Management Team
Lawrence M. Blatt, Ph.D.
Chairman and CEO
Leonid Beigelman, Ph.D.
President and Director
Leonid Beigelman, Ph.D., has served as President and a member of our board of directors since March 2018. Dr. Beigelman has over 30 years of experience in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery of small molecules and oligonucleotides. Prior to co-founding the Company, he was Vice President of Medicinal Chemistry and Global Head of Discovery of Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, a pharmaceutical company, from September 2014 to March 2018, where he established the Center of Excellence in Nucleic Acids. Prior to that, Dr. Beigelman co-founded Alios BioPharma, Inc. and served as its Chief Scientific Officer before it was acquired by Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson in November 2014. From 2005 to 2009, Dr. Beigelman served as Vice President, Technical Operations at InterMune, Inc. leading teams in hepatitis C virus (“HCV”) drug discovery. From 2002 to 2005, Dr. Beigelman worked at Transgenomic, Inc., a biotechnology company, as Vice President of Nucleic Acids Chemistry. While at Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biotechnology company, from 1992 to 2002 (which became SiRNA Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), Dr. Beigelman assumed positions including Senior Director of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Dr. Beigelman received his Ph.D. in Bioorganic Chemistry from The Institute of Molecular Biology (USSR Academy of Sciences) and completed his post-doctoral training at the Department of Pharmacology, Yale University Medical school. We believe that Dr. Beigelman’s extensive experience as an executive of several companies in the biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, his extensive knowledge of our company and his educational background provides him with the qualifications and skills necessary to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Lesley Ann Calhoun
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Lesley Ann Calhoun has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer since June 2020. From August 2016 to June 2020, Ms. Calhoun served in various roles at Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc., a drug discovery, development and commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, including most recently as Senior Vice President, Finance & Administration and Chief Accounting Officer. Prior to these roles, Ms. Calhoun served as Vice President of Finance at Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc., a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company, from January 2013 to September 2015, continuing in her role after it was acquired by Horizon Pharma plc, a pharmaceutical company, in May 2015. Ms. Calhoun also previously served as Senior Director of Finance, Corporate Controller at Innoviva, Inc. (formerly Theravance, Inc.), a biopharmaceutical company, from August 2005 to January 2013. Earlier in her career, Ms. Calhoun was a member of the audit practice of Deloitte & Touche LLP from 1989 to 2001. Ms. Calhoun received her B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from San Francisco State University, College of Business and is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive).
Lucinda Y. Quan, J.D.
Executive Vice President, Chief Business Officer
and General Counsel
Lucinda Y. Quan, J.D., has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Business Officer & General Counsel since March 2018. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Quan served as the Executive Director of Transactions, Business Development & Licensing at the West Coast Innovations Hub of Merck & Co., a multinational pharmaceutical company, from January 2016 to April 2018. From November 2013 to January 2016, Ms. Quan served as Vice President, Head of Legal Affairs at Alios BioPharma, Inc., which was acquired by Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, a pharmaceutical company, in November 2014. She also served as Vice President, Legal Affairs & Associate General Counsel at InterMune, Inc. (acquired by Roche in September 2014) from September 2004 to November 2013. Prior to InterMune, Inc., Ms. Quan spent seven years in private practice at various law firms, including Clifford Chance LLP, before transitioning to in-house. Ms. Quan received both her B.A. in Business Economics and J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Julian Symons, D.Phil.
Executive Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer
Julian A. Symons, D.Phil., has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer since May 2018. Prior to joining the Company, from January 2010 to March 2015, Dr. Symons served in various roles at Alios BioPharma, Inc., which was acquired by Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, a pharmaceutical company, in November 2014, including Senior Director, Product Development from January 2013 to March 2015, and Vice President, Disease Area Research & Development Leader, Respiratory Infections from March 2015 to April 2018. Prior to his time with Alios BioPharma, Inc., Dr. Symons held positions with the Pharmaceutical Division of F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd and the Departments of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh (1986 – 1990), University of Sheffield (1990 – 1994) and the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford (1994 – 1999). Dr. Symons received a B.Sc. (Hons) I in Biochemistry and Physiology from the University of Central Lancashire, UK and a D.Phil. in Immunology and Autoimmunity from the University of York, UK.
John Fry
Executive Vice President, Clinical Development
Matthew W. McClure, M.D.
Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer
Matthew W. McClure, M.D., has served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer since August 2019. Prior to joining the Company, Dr. McClure served as Chief Medical Officer at Second Genome, Inc., a biotechnology company, from March 2018 to June 2019. From November 2012 to March 2018, Dr. McClure served as Senior Director at Alios BioPharma, Inc., which was acquired by Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, a pharmaceutical company, in November 2014. Prior to his tenure at Alios BioPharma, Inc., Dr. McClure held positions with Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. McClure received a B.S. in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from the University of California, San Diego, and an M.D. from Duke University School of Medicine.
Sushmita M. Chanda, Ph.D., DABT
Executive Vice President, Translational Safety Sciences
Sushmita M. Chanda, Ph.D., serves as our Executive Vice President, Translational Safety Sciences, since August 2018. Prior to joining the Company, from February 2010 to July 2018, Dr. Chanda served as Vice President, Preclinical Development at Alios BioPharma, Inc., which was acquired by Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, a pharmaceutical company. Dr. Chanda was at F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd, a multinational healthcare company, from 2000 to 2010, where over the years she served in various roles of increasing responsibilities, including Senior Director and Head of Nonclinical Safety. Prior to Roche, she was a toxicologist at Sugen Inc., a pharmaceutical company (bought by Pfizer), from May 1998 to January 2000. Dr. Chanda is a Diplomate of American Board of Toxicology (DABT). Dr. Chanda received her B.S. and M.S. from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, India and a Ph.D. in Toxicology and Pharmacology from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship in Toxicology at USEPA through the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
David B. Smith, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President, Head of Chemical Operations
David B. Smith, Ph.D., has been our Head of Chemical Operations since August 2018. In this position, Dr. Smith serves as a member of our Senior Leadership Team and is responsible for all chemistry related functions of the company at our South San Francisco location, including basic and applied chemical research in the areas of Process, Analytical, Nucleos(t)ide and Oligonucleotide Medicinal Chemistry and all related chemical outsourcing efforts. He is also responsible for the coordination and management of Aligos Intellectual Property across our sites. From May 2015 to August 2018, he served as Vice President at Janssen Pharmaceuticals and was the Global Disease Area Stronghold Leader for Hepatology in the Infectious Diseases Therapy Area. From February 2010 to April 2015 he held positions as Associate Director, Director and Senior Director of Product Development at Alios and Janssen. Dr. Smith started his industrial career as an Associate Research Scientist at Syntex in 1991, where he held positions as Research Scientist and Research Scientist II. Following the acquisition of Syntex by Roche in 1995, he continued in this role rising to Principal Research Scientist in 1998, a position he held until February 2010. During the period from 1993 to 2000, while at Syntex and Roche, he held a simultaneous annual position during winter quarter as Consulting Associate Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University, teaching a Special Topics course in Organic Chemistry. Dr. Smith was an NIH post-doctoral scholar at Stanford University from 1989 through 1991. He earned his BS in Chemistry from UC Berkeley in 1984, graduating with highest honors. His graduate work was initiated at Yale University, where he earned the MS and MPhil degrees in 1988, and he completed his Ph.D. at Harvard University in 1989. Dr. Smith has been a Medicinal Chemist, Project Team Lead Chemist, Discovery Team Leader and Development Team Leader and has worked in the area of Infectious Diseases for over 20 years, helping to advance multiple small molecule, nucleos(t)ide and oligonucleotide drug candidates into clinical trials. He is a co-inventor on 72 issued US patents and a co-author on more than 45 peer reviewed scientific publications.
Pierre J.M.B. Raboisson, Pharm.D. Ph.D.
Executive Vice President, Head of Small Molecule Medicinal
Chemistry, Head of Belgium Site (Leuven)
Pierre J.M.B. Raboisson, Pharm.D. Ph.D., has served as our European Site Head in Leuven, Belgium, and Head of small molecule Medicinal Chemistry since September 2018. Dr. Raboisson has over 20 years of experience in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery of small molecules. Prior to establishing the European site and delivering a number of drug candidates for Aligos Therapeutics, Dr Raboisson was Vice President and Research Fellow of Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, a pharmaceutical company, where he was the Global European Head of Medicinal Chemistry from June 2018 to September 2018, having responsibilities across four therapeutic areas: Infectious Diseases, Oncology, Neuroscience and Global Public Health. From September 2016-September 2018, Dr Raboisson served as Vice President and Head of European Research for the Infectious Diseases Therapeutic area of Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. From March 2004-September 2016, Dr Raboisson had increasing responsibilities at Tibotec Therapeutics, which became Janssen Therapeutics, Division of Janssen Products, LP in June 22, 2011. Dr. Raboisson received his Pharmacist Degree and Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University Louis Pasteur from Strasbourg, France and had his post-doctoral training at ArQule Inc, Woburn. We believe that Raboisson’s extensive experience in small molecule research and development, his managerial skills and his educational background provides him with the qualifications and skills necessary to serve as a European Site Head, Head of Small Molecule Medicinal Chemistry and member of our Senior Leadership Team.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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Lawrence M. Blatt, Ph.D.
Chairman and CEO
Lawrence M. Blatt, Ph.D., has served as our Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board of directors since February 2018. Prior to co-founding the Company, Dr. Blatt served as the Global Head of Infectious Diseases and Vaccines at Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, a pharmaceutical company, from November 2014 to February 2018. Dr. Blatt co-founded Alios BioPharma, Inc., a biotechnology company, and served as its Chief Executive Officer, President and Director from January 2009 until its acquisition by Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson in November 2014. Prior to Alios, he served as Chief Scientific Officer at InterMune, Inc., a biotechnology company, from 2002 to 2008. Dr. Blatt currently serves on the board of directors of ReViral Ltd. and previously served on the boards of directors of Alveo Technologies, Inc., which he co-founded in 2014, and Meissa Vaccines, Inc. Dr. Blatt received a B.S. in Microbiology from Indiana University Bloomington, an M.B.A. from California State University, Northridge, and a Ph.D. in Public Health Administration from the University of La Verne. We believe that Dr. Blatt’s extensive experience as an executive of several companies in the biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, his extensive knowledge of our company and his educational background provides him with the qualifications and skills necessary to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Leonid Beigelman, Ph.D.
President and Director
Leonid Beigelman, Ph.D., has served as President and a member of our board of directors since March 2018. Dr. Beigelman has over 30 years of experience in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery of small molecules and oligonucleotides. Prior to co-founding the Company, he was Vice President of Medicinal Chemistry and Global Head of Discovery of Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, a pharmaceutical company, from September 2014 to March 2018, where he established the Center of Excellence in Nucleic Acids. Prior to that, Dr. Beigelman co-founded Alios BioPharma, Inc. and served as its Chief Scientific Officer before it was acquired by Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson in November 2014. From 2005 to 2009, Dr. Beigelman served as Vice President, Technical Operations at InterMune, Inc. leading teams in hepatitis C virus (“HCV”) drug discovery. From 2002 to 2005, Dr. Beigelman worked at Transgenomic, Inc., a biotechnology company, as Vice President of Nucleic Acids Chemistry. While at Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biotechnology company, from 1992 to 2002 (which became SiRNA Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), Dr. Beigelman assumed positions including Senior Director of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Dr. Beigelman received his Ph.D. in Bioorganic Chemistry from The Institute of Molecular Biology (USSR Academy of Sciences) and completed his post-doctoral training at the Department of Pharmacology, Yale University Medical school. We believe that Dr. Beigelman’s extensive experience as an executive of several companies in the biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, his extensive knowledge of our company and his educational background provides him with the qualifications and skills necessary to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Jack B. Nielsen
Lead Independent Director
Jack B. Nielsen has served as a member our board of directors since August 2018. Since August 2017, Mr. Nielsen has also served as a Managing Director at Vivo Capital LLC, a healthcare focused investment firm. Prior to March, 2017, Mr. Nielsen worked within the Novo Holdings A/S organization and its venture activities since 2001 in several roles, most recently being employed as a Senior Partner based in Copenhagen, Denmark. From 2006 to 2012, Mr. Nielsen was employed as a Partner at Novo Ventures (US) Inc. in San Francisco, where he established the office which provides certain consultancy services to Novo Holdings A/S. Mr. Nielsen is currently a member of the board of directors of Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and ALX Oncology Holdings Inc., both of which are publicly traded companies, and a number of private companies. Mr. Nielsen, in the past, has served on the boards of directors of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc., Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Merus, N.V. and Apollo Endosurgery, Inc., each of which is publicly traded. Mr. Nielsen received a M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark and a Masters in Management of Technology and Economics from the Center for Technology, Economics and Management, Technical University of Denmark. We believe that Mr. Nielsen’s experience as a venture capital investor in and director of life sciences companies provides him with the qualifications and skills necessary to serve as a member of our board of directors.
K. Peter Hirth, Ph.D.
Director
K. Peter Hirth, Ph.D., has served as a member of our board of directors since August 2018. In 2001, Dr. Hirth co-founded Plexxikon, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, and served as its Chief Executive Officer until April 2013. Dr. Hirth currently serves on the boards of directors of Vaxcyte, Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company, and several private companies. Dr. Hirth holds a M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics from Heidelberg University, Germany and completed his post-doctoral work at the University of California, San Diego. We believe that Dr. Hirth’s extensive experience in the biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and his educational background provides him with the qualifications and skills necessary to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Carole Nuechterlein, J.D.
Director
Carole Nuechterlein, J.D., has served as a member of our board of directors since August 2018. Ms. Nuechterlein joined F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. in 2001 and currently serves as a Deputy Director and Head of the Roche Venture Fund. She currently serves as a member of the boards of directors of Millendo Therapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, and a number of private companies, including Entrada Therapeutics, Inc., MacuLogix, Inc., Vivet Therapeutics, CiVi Biopharma, Inc., Mission Therapeutics Ltd., Arch Oncology, Inc., Second Genome, Inc., and Lysosomal Therapeutics Inc. Ms. Nuechterlein previously served as a member of the board of directors of the publicly traded gene therapy company AveXis, Inc., from October 2014 to May 2017, prior to its acquisition by Novartis International AG. She received a B.A. in English and Humanities from Valparaiso University and a J.D. from the University of Michigan. We believe that Ms. Nuechterlein’s extensive experience as a venture capital investor in, and director of, several biotechnology companies, provides her with the qualifications and skills necessary to serve as a member of our board of directors.
Thomas Woiwode, Ph.D.
Director
Thomas Woiwode, Ph.D., has served as a member of our board of directors since August 2018. Dr. Woiwode has served in various roles at Versant Venture Management, LLC, a healthcare investment firm, since 2002, including serving as a Managing Director since July 2014. He also served as the Chief Operating Officer of Okairos AG, a biopharmaceutical company developing genetic vaccines for major infectious diseases, from April 2011 until May 2013 when it was acquired by GlaxoSmithKline plc. Prior to Okairos, Dr. Woiwode co-founded EuroVentures, a wholly owned biotechnology incubator within Versant Ventures, and in this role, served as the founding Chief Business Officer for three biotechnology companies created within Versant Ventures. Before joining Versant Ventures, Dr. Woiwode served as a Research Scientist at XenoPort, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. He currently serves on the boards of directors of Gritstone Oncology, Inc., a publicly traded immuno-oncology company, Passage Bio, Inc., a publicly traded genetic medicines company, and Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc., a publicly traded gene therapy company, as well as several private companies. He previously served on the board of directors of Audentes Therapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded AAV-based genetic medicines company, from July 2013 to July 2017 and CRISPR Therapeutics AG, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, from April 2014 to June 2019. Dr. Woiwode holds a B.A. in English and a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Stanford University. We believe that Dr. Woiwode’s experience in the biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, his educational background and his experience as a venture capital investor in life sciences companies provides him with the qualifications and skills necessary to serve as a member of our board of directors.
James Scopa
Director
James Scopa has served as a member of our board of directors since April 2021. Mr. Scopa served as a Managing Director of MPM Capital from May 2005 to June 2017. Mr. Scopa spent the prior 15 years working at Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown and Thomas Weisel Partners advising growth companies in biopharmaceuticals and medical devices. At Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown Mr. Scopa served as Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Healthcare Investment Banking, and at Thomas Weisel Partners Mr. Scopa served on the Investment Committee for TWP’s Health Care venture fund as well as Co-Director of Healthcare Investment Banking. Mr. Scopa currently serves on the board of directors of various biotechnology companies, including Neuron 23 Inc., DiCE Molecules, Blade Therapeutics, Inc., and Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc. He previously served on the boards of Semma Therapeutics (sold to Vertex Pharmaceuticals), True North Therapeutics (sold to Bioverativ), iPierian, Inc. (sold to Bristol Myers Squibb), Conatus, Inc. and Solasia KK. Mr. Scopa also currently serves as a member of the Investment Advisory Committee and Advisory Board of One Ventures, an Australian based venture capital firm. Mr. Scopa holds an A.B. from Harvard College, an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. We believe that Mr. Scopa’s extensive experience in the biotechnology and biopharmaceuticals industries and his service as a director for numerous companies provides him with the qualifications and skills necessary to serve as a member of our board of directors.