Mersana's directors possess experience across cancer therapeutic development, strategic planning, business development, technology transfer, intellectual property development and commercialization.
C. Boyd Clarke
Mr. Clarke joined the Mersana Board of Directors in the fall of 2007. Since 2006, Boyd has served as Chair of the Board of QLT Inc., a publicly traded biotech company focused on pharmaceutical products in the fields of ophthalmology and dermatology. From April 2002 to May 2006, he was CEO of Neose Technologies, Inc., a publicly listed biotech company focused on the development of protein therapeutics. From December 1999 through February 2002, Boyd served as CEO of Aviron, Inc., a biotech company developing vaccines, which was acquired by MedImmune, Inc., and was also Chair from January 2001 through March 2002. From September 1996 through December 1999, Boyd was President and CEO of U.S. Bioscience, Inc., also a biotech company focused on products to treat cancer, which was also acquired by MedImmune. From 1977 to 1996 Boyd held a number of positions at Merck & Co., Inc., including being the first President of Pasteur-Merieux MSD, and most recently as Vice President of Merck Vaccines. Boyd was formerly on the Board of Neose, as well as the Biotechnology Industry Association. He is also currently a director of Rib-X, a private organization focused on the design and development of novel small-molecule antibiotics. Boyd has a BS in Biochemistry and an MA in History from the University of Calgary.
Nicholas G. Bacopoulos, Ph.D.
President, Medexis
Nicholas Bacopoulos, Ph.D., is the President of Medexis, a biotechnology company that identifies, develops and commercializes new life science technologies. Prior to joining Medexis, Dr. Bacopoulos was Managing Director of the Biomedical Institute of the Academy of Athens, Greece (IIBEAA). He was also past President and CEO of Aton Pharma, Inc, a U.S. biotech company specializing in the development of anti-cancer agents acquired by Merck. Prior to joining Aton in 2002, Dr. Bacopoulos was President and Head of R&D at OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. From 1996 to 2000, he served as President and CEO of Anaderm Research Corporation, which is majority-owned by Pfizer Inc.
Dr. Bacopoulos has also held senior posts at Pfizer Central Research and Corporate Strategic Planning, as well as heading the Pfizer cancer research group. That group produced a significant pipeline of novel anticancer agents, several of which are in clinical trials. He also led Pfizer's neuroscience group and was responsible for the preclinical development of the anti-depressant Zoloft and the discovery of the anti-psychotic Geodon. He has been a director of Packard Biosciences, Inc. and currently serves as a director of Alexipharma, Inc. He is also a Trustee of Athens College of Greece. Dr. Bacopoulos received his B.A. degree from Cornell College and his Ph.D. degree from the University of Iowa. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine and was a member of the faculty of Dartmouth Medical School.
Thomas R. Beck, M.D.
Venture Partner, Fidelity Biosciences
Dr. Beck joined Fidelity Biosciences in September, 2007. Most recently, he served as President, Chief Operating Officer at Dyax Corp. Prior to that, he held positions at UCB Pharma (Corporate Vice President, Director of Global Research and Development), CytoMed, Inc (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer), and Enzytech, Inc (President). He began his industry career at Smith Kline and French, where he held positions in both clinical development and business development.
Dr. Beck is Board-certified in Internal Medicine and Nephrology and was Assistant Professor of Medicine at Temple University School of Medicine prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry. He received his B.S. degree from Yale University and his M.D. from Cornell University.
Julie A. Olson, Ph.D.
President & CEO, Mersana Therapeutics
Julie Olson has been CEO of Mersana since 2004. She previously served as Vice President of Licensing in the R&D Division of Pfizer, leading a group focused on in-licensing clinical compounds and biologicals, including four compounds projected to achieve over $5 billion in annual sales. Between 1984 and 2003, she played multiple roles at Pfizer. In the mid to late 90s, she led the External Technology Group, responsible for over forty research alliances with biotechnology companies and hundreds with universities, concentrating on platform technologies in genomics, chemistry, screening, pharmaceutics, and drug safety, as well as collaborations to discover pre-clinical candidates, managing a budget of over $100 million annually. Prior to her positions in licensing, Dr. Olson led a drug discovery group in high throughput screening and chemistry, as well a team focused on drugs for infectious diseases. She received her undergraduate degree from MIT and Ph.D. from the Rockefeller University, prior to post-doctoral work at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Joyce Tsang, Ph.D.
Partner, ProQuest Investments
Dr. Tsang joined ProQuest as an Associate in 1999 and became a General Partner in 2002. Her scientific background combined with financial and business judgment offers a unique understanding of how to commercialize innovation. Prior to joining ProQuest, Dr. Tsang held positions with McKinsey & Company and Smith Barney (now Citi Smith Barney). At McKinsey, she advised a variety of healthcare-focused Fortune 500 clients on strategic, operational, and organizational issues. At Smith Barney, Dr. Tsang worked on structuring numerous debt and equity offerings. She has previously served on the Board of Directors of Artemis Medical and Threshold Pharmaceuticals. Currently Dr. Tsang serves on the Board of Directors of Biosyntech, Cervelo Pharmaceuticals, Sopherion Therapeutics and Mersana Therapeutics.
Dr. Tsang received an A.B. in molecular biology from Princeton University, where she graduated cum laude. She received a Ph.D. in the macromolecular and cellular structure and chemistry from The Scripps Research Institute.
Martin Vogelbaum
Partner, Rho Ventures
Martin began working with Rho in the mid 1990s prior to joining as a Partner in 2005. Before joining Rho, Martin spent five years as a general partner of Apple Tree Partners, a life sciences venture capital firm. Previously, he was a general partner of Oxford Bioscience Partners which he joined in 1993. Martin received his AB in biology and history from Columbia University. His current and former board seats include Gloucester Pharmaceuticals, Mersana, and MiddleBrook.
