Bilal Arif

Bilal Arif joined Sarepta in 2019 as senior vice president, head of strategy and technical operations where he was central in helping grow the technical operations team and building the Company’s manufacturing capabilities. He was named chief technical operations officer in December 2022. As head of technical operations, Bilal is responsible for the Company’s CMC strategy and global supply chain management for its RNA and gene therapy portfolio.

Having dedicated his entire career to the strategic and operational aspects of manufacturing, Bilal is a well-regarded and recognized leader with over 20 years of relevant biotech, pharma and management experience, including serving as vice president, product strategy & planning, technical operations at Shire. During his tenure at Shire, Bilal served as a member of the technical operations leadership team. His experience spans across supporting early clinical-stage programs through to market authorization. At Shire, Bilal was also responsible for leading the TechOps team responsible for conducting due diligence/integration of new technologies and M&A assets.

“My interest in manufacturing and technical operations is matched by my desire to be a part of the most exciting and promising areas of scientific innovation, which was the primary driver for joining Sarepta. I love the pace, which supports the idea that we are truly dragging tomorrow into today for patients. For these reasons and many more, being at Sarepta in this role and at this time, has been and continues to be a real highlight of my career.”

In touching upon his vision for Sarepta’s CMC strategy, Bilal cited proactive management, preparedness, quick decision making, and recognizing the importance of teamwork as being a promising formula for success.

“Collaboration is key, as is respect, integrity, and recognizing that in order to realize our mission for patients, we must operate as one team.” 

Bilal received his Bachelor of Engineering degree in chemical engineering from McGill University, a Master of Science in Biotechnology from Tufts University, and an MBA from Brown University’/Instituto de Empresa (IE) Business School.