Leadership
Adam Simpson
Chief Executive Officer
Adam Simpson is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Icosavax. He has substantial life science operational and emerging company experience and has executed significant partnering and acquisition transactions. Previously, Adam was CEO of PvP Biologics, another spinout from University of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design (IPD), from company creation through its sale to Takeda. Prior to joining PvP Biologics, he was the president and chief operating officer of Cypher Genomics, a genome interpretation company focused on biomarker discovery to facilitate
Adam Simpson
Adam Simpson is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Icosavax. He has substantial life science operational and emerging company experience and has executed significant partnering and acquisition transactions. Previously, Adam was CEO of PvP Biologics, another spinout from University of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design (IPD), from company creation through its sale to Takeda. Prior to joining PvP Biologics, he was the president and chief operating officer of Cypher Genomics, a genome interpretation company focused on biomarker discovery to facilitate drug development, through its sale to Human Longevity, Inc. Prior to that, Adam was a cofounder and chief business officer of Meritage Pharma, a company developing treatments for upper gastrointestinal disorders, from company creation through its staged sale to Shire, and at Verus Pharmaceuticals, a company focused on treatments for asthma and anaphylaxis, where as general counsel he led its sale to AstraZeneca and Shionogi. He has been a cofounder of four additional life sciences companies that have either gone public or been acquired. Adam started his career as an attorney at Latham & Watkins. He holds a B.S. in biochemistry from the University of California, San Diego, and received his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School.
Douglas Holtzman, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Chief Scientific Officer
Douglas Holtzman, Ph.D., M.P.H. is the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of Icosavax. He has more than 25 years of experience in industry and the philanthropic sector leading and funding innovative research and development activities with an emphasis on vaccines. Prior to Icosavax, he was Vice President, Discovery at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, where he led a team working on dengue and norovirus vaccine candidates. He was also a member of the management committee that helped to globalize Takeda’s Japan-based vaccines business. Prior
Douglas Holtzman, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Douglas Holtzman, Ph.D., M.P.H. is the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of Icosavax. He has more than 25 years of experience in industry and the philanthropic sector leading and funding innovative research and development activities with an emphasis on vaccines. Prior to Icosavax, he was Vice President, Discovery at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, where he led a team working on dengue and norovirus vaccine candidates. He was also a member of the management committee that helped to globalize Takeda’s Japan-based vaccines business. Prior to Takeda, Doug was Deputy Director, Childhood Pneumonia, at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he developed strategies to tackle the global burden of childhood pneumonia, including RSV, through novel vaccine and vaccination programs and increased access to care. He received his Ph.D. in molecular and cell biology from UC Berkeley and his public health training from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Niranjan Kanesa-thasan, M.D., MTMH, FIDSA, FASTMH
Chief Medical Officer
Niranjan Kanesa-thasan, M.D., MTMH, FIDSA, FASTMH is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Icosavax and is a global medical executive with a successful 25-year career in vaccine research and development leading to seven licensed vaccines. He has extensive leadership and management experience in the biopharmaceutical industry (vice president, GSK Vaccines and Novartis Vaccines; Acambis, acquired by Sanofi Pasteur), government (Walter Reed Army Institute for Research, US Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases), and academia (Uniformed Services University of the
Niranjan Kanesa-thasan, M.D., MTMH, FIDSA, FASTMH
Niranjan Kanesa-thasan, M.D., MTMH, FIDSA, FASTMH is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Icosavax and is a global medical executive with a successful 25-year career in vaccine research and development leading to seven licensed vaccines. He has extensive leadership and management experience in the biopharmaceutical industry (vice president, GSK Vaccines and Novartis Vaccines; Acambis, acquired by Sanofi Pasteur), government (Walter Reed Army Institute for Research, US Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases), and academia (Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, University Hospitals of Cleveland). His special expertise is in emerging infectious diseases and virus vaccines. Niranjan received an M.D. from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, a Masters in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (MTMH) from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University. He completed residency training and chief residency in pediatrics and a fellowship in pediatric infectious disease and geographic medicine.
Thomas Russo
Chief Financial Officer
Thomas Russo is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Icosavax. He has more than 25 years of diverse industry experience, including in finance and operations for public biopharma companies, as well as in the investment community. Prior to Icosavax, Tom was CFO of Assembly Biosciences, where he contributed to more than $220 million of gross proceeds raised through the capital markets and non-dilutive sources of financing. Previously, he held roles across finance and commercial operations Gilead Sciences, Inc., including serving
Thomas Russo
Thomas Russo is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Icosavax. He has more than 25 years of diverse industry experience, including in finance and operations for public biopharma companies, as well as in the investment community. Prior to Icosavax, Tom was CFO of Assembly Biosciences, where he contributed to more than $220 million of gross proceeds raised through the capital markets and non-dilutive sources of financing. Previously, he held roles across finance and commercial operations Gilead Sciences, Inc., including serving as Vice President, Head of Commercial Finance. In that role, he supported a $20-30 billion revenue business across North America, Europe, Asia, and emerging markets. Prior to Gilead, Mr. Russo was Equity Research Senior Analyst covering biotechnology for Robert W. Baird & Co, where he earned WSJ Best on the Street recognition. Earlier in his career, he was at Merck & Co., in roles of increasing responsibility within the manufacturing division with a particular focus on vaccines. Mr. Russo received a B.S. in biological sciences from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is also a CFA charterholder.
Cassia Cearley, Ph.D.
Chief Business Officer
Cassia Cearley, Ph.D. is the Chief Business Officer (CBO) of Icosavax. Cassia has worked with pharmaceutical companies in various roles for more than 10 years. Prior to joining Icosavax, Cassia was the vice president of research for Aptinyx Inc., where she led a team responsible for building a portfolio of small molecule NMDA receptor modulators. Prior to this, Cassia was on the corporate development team of Naurex Inc, which was responsible for the spinout of Aptinyx Inc. and the sale
Cassia Cearley, Ph.D.
Cassia Cearley, Ph.D. is the Chief Business Officer (CBO) of Icosavax. Cassia has worked with pharmaceutical companies in various roles for more than 10 years. Prior to joining Icosavax, Cassia was the vice president of research for Aptinyx Inc., where she led a team responsible for building a portfolio of small molecule NMDA receptor modulators. Prior to this, Cassia was on the corporate development team of Naurex Inc, which was responsible for the spinout of Aptinyx Inc. and the sale of Naurex to Allergan. Previously, Cassia worked at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, where she was the director of portfolio management. Prior to Takeda, Cassia was an engagement manager with the life sciences practice of L.E.K. Consulting. Cassia received a Ph.D. in neuroscience from University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in neuroscience from the Washington State University Honors College.
Elizabeth Bekiroğlu
General Counsel
Elizabeth Bekiroglu is the General Counsel of Icosavax. She brings more than 15 years of experience advising pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies on a broad range of legal matters. Prior to joining Icosavax, Ms. Bekiroğlu was Associate General Counsel at Seagen, where she helped lead and build the legal affairs group as Seagen transformed into a multi-product, multinational company. Previously, she led the legal function at Oncothyreon, where she handled a wide range of corporate, securities, clinical, manufacturing, licensing and transactional
Elizabeth Bekiroğlu
Elizabeth Bekiroglu is the General Counsel of Icosavax. She brings more than 15 years of experience advising pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies on a broad range of legal matters. Prior to joining Icosavax, Ms. Bekiroğlu was Associate General Counsel at Seagen, where she helped lead and build the legal affairs group as Seagen transformed into a multi-product, multinational company. Previously, she led the legal function at Oncothyreon, where she handled a wide range of corporate, securities, clinical, manufacturing, licensing and transactional matters. Prior to Oncothyreon, Ms. Bekiroğlu served in roles of increasing responsibility at Emergent BioSolutions and Trubion Pharmaceuticals. Ms. Bekiroğlu began her legal career as a corporate associate at Fenwick & West LLP and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, where she advised early stage and public biopharmaceutical companies. Ms. Bekiroğlu received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in Human Biology from Stanford University.
Charles Richardson, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Technical Operations
Charles (Chuck) Richardson, Ph.D. is the senior vice president (SVP), Technical Operations of Icosavax, with responsibility for CMC development and manufacturing for Icosavax vaccines. Chuck has more than 30 years of experience in biopharmaceutical development with demonstrated leadership capability in a global environment. His experience includes planning, implementing, and managing research and product development, as well as manufacturing and engineering and quality systems. Prior to joining Icosavax, he was vice president, head of Global CMC for Takeda Vaccines, with responsibility
Charles Richardson, Ph.D.
Charles (Chuck) Richardson, Ph.D. is the senior vice president (SVP), Technical Operations of Icosavax, with responsibility for CMC development and manufacturing for Icosavax vaccines. Chuck has more than 30 years of experience in biopharmaceutical development with demonstrated leadership capability in a global environment. His experience includes planning, implementing, and managing research and product development, as well as manufacturing and engineering and quality systems. Prior to joining Icosavax, he was vice president, head of Global CMC for Takeda Vaccines, with responsibility for CMC development and clinical manufacture of Takeda global vaccines; executive vice president, Research and Development for LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals, Inc., with a focus on infectious disease vaccines; and vice president and site manager, Corixa Corporation, with responsibilities for adjuvant discovery and development, corporate manufacturing, and quality systems. Chuck received a B.S. in chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University and a Ph.D. in biological chemistry from the University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine.
Board of Directors
Mark McDade
Chair
Mark McDade
Mark McDade, is a managing partner at Qiming Venture Partners USA, based in Cambridge, Mass. Before joining Qiming, he was executive vice president, chief operating officer, and an executive committee member at UCB. He led UCB’s worldwide Geographic Operations, Established Brands, Technical Operations and Business Development. Prior to UCB, Mark served as CEO and a director of PDL Biopharma, an antibody-based biopharma. Prior to PDL, he served as CEO of Signature Bioscience. Mark was founder and a director of Corixa Corporation (sold to GSK), where he served as president and chief operating officer (COO). Before Corixa, Mark was COO of Boehringer Mannheim Therapeutics, the bio-pharmaceutical division of Corange, and prior to that held several positions at Sandoz Ltd. Including business development, product management, and general management. Mark serves on the board of directors for three publicly traded biotechs: FivePrime Therapeutics (FPRX), Dermira (DERM), and Aimmune Therapeutics (AIMT). Mark received a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Terry Gould
Director
Terry Gould
Terry Gould is a partner and Head of Growth Equity Investments, Adams Street Partners. Terry invests in venture and growth-oriented companies with a focus on the healthcare space. Terry sits on the board of directors of Aptinyx, Atox Bio, Corvus, Fusion Pharmaceuticals, Orbus, Outpost Medicine, Partner Therapeutics, and Qpex. He is a board observer at Millendo. He is a former board member at CombiChem, INC Research, Incline Therapeutics, and Proteus Digital Health. He is responsible for several other successful investments including Heartport, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Naurex Pharmaceuticals, NxStage Medical, Pharmacyclics, Rempex Pharmaceuticals, Revivant, Spinal Dynamics, and Vivant Medical. Terry is chairman of the Adams Street Partners Growth Equity Investment Committee, as well as a member of the firm’s Co-Investment Committee and Executive Committee.
Peter Kolchinsky, Ph.D.
Director
Peter Kolchinsky, Ph.D.
Peter Kolchinsky, Ph.D., is a biotechnology investor and a scientist. He cofounded and runs the Boston-based investment firm RA Capital Management; writes and teaches about biomedical entrepreneurship and its potential to transform global health; serves on the boards of several public and private drug development companies; and lives in Massachusetts with his historian/equestrian wife, strong-willed children, and reasonably well-trained dog. In addition to The Great American Drug Deal, he is the author of The Entrepreneur’s Guide to a Biotech Startup. Dr. Kolchinsky served on the Board of Global Science and Technology for the National Academy of Sciences and writes about the biotech social contract. He holds a B.A. from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in virology from Harvard University.
Heidi Kunz
Director
Heidi Kunz
Heidi Kunz served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Blue Shield of California from September 2003 until her retirement in December 2012. Prior to joining Blue Shield of California, she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Gap, Inc. from 1999 to January 2003. From 1995 to 1999, Heidi served as the Chief Financial Officer of ITT Industries, Inc. She has also held senior financial management positions at General Motors Corporation, including Vice President and Treasurer during her 16-year tenure from 1979 to 1995. Heidi currently serves as a director of Agilent Technologies Inc., Avanos Medical, Inc., and Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and previously served as a director of Financial Engines, Inc., an investment advisement company. Ms. Kunz received an MBA in finance and accounting from Columbia Business School and a bachelor’s degree in Russian language from Georgetown University.
Adam Simpson
Chief Executive Officer
Adam Simpson
Adam Simpson is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Icosavax. He has substantial life science operational and emerging company experience and has executed significant partnering and acquisition transactions. Previously, Adam was CEO of PvP Biologics, another spinout from University of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design (IPD), from company creation through its sale to Takeda. Prior to joining PvP Biologics, he was the president and chief operating officer of Cypher Genomics, a genome interpretation company focused on biomarker discovery to facilitate drug development, through its sale to Human Longevity, Inc. Prior to that, Adam was a cofounder and chief business officer of Meritage Pharma, a company developing treatments for upper gastrointestinal disorders, from company creation through its staged sale to Shire, and at Verus Pharmaceuticals, a company focused on treatments for asthma and anaphylaxis, where as general counsel he led its sale to AstraZeneca and Shionogi. He has been a cofounder of four additional life sciences companies that have either gone public or been acquired. Adam started his career as an attorney at Latham & Watkins. He holds a B.S. in biochemistry from the University of California, San Diego, and received his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School.
Ann Veneman
Director
Ann Veneman
Ann Veneman has a distinguished career in public service, serving as the Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) from 2005 to 2010 and as the United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2001 to 2005. She also served as Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture from 1995 to 1999. From 1986 to 1993, she served in various positions in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), including Deputy Secretary, Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs, and Associate Administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service. Ann currently serves on the boards of directors for Nestlé S.A., Full Harvest, the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), and the Washington Institute for Business, Government and Society. She has served as a fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health and the U.C. Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy. Ann has also practiced law in Washington, DC and California in both the private and public sectors. Ms. Veneman holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Davis, a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
Scientific Advisory Board
and Key Advisors
Neil King, Ph.D.
Chair, Scientific Advisory Board
Neil King, Ph.D.
Neil is chair of Icosavax’s scientific advisory board. He is an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington. During his postdoctoral research, he pioneered the development of general computational methods for designing self-assembling proteins with atomic-level accuracy. His group is extending these methods to design functional protein nanomaterials for applications in the targeted delivery of biologics and the design of next-generation vaccines. His work has been published in top-tier journals including Science, Nature, and Cell, and he has won several awards, including the 2018 Amgen Young Investigator Award.
Ralf Clemens, M.D.
Development Advisor and SAB Member
Ralf Clemens, M.D.
Dr. Ralf Clemens is a development advisor and SAB member and a leading expert in vaccinology with more than 30 years of experience in global vaccine development. He has developed and brought to licensure more than 25 different vaccines globally. Dr. Clemens served as a Senior Vice President of Development for the Global Vaccine Business Unit at Takeda Pharmaceuticals International, and prior to that as Global Head of Vaccine Development for Novartis Vaccines as well as Vice President, Global Clinical R&D of GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines and of GSK’s Pharmaceuticals and Vaccines division in Latin America. Dr. Clemens is founder and president of GRID EUROPE (Global Research in Infectious Diseases EUROPE), and serves as an advisor to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Africa Research Excellence Fund (AREF) and of the International Vaccine Institute IVI in Korea as well as a member of the supervisory board at CureVac AG. He also serves on the scientific committees of GHIT, CEPI, and Valneva SE. Dr. Clemens is the author of more than 170 publications and 250 presentations in the fields of vaccines, immunization, and tropical medicine. He holds a M.D. from the University of Mainz, Germany and an executive business degree from the Wharton Business School, Philadelphia
Jean-Paul Prieels, Ph.D.
SAB Member
Jean-Paul Prieels, Ph.D.
Jean-Paul Prieels is a member of Icosavax’s scientific advisory board. He started his industrial career at Petrofina in 1983 as biotechnology manager and joined GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals (now GSK Vaccines) in 1987. His responsibilities gradually expanded to lead the vaccine preclinical R&D development activities as Senior Vice President of Research and Development at GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals in Rixensart, Belgium, until 2011. His career spans from basic research to applied research and product development. He was instrumental in the development of several commercially available vaccines, including Rotarix, Cervarix, and Synflorix. Today, he is director at NCardia, Themis, Leukocare, Nouscom, DNAlytics, and PDC*Line Pharma. He is a member of the scientific advisory board of Singapore Bioprocessing Technology Institute, CureVac, Imcyse, and Vaximm, and a member of the European Vaccine Initiative Board of Stakeholders. Dr. Prieels holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium.
David Baker Ph.D.
Co-founder
David Baker Ph.D.
David Baker Ph.D., is a co-founder of Icosavax. He is director of the Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington School of Medicine, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator. Dr. Baker is a biochemist and computational biologist whose research focuses on the prediction of macromolecular structures and functions. He is the director of the Rosetta Commons, a consortium of labs and researchers that develop the Rosetta biomolecular structure prediction and design program, which has been extended to the distributed computing project Rosetta@Home and the online computer game Foldit. He received his Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of California, Berkeley and did postdoctoral work in biophysics at University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Baker has received numerous awards in recognition of his work, including the AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize, the Sackler International Prize in Biophysics, the Overton Prize from the International Society of Computational Biology, and the Feynman Prize from the Foresight Institute. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Sciences.
Christian Mandl, M.D., Ph.D.
SAB Member
Christian Mandl, M.D., Ph.D.
Christian Mandl, M.D., Ph.D., is a member of Icosavax’s scientific advisory board and has an accomplished academic career in molecular and clinical virology and more than a decade of experience in large pharma R&D global leadership. He is a recognized expert in the area of infectious diseases, vaccines, and innovative technologies such as molecular structure, RNA vectors and vaccines. He currently serves as the cofounder and scientific advisory board (SAB) chair for Tiba Biotech, SAB chair for Themis Bioscience GmbH, and scientific advisory group chair for the International Vaccine Institute. Previously he was the Senior Vice President of Research for VIR Bio. Until 2015, he served as Global Head of Research, Early and Exploratory Clinical Development at Novartis Vaccines, leading more than 300 discovery and clinical researchers in the development of a broad range of viral and bacterial vaccines, adjuvants, and delivery platforms, including the self-amplifying RNA technology (SAM), which was inspired by his previous academic research. Prior to joining Novartis in 2008, Dr. Mandl was a professor and assistant head of the Clinical Institute of Virology at the Medical University of Vienna. His academic research focused on molecular mechanisms of RNA viruses, their interactions with host organisms targeting novel medical applications, enabling new antiviral strategies and applications in vaccine development or viral gene vectors. He has authored more than 100 scientific publications and is an inventor on patents related to marketed tick-borne encephalitis (flavivirus) vaccine, the SAM technology, and other antiviral approaches. Dr. Mandl holds a Ph.D. and M.D. from University of Vienna and a M.S. in biochemistry from Pennsylvania State University.
Barney S. Graham, M.D., Ph.D.
SAB Member
Barney S. Graham, M.D., Ph.D.
Barney S. Graham, M.D., Ph.D. is a member of Icosavax’s scientific advisory board and inventor of DS-Cav1, the clinically validated RSV F antigen incorporated into IVX-121. Dr. Graham is an immunologist, virologist, and clinical trials physician whose primary interests are viral pathogenesis, immunity, and vaccine development. His work is focused on HIV, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and emerging viral diseases. After graduating from Rice University, he obtained his M.D. from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1979. He then completed residency and two chief residencies in internal medicine, a fellowship in infectious diseases, and a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, where he rose to the rank of professor of Medicine with a joint appointment in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. In 2000, he became one of the founding investigators for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where he is now the deputy director and chief of the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory and oversees the advanced development of VRC candidate vaccine products. Dr. Graham is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the American Association of Physicians and a fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America and the American Academy of Microbiology. He has authored more than 280 scientific publications and has been on the editorial boards for the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Journal of Virology, Journal of Infectious Diseases, and Journal of AIDS.