XOMA Corp. (NSDQ:XOMA) has installed Heather L. Franklin to its board of directors. Franklin is the president and chief executive officer of the biotech company Blaze Bioscience, Inc. (Seattle).

Franklin has more than a decade of leadership experience at the development-stage oncology firm Blaze and another 10 years of business development experience at ZymoGenetics.

“I am excited to join XOMA with its clear focus on expanding its portfolio of potential royalty assets via acquisition transactions,” said Franklin in a statement. “The XOMA strategy fits nicely with my licensing and transactions background and experience. I look forward to joining the board and helping the company provide an innovative financing alternative for early to mid-clinical stage biotechnology companies.”

Emeryville, Calif.–based ZOMA is a biotech royalty aggregator. The company has more than 70 assets in its portfolio.

In late July, the company announced that its experimental drug NIS793 won orphan drug designation from the FDA for pancreatic cancer. The drug would be a first-in-class antibody specific for Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGFβ).