U.K.-based Avacta Group PLC appointed Jose Saro as chief medical officer.

Saro has more than 20 years of experience in drug development. Most recently he was the senior translational medicine leader at Roche Holding AG's Innovation Center in Zurich, and also worked for Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Eisai Co. Ltd., Novartis AG and other companies.

Avacta operates through two segments, life sciences and animal health. It also offers reagents and therapeutics based on Affimer technology for diagnostic and research applications in the U.K.

Saro will oversee the therapeutic development strategy of Affimer. Affimers are small, engineered proteins that are capable of binding to specific molecular targets in a similar way as antibodies.

"Due to their simple structure, Affimer proteins can be formatted to deliver the right characteristics required for the next generation of immuno-oncology therapeutics," Saro said in a news release.