As Vice President of Immuno-Oncology and Cell & Gene Therapy (CAGT) at IQVIA Biotech, Erin Finot leads the dedicated CAGT strategy and delivery team, ensuring customers meet their trial program goals with high quality and access to deep expertise and innovative solutions. With more than 20 years of experience in global clinical research, Erin combines her extensive knowledge of drug development processes and therapeutics to support IQVIA Biotech’s team of functional experts. Erin’s intrinsic scientific curiosity sparked her career and still fuels the drive and energy that she brings to work each day. The pursuit of innovation and the desire to break scientific boundaries, to find resolutions for patients in need, helps set the foundation for successful partnerships with biotech sponsors advancing cell and gene therapies.
As a student, Erin gravitated toward science and biology, aiming to uncover new or better ways of doing things. It was her first position with a biotechnology company developing a non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma vaccine that launched her career in immuno-oncology and CAGT research. Inspired by hearing directly from trial participants about how access to the innovative vaccine treatment enhanced their quality of life and allowed them to experience milestone moments with their loved ones, Erin was committed to help bring life-changing medicines to patients in need. Throughout her professional journey, her experience has been enriched through roles in global clinical research organizations, academia, research sites, and private research organizations, all while gaining an understanding of translational research and clinical delivery for CAGT therapies. She understands how scientific excellence can result in value for patients from various perspectives, helping her to better support development from different angles.
To this day, the inspiration from her first position and first clinical trial has not left her. The importance of discovery and the privilege of supporting strong science, creating more value for patients, and leading a team of industry leaders is at the center of her work. In her partnerships with biotech sponsors developing novel CAGT therapies, Erin sees how collective curiosity, collaborative skillsets and competitive pursuit of leading-edge medicines are converging. In the tight race among companies to improve therapeutic options and the quality of life for patients, Erin and her team thrive to provide customers with informed strategic guidance.
Leveraging expert knowledge in CAGT and trial operations, project management, global lab services and additional tailored solutions, the team helps sponsors make smarter and faster decisions around their trial programs, ranging from which indication or asset to select to sites and countries to deliver trial excellence and support registrational ambitions. Overall, this consultative support in CAGT accelerates delivery and helps get therapeutic options to patients in need, faster.
Erin takes pride in cultivating a team culture where patient-centered, purpose-filled research is a top priority. Erin says she still gets goosebumps when notified of the first patient enrolled in a study – thinking immediately of the patient and their family. She gets an adrenaline rush after hearing emerging safety signals and realizing the potential improvements in a patient’s daily life. With a CAGT strategy and delivery team filled with similar curiosity, ambition, and privilege to support biotech innovation, Erin knows the best is yet to come for patients needing viable treatment options.
Erin has a B.A. in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, a Master of Science in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Virginia, and a Master of Business Administration in Accounting and Finance (cum laude) from Louisiana State University at Shreveport. Erin lives in Charlottesville, VA with her husband and two children.
Having an experienced strategy team of experts for your CAGT clinical development program(s) can be critical to your trial’s success. Contact us to learn how our dedicated team can support your study.