer • Source: Shutterstock

As one of the pioneers of gene therapy, Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. (AskBio) was content to stay independent despite attracting much attention from big pharma, but has now joined the Bayer AG group with both companies insisting that the Research Triangle Park, NC-based biotech's independence will be enhanced not extinguished.

AskBio CEO Sheila Mikhail, who co-founded the company with Jude Samulski in 2000, told Scrip hours after the firm's acquisition...