Board of Directors
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Raymond
Deshaies, Ph.D.
Director
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Raymond Deshaies, Ph.D., joined our Board in July 2025. Dr. Deshaies is a pioneering biochemist and cell biologist with more than 25 years of experience in biotechnology and drug development. He recently served as senior vice president of global research at Amgen Inc., where he oversaw all research activities, including the nomination of over 50 clinical candidates, expansion of Amgen’s capabilities for discovering and optimizing multispecific drug candidates, and application of generative protein design to biologics discovery. Prior to joining Amgen in 2017, he was a professor in the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering (BBE) at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he remains an external affiliate. During his tenure at Caltech, he also served as executive officer of the BBE Division. In 2003, Dr. Deshaies co-founded Proteolix, which discovered carfilzomib, a selective proteasome inhibitor for the treatment of patients with advanced multiple myeloma, marketed as KYPROLIS®. He later founded Cleave Biosciences, which was focused on modulating protein homeostasis pathways. Dr. Deshaies co-authored over 170 scientific papers and is an international leader in the fields of protein homeostasis and targeted protein degradation. He was named an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in 2000 and elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences in 2011 and 2016, respectively. Dr. Deshaies earned his B.S. in biochemistry from Cornell University and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. He completed postdoctoral research at Berkeley and at the University of California, San Francisco. We believe Dr. Deshaies’ experience in biotechnology company leadership qualifies him to serve on our Board.
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Ellen G.
Feigal, M.D.
Director
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Ellen G. Feigal, M.D. joined our Board in November 2018. Dr. Feigal has more than 30 years of drug development and healthcare regulatory experience. Dr. Feigal has served as a partner at NDA Partners, a strategy consulting firm, since November 2014, where she leads efforts in designing and executing product development and regulatory strategies in the areas of cell therapies, medical imaging, hematology and oncology. She also currently serves as a member of the board of directors of NextCure, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, which she joined in October 2021. Dr. Feigal is also adjunct faculty at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University, a position she has held since April 2015, where she teaches Food & Drug Administration drug law and medical research ethics and law. Dr. Feigal previously served as senior vice president of research and development at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine from 2011 to 2014; executive medical director, global development, at Amgen, Inc. (“Amgen”) from 2008 to 2011; and chief medical officer at Insys Therapeutics from 2007 to 2008. She was a founding director of the American Course on Drug Development and Regulatory Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (“UCSF”), which she began in 2006 and directed through 2011. Dr. Feigal’s positions also included director of medical devices and imaging at the Critical Path Institute from 2006 to 2007, and vice president of clinical sciences at the Translational Genomics Research Institute from 2004 to 2007. From 1992 to 2004, she held leadership roles at the National Cancer Institute, where she directed the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis after serving as deputy director of the division and as a senior investigator in the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program. Dr. Feigal received her B.S. in biology and M.S. in molecular biology and biochemistry from University of California, Irvine, her M.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, completed an internal medicine residency at Stanford University and a hematology/oncology fellowship at UCSF. We believe that Dr. Feigal’s leadership and experience in regulatory affairs and drug development and her educational background qualify her to serve on our Board.
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Kevin C.
Gorman, Ph.D.
Director
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Kevin C. Gorman, Ph.D. joined our Board in April 2017. He has more than 25 years of experience in the life science business including senior roles in finance, business development and operations. Dr. Gorman is a founder of Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company (“Neurocrine”). He was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Neurocrine in January 2008 after having served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer since September 2006 and prior to that, as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer and Senior Vice President of Business Development. He has served on the board of directors of Neurocrine since January 2008. From 1990 until 1993, Dr. Gorman was a principal of Avalon Medical Partners, L.P., where he was responsible for the early-stage founding of the company and several other biotechnology companies such as Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Metra Biosystems, Inc., Idun Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Gorman received his Ph.D. in immunology and M.B.A. in finance from the University of California, Los Angeles and did further post-doctoral training at The Rockefeller University. We believe that Dr. Gorman’s experience in biotechnology company leadership roles and his educational background qualify him to serve on our Board.
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Kurt A.
Gustafson
Director
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Kurt A. Gustafson joined our Board in July 2014. Mr. Gustafson has more than 25 years of diverse experience in corporate finance, with 20 years in senior management roles leading the finance departments of multi-faceted, dynamic and growth-oriented biopharmaceutical industry organizations. Mr. Gustafson has served as Chief Financial Officer of OmniAb Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, since March 2022. From June 2013 to March 2022, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, and from April 2009 to June 2013, he served as Chief Financial Officer at Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (“Halozyme”), a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company. Before Halozyme, Mr. Gustafson worked at Amgen for over 18 years holding various positions in finance including Treasurer, Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Amgen International based in Switzerland. Mr. Gustafson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting from North Park University in Chicago and an M.B.A. from University of California, Los Angeles. We believe Mr. Gustafson’s experience in biotechnology company leadership and finance and his educational background qualify him to serve on our Board.
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Barbara J.
Klencke, M.D.
Director
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Barbara J. Klencke, M.D. joined our Board in September 2023. Dr. Klencke has more than 20 years of biopharmaceutical product development experience, and she most recently accepted a position as interim chief medical officer of ALX Oncology. Previously, she served as chief medical officer and chief development officer at Sierra Oncology through mid-2023. While at Sierra Oncology, she built a highly effective clinical development organization and led its strategy and execution, culminating in the approval of Ojjaara™ for myelofibrosis after the company’s acquisition by GSK. Before joining Sierra Oncology in 2015, Dr. Klencke served as senior vice president of global development at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, where she led development and execution for Onyx’s pipeline programs, including the approval of Kyprolis® for multiple myeloma, through the company’s acquisition by Amgen. Between 2003 and 2011, she served as a group medical director at Genentech, where she led product development strategies for several early- and late-stage oncology programs, including Kadcyla®, Avastin® and Tarceva®. Earlier in her career, Dr. Klencke was an assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where she focused on clinical research in oncology. Dr. Klencke also serves on the Board of Directors of TScan Therapeutics. Dr. Klencke earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana University and an M.D. from the University of California, Davis. She completed her internal medicine residency and a hematology and oncology fellowship at UCSF. We believe that Dr. Barbara J. Klencke’s biopharmaceutical product development and strategic experience qualify her to serve on our board.
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A. Bruce
Montgomery, M.D.
Lead Independent Director
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A. Bruce Montgomery, M.D. joined our Board in March 2015. Dr. Montgomery has more than 30 years of drug development, operations and financing experience, including positions at Genentech, Inc., Pathogenesis Corporation, Corus Pharma and Gilead Sciences, Inc. (“Gilead”). From February 2017 to October 2022, he served as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of Avalyn Pharma Inc. (formerly Genoa Pharmaceuticals Inc.), a private biotechnology company. From April 2011 to December 2016, he was Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of Cardeas Pharma Corporation, a private biotechnology company that he founded in 2010. From August 2006 to May 2011, Dr. Montgomery served as Senior Vice President of Gilead and prior to that, served for six years as Chief Executive Officer of Corus Pharma, Inc., a specialized biotechnology company that he founded, which was acquired by Gilead in 2006. While at Gilead, Dr. Montgomery successfully led the development of CAYSTON® as a treatment for cystic fibrosis patients. Dr. Montgomery also served as Executive Vice President of Research and Development at PathoGenesis Corporation until its acquisition by Chiron Corporation in 2000. Dr. Montgomery previously served as a board member for the following publicly traded companies: ZymoGenetics, Inc. (acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company in 2010), Alder BioPharmaceuticals, Inc. (acquired by Lundbeck A/S in 2019) and Cytodyn, Inc. Dr. Montgomery is a board-certified internist and pulmonologist. Dr. Montgomery received his B.S. in chemistry (magna cum laude, Outstanding Chemistry Major (Merck Award)), and M.D. (Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society) from the University of Washington, Seattle. We believe that Dr. Montgomery’s executive leadership experience in pharmaceutical and biotechnology company drug development and his educational background qualify him to serve on our Board.
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Richard J.
Ranieri
Director
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Richard J. Ranieri joined our Board in December 2017. Mr. Ranieri has more than 40 years of senior level biopharmaceutical human resource experience. He has served as a senior advisor to BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (“BioMarin”) since January 2019, and from September 2013 through December 2018, he served as executive vice president of human resources and corporate affairs at BioMarin. Previously Mr. Ranieri served as executive vice president, human resources at Dendreon Pharmaceuticals from 2010 to 2013, and as executive vice president, human resources and administration at Sepracor, Inc. from 2008 to 2010. Earlier in his career, Mr. Ranieri served in executive positions at Neurocrine, Genencor International, and SmithKline Beecham. He received a B.A. in social science and accounting from Villanova University, and an M.A. in organizational development from Rider University. We believe that Mr. Ranieri’s leadership experience in human resources with biotechnology organizations qualifies him to serve on our Board.
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Todd
Simpson
Director
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Todd Simpson joined our Board in March 2025. Mr. Simpson has more than 40 years of experience in chief financial officer (CFO) roles at multiple biopharmaceutical companies and in public accounting. Most recently he served as CFO at Seagen, Inc. through its acquisition in 2023. As Seagen’s CFO for 18 years, Mr. Simpson played an important role in the development, launch, and commercialization of four oncology medicines across more than a dozen labeled indications in the United States. He was instrumental in Seagen’s international expansion, leading to the commercialization of three medicines in the Americas and Europe. Mr. Simpson led a range of functions including global finance, strategic planning, tax, treasury, corporate real estate, facilities, investor relations, corporate communications and information technologies, among others. Prior to joining Seagen, he served in executive roles at Targeted Genetics, Aastrom Biosciences and Telios Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Simpson currently serves on the board of directors of Shape Therapeutics, a privately held biotechnology company, and he previously served on the boards of directors of Neoleukin Therapeutics, Aquinox Pharmaceuticals, and Life Science Washington (formerly Washington Biotech and Biomedical Association). Mr. Simpson is a certified public accountant (inactive), and early in his career he practiced public accounting with Ernst & Young LLP for nearly a decade. He received a B.S. in accounting and computer science from Oregon State University. We believe Mr. Simpson’s experience in biotechnology company leadership and finance qualify him to serve on our Board.