China-based Legend Biotech Corporation (NASDAQ: LEGN) has announced the formation of a strategic advisory board and the appointments of Michel Vounatsos, former CEO of Biogen Inc., and John Maraganore, PhD, former CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, as advisors. Mr. Vounatsos and Dr. Maraganore will collaborate closely with Legend Biotech’s leadership team and Board of Directors to provide strategic guidance on initiatives aimed at advancing the company’s cell therapy platforms.
Michel Vounatsos: A Seasoned Leader in Pharmaceutical Strategy and Commercial Operations
Mr. Vounatsos served as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Biogen Inc. from January 2017 to November 2022, following his role as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer since April 2016. His extensive experience at Merck & Co., Inc., where he held various leadership roles in strategy, commercial operations, and business development, will be invaluable to Legend Biotech. Most recently, Mr. Vounatsos led Merck’s global primary care business as President of Primary Care and Merck Customer Centricity. He also served as President of MSD China and held several commercial leadership positions across Europe. Prior to Merck, Mr. Vounatsos held management positions at Ciba-Geigy, which later merged with Sandoz Inc. to form Novartis. He currently serves on the Board of PerkinElmer, Inc., and Zai Lab, and is on the Advisory Board of Tsinghua University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Supervisory Board of LIRYC, the Electrophysiology and Heart Modeling Institute at the University of Bordeaux.
John Maraganore: Pioneering RNA Interference Therapeutics
Dr. Maraganore served as the founding CEO and Director of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals from 2002-2021, leading the company through the approval and global commercialization of the first four RNA interference therapeutic medicines. His tenure at Alnylam saw the company’s market capitalization grow to over $25 billion. Dr. Maraganore remains a member of the Alnylam Scientific Advisory Board. Before Alnylam, he held leadership roles at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in M&A, and strategy, and was responsible for the company’s oncology, cardiovascular, inflammatory, and metabolic diseases businesses. Dr. Maraganore spent ten years at Biogen, Inc. in various business and clinical roles, leading the discovery and development of ANGIOMAX (bivalirudin). He was also a scientist at ZymoGenetics, Inc. and the Upjohn Company.-Fineline Info & Tech
