Board of Directors

Dr. Frank Morich is a biopharmaceutical professional with more than 35 years of industry experience. He served on the board of directors for MorphoSys from 2015-2021 and Innate Pharma from 2004-2010, both clinical-stage biotechnology companies specializing in antibody development. Prior to focusing on board work, from 2011 to 2014, Dr. Morich served as Chief Commercial Officer at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, a global pharmaceutical company, and, from 2010 to 2011, he served as Executive Vice President, International Operations at Takeda. From 2008 to 2010, Dr. Morich served as Chief Executive Officer of NOXXON Pharma AG, a clinical-stage drug development company, and, from 2005 to 2007, he served as Chief Executive Officer and member of the board of directors of Innogenetics N.V., an international in vitro diagnostics company. Prior to that, Dr. Morich held several positions at Bayer, a global pharmaceutical and life sciences company, including member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG, Head of Global Product Development and Head of Research and Development. Dr. Morich holds an M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Marburg where he specialized in immunology with a focus on monoclonal antibodies. He served as a military physician before moving to industry.

Dan Passeri is a seasoned biotechnology executive with over 20 years of experience managing drug discovery and development programs as well as business development activities on behalf of publicly traded companies, with deep experience in both oncology and strategic partnership generation. Prior to joining Cue Biopharma, Mr. Passeri served as President and Chief Executive Officer as well as Vice Chairman of the Board of Curis, Inc. Prior to joining Curis, he was employed by GeneLogic Inc., most recently as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategic Planning. Prior to his work at GeneLogic, Mr. Passeri served as Director of Technology Management at Boehringer Mannheim. Mr. Passeri received a J.D. from the National Law Center at George Washington University, an M.Sc. in Biotechnology from the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine at the University of London and a B.S. in Biology from Northeastern University.

Peter Kiener has deep experience in both biologics and immunotherapy, and is the former Chief Scientific Officer at Sucampo. Prior to joining Sucampo, he served as CSO of Ambrx Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of antibody-drug conjugates. Prior to Ambrx, Dr. Kiener was President and Co-founder of Zyngenia Inc., an early-stage biopharmaceutical company. He also held leadership roles at MedImmune LLC, the global biologics arm of AstraZeneca, including Executive Vice President and Global Head of Biologics Research and Development, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Research, and Vice President of Research. He also worked on biologics for Bristol-Myers Squibb prior to his work at MedImmune. Dr. Kiener has served on the scientific advisory boards of KAI Pharmaceuticals Inc., Genocea Biosciences Inc., NKT Therapeutics Inc. and VLST Corporation and as a member of the Board of Directors of Receptor BioLogix Inc., Synovex Corporation and Virdante Pharmaceuticals Inc. He has published more than 120 papers in peer-reviewed journals and is an inventor on more than 40 patents and patent applications. Dr. Kiener earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Lancaster and a doctorate of philosophy in biochemistry from the University of Oxford.

Fred Driscoll has more than 20 years of experience in financial management of life sciences companies, most recently as the Chief Financial Officer at Flexion Therapeutics, Inc., where he spearheaded an initial public offering in 2014. Prior to joining Flexion, he served as Chief Financial Officer at Novavax, Inc.  from 2009 to 2013. From 2008 to 2009, Mr. Driscoll served as Chief Executive Officer of Genelabs Technologies, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical and diagnostics company later acquired by GlaxoSmithKline. Prior to serving as Chief Executive Officer of Genelabs he was the Chief Financial Officer from 2007 to 2008. From 2000 to 2006, Mr. Driscoll served as Chief Executive Officer at OXiGENE, Inc., where he also served as Chairman of the Board and Audit Committee Chair. He was also a member of the Audit Committee for Cynapsus Therapeutics, Inc., which was sold to Sunovion Pharmaceuticals in 2016. Mr. Driscoll earned a B.S. in accounting and finance from Bentley University. He is a member of the board of directors of Cellectar Biosciences, Inc. and MEI Pharma, Inc.

Mr. Verheyen had a distinguished 35-year career with Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson where he held positions of growing responsibility until his retirement as Global Head, Janssen Business Development in 2021. During his time there he led Janssen’s Business Development organization to identify, execute, integrate and manage global licensing, mergers & acquisitions (M&A), divestiture and out-licensing deals across Janssen’s therapeutic areas of focus. Mr. Verheyen led the 2017 $30B acquisition of Actelion, which established Janssen’s footprint in the Pulmonary Hypertension space, and the 2020 $6.5B acquisition of Momenta Pharmaceuticals, which broadened Janssen’s pipeline in autoimmune diseases. During this time, Mr. Verheyen also served as a member of the Pharmaceuticals Group Operating Committee. Additionally, he played a key role in the 2009 $1B Cougar Biotech acquisition that significantly enhanced Janssen’s portfolio in prostate cancer treatment. During his career, Mr. Verheyen helped design and launch Johnson & Johnson Innovation, established its presence in Boston and Shanghai and led the Johnson & Johnson Innovation team in London. The creation of Johnson & Johnson Innovation significantly increased the ability of Johnson & Johnson to globally connect with the most cutting-edge science and technology. Mr. Verheyen earned his master’s degree in bioengineering at the University of Leuven, Flanders, Belgium.

Dr. Garzone is a respected pharmaceutical executive with over 25 years of diverse experience in the industry and a significant record of achievement in drug development and leadership. During her career, she has successfully overseen the clinical development of dozens of assets driving their advancement through the clinic. She is currently the chief development officer of Anixa Biosciences, where she oversees a portfolio in oncology. Prior to joining Anixa, Dr. Garzone held executive roles in clinical development with several companies, including Calibr, a division of the Scripps Research Institute, and Pfizer. She previously held positions of increasing responsibility at companies such as Elan Pharmaceuticals and Genetics Institute, starting her industry career at Genentech. Prior to her industry experience, she was an Assistant Professor, Pharmacy and Therapeutics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. Dr. Garzone earned a B.S. degree in Pharmacy from Purdue University and an M.S. in Pharmacy Practice from the University of Pittsburgh. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Science from the University of Pittsburgh.