About
About
Francois Nader, MD, is currently the chairman of Acceleron Pharma and a leading value builder in the biopharma industry. He was President, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of NPS Pharma from 2008 to 2015, when the company was acquired by Shire for $5.2B. During his tenure as CEO Dr. Nader transformed NPS Pharma into a leading global biotechnology company focused on delivering innovative therapies to patients with rare diseases. He was recognized as the Ernst and Young National Life Science Entrepreneur of the Year® in 2013. Dr. Nader currently serves as chairman of the board of directors of Acceleron Pharma (NASDAQ: XLRN), Prevail Therapeutics (NASDAQ: PRVL) and Talaris Therapeutics and board director of Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALXN).
Before NPS, Dr. Nader was a venture partner at Care Capital. Prior, he served on the North America Leadership Team of Aventis and its predecessor companies holding a number of executive positions including senior vice-president, integrated healthcare markets and North America medical and regulatory affairs. Previously, he led the global commercial operations at the Pasteur Vaccines division of Rhone-Poulenc.
Dr. Nader is a recognized leader in industry and philanthropic organizations including Vice President of the Jesra Foundation. He is a past chairman of BioNJ, New Jersey’s biotechnology trade organization, and has served on the board of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the national industry body, NPS Pharma (NASDAQ: NPSP), Advanced Accelerator Applications (NASDAQ: AAAP), Baxalta (NYSE: BXLT), Clementia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: CMTA), Trevena (NASDAQ: TRVN) and Noven (NASDAQ: NOVN).
Dr. Nader earned his French Doctorate in Medicine from St. Joseph University in Lebanon and his Physician Executive MBA from the University of Tennessee.
Mr. Dable joined Acceleron in December 2016 as the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer and member of its Board of Directors.
Mr. Dable most recently served as President of U.S. Pharmaceuticals at Bayer AG. During his 22-year tenure there, Mr. Dable held positions of increasing responsibility. In addition to President of U.S. Pharmaceuticals, he also served as Executive Vice President, Global Head Specialty Medicine; Vice President, Ophthalmology, Global Launch Team Head, EYLEA®, Global Head, Neurology and Ophthalmology; Vice President, Regional Head, Hematology and Cardiology; Director of International Sales and Marketing, Biologics Research; and Head of Strategic Planning, Pharmaceuticals, Japan. Mr. Dable’s earlier experience at Bayer AG includes various sales and sales management positions in Canada.
As Executive Vice President, Global Head Specialty Medicine, Mr. Dable led the launch of various blockbuster brands, including EYLEA®, Stivarga®, and Xofigo®. Mr. Dable also managed research and development collaborations and served on Joint Steering Committees with companies such as Algeta ASA, Orion Corporation and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
Mr. Dable is a former member of the Board of Directors of Millendo Therapeutics and recently served on the Board of Directors of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO).
Mr. Dable received a BBA in Marketing and Finance and his MBA from the University of New Brunswick.
Ms. Hamill joined Acceleron’s board of directors in September 2020, bringing more than three decades of experience in the biopharma industry, serving most recently as Executive Vice President, Worldwide Commercial Operations at Gilead Sciences, Inc. Prior to Gilead, she spent 18 years at Amgen in a number of leadership roles in the U.S. and internationally, concluding her time there as Senior Vice President and General Manager, with strategic oversight of that organization’s US commercial operations. During her career, Ms. Hamill has worked across a vast array of therapeutic areas, including inflammation, oncology, gene therapy, and cardiovascular disease. She is a member of the boards of directors of AnaptysBio and Y-mAbs Therapeutics. Ms. Hamill holds a B.A. in business administration from the University of Arizona.
Mr. Hite joined Acceleron’s board of directors in June 2020, bringing with him more than 24 years of experience advising leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies on mergers, acquisitions, and capital formation. Mr. Hite is currently Executive Vice President and Vice Chairman at Royalty Pharma. Prior to joining Royalty Pharma in March 2020, he was with Citi as Global Head of Healthcare Investment Banking starting in 2008 and most recently served as Vice Chairman of Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory (BCMA), a member of the BCMA Executive Operating Committee and Global Head of Healthcare. While at Citi, Mr. Hite was a key strategic adviser to Acceleron on its initial public offering in 2013 and on three subsequent follow-on equity offerings. Earlier in his career, he was Global Head of Healthcare Investment Banking at Lehman Brothers. He serves on the Board of Advisors of Faster Cures, a center of the Milken Institute. Mr. Hite holds a B.S. from Lehigh University and a J.D. and M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh.
Terrence C. Kearney has more than three decades of global healthcare experience at major pharmaceutical and life sciences companies. Most recently, Mr. Kearney served on the executive management team for Hospira, Inc. where he held the role of Chief Operating Officer from 2006 through 2011 and Chief Financial Officer from 2004 to 2006. In these roles, Mr. Kearney had broad responsibility for the company’s global operations, including commercial, manufacturing and research and development activities, and financial management strategies. Prior to Hospira, Mr. Kearney spent 25 years at Abbott Laboratories in various financial management roles, including Vice President and Treasurer. Mr. Kearney earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Illinois and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Denver. Mr. Kearney serves as Chair of the Audit Committee and member of the Management Development and Compensation Committee for Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
Kemal Malik has served on our board of directors since 1st January 2020. He is an experienced industry leader with a distinguished career in the pharmaceutical industry. He has been responsible for bringing many innovative medicines, in several therapeutic areas, through R&D to successful commercialization. From 2014 to 2019 he served as a member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG, responsible for Innovation across the Bayer group. Prior to this he was Head of Global Development and Chief Medical Officer in Bayer Healthcare for ten years. He was also responsible for the creation and leadership of Bayer LEAPS, the organizational unit responsible for strategic venturing in areas of disruptive breakthrough innovation.
Dr. Malik has a degree in Pharmacology from the University of London and qualified in Medicine at Imperial College School of Medicine, London. He is a Member of the Royal College of Physicians.
Mr. McCourt joined Acceleron’s board of directors in 2016. He has 30 years of experience building commercial strategies and capabilities for new therapies at multiple pharma and biotech companies. Mr. McCourt is president of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, where, in his previous role as the chief commercial officer and senior vice president of marketing and sales, he led the commercial launch of LINZESS®. Prior to joining Ironwood in 2009, Mr. McCourt oversaw the U.S. brand team for denosumab at Amgen Inc. Before that, he held a number of senior commercial roles at Novartis AG, where he directed the launch and growth of ZELNORM®. He was also vice president of strategic marketing and operations during his tenure at Novartis AG.
Earlier in his career, Mr. McCourt was part of the founding team at Astra Merck Inc., leading the development of the medical affairs and science liaison group and serving as brand manager for PRILOSEC® and NEXIUM®. He earned a degree in pharmacy from the University of Wisconsin, where he serves as a member of the Board of Visitors for the School of Pharmacy.
Dr. Karen Smith joined Acceleron’s board of directors in 2017, bringing more than 20 years of biopharmaceutical experience guiding drugs into the clinic and through commercialization. She has been a key contributor to the successful development of multiple FDA and EMA approved products in several therapeutic areas, including oncology, rare disease, cardiology, dermatology, neuroscience, and anti-infectives. Dr. Smith formerly served as President and Chief Executive Officer at Eliminate Cancer and as President and Chief Executive Officer of Medeor Therapeutics. Prior to joining Medeor Therapeutics, she was Executive Vice President, Global Head R&D, and Chief Medical Officer of Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc., as well as Senior Vice President, Global Medical Affairs and Global Dermatology Head for Allergan. She also held senior positions in External Medical Relations and Global Development at AstraZeneca. Before that, she held a variety of management and medical roles with Bristol Myers Squibb, most recently as the Head of U.S. Clinical Operations. She also serves as a Director for Antares Pharma and Sangamo Therapeutics. Dr. Smith earned a B.App.Sc. and a B.Sc. (Honors) from the Curtin University of Technology, an M.D. from the University of Warwick, a Ph.D. in oncology molecular genetics from the University of Western Australia, an M.B.A. from the University of New England (Australia) and a L.L.M. in medical law from the University of Salford.
Mr. Zakrzewski has served as a member of Acceleron’s board of directors since March 2011. From 2010 to 2013, Mr. Zakrzewski was Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Amarin Corporation, successfully developing and launching the cardiovascular therapy Vascepa®. From 2007 to 2010, Mr. Zakrzewski served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Xcellerex, which was acquired by GE Healthcare. From 2005 to 2007, Mr. Zakrzewski served as the Chief Operating Officer of Reliant Pharmaceuticals, overseeing the launch of Omacor®, a drug to treat elevated triglyceride levels. From 1988 to 2004, Mr. Zakrzewski served in a variety of positions at Eli Lilly and Company, including as Senior Vice President, Corporate Business Development from 2003 through 2004. In addition, Mr. Zakrzewski served as a Venture Partner with OrbiMed in 2010 and 2011. Mr. Zakrzewski currently serves on the board of directors of publicly held companies Amarin, Onxeo S.A., and Sangamo Therapeutics and was recently named Chairman of the board of directors of privately held biopharmaceutical company Cerecin Inc. Mr. Zakrzewski received a BS in Chemical Engineering and an MS in Biochemical Engineering from Drexel University as well as an MBA in Finance from Indiana University.
Dr. Maniatis co-founded Acceleron in 2003 and currently serves the organization in an advisory capacity as Director Emeritus. He was a member of the board of directors from Acceleron’s founding until retiring in 2019.
Dr. Maniatis is the Isidore Edelman Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics at Columbia University, and a member of the Zuckerman Mind Brain & Behavior Institute. Dr. Maniatis’ research area is molecular neuroscience, with a focus on neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases. He is also Founding Director of the Columbia University Precision Medicine Initiative and a cofounder, CEO and Scientific Director of the New York Genome Center. Dr. Maniatis’ scientific contributions have been recognized by numerous scientific awards, including the 2012 Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Science, the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Science.
Dr. Maniatis is a pioneer in the biotechnology industry, co-founding Genetics Institute in 1980, which produced several FDA approved drugs, including Factor VIII and IX, bone morphogenic proteins (BMP), TPA and EPO. In 1994 he cofounded ProScript, where Velcade, the first proteasome inhibitor, was discovered. In 2016, he cofounded Kallyope Pharma, a gut-brain company where he serves on the board of directors and the scientific advisory board.
