Panteli Theocharous, PhD, FRCPath
Chief Therapeutics & Clinical Strategy Officer and President of Europe
Dr. Panteli Theocharous serves as Chief Therapeutics & Clinical Strategy Officer and President of Europe at Worldwide Clinical Trials. He leads enterprise therapeutic and clinical strategy, strengthens the company’s scientific positioning, and drives growth in complex, high-value therapeutic areas.
Ask Dr. Theocharous a question
Submit an RFP. Ask a Question
With over 35 years of executive leadership, Panteli brings a unique mix of clinical training, scientific depth, and commercial acumen. He has worked across CRO, pharmaceutical, and venture-backed biotechnology environments. His career covers the full development continuum, from early translational science to regulatory approval, capital formation, and commercial execution. This enables him to translate complex science into scalable clinical and business outcomes.
Panteli’s early clinical leadership in stem cell transplantation and advanced therapies at leading academic institutions laid the foundation for his expertise in hematology, oncology, rare disease, and cell and gene therapy. He is widely recognized for his contributions to translational innovation. This includes pioneering work in minimal residual disease detection and shaping advanced therapeutic strategies in CAR T, gene therapy, and biomarker-driven development.
He has held senior leadership roles across the industry, including as Vice President and Global Biopharma Chief Medical Officer at PPD (a Thermo Fisher Scientific company). There, he established and chaired the Cell & Gene Therapy Institute, advancing global development strategies that directly drove enterprise value creation. His leadership delivered quantifiable results, optimizing large-scale operations, expanding margins, and enabling substantial transaction value.
Panteli has also served as Chief Medical Officer and senior executive at multiple biotech organizations, and as CEO of VectorGen. There, he advanced next-generation lentiviral platforms for precision therapies. As a biotech entrepreneur and board advisor, he brings broad experience in capital formation, investor engagement, and building high-performing, science-led organizations.
Dr. Theocharous holds a PhD in Clinical Cancer Medicine from University College London Cancer Institute, is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists (FRCPath), and earned his MSc in Applied Clinical Hematology and BSc with First Class Honors in Medicinal Biochemistry from King’s College London.
