About Us

OUR LEADERSHIP

Executive Leadership Team

Pete Salzmann, M.D., MBA

Pete Salzmann, M.D., MBA

Pete Salzmann, M.D., MBA

Chief Executive Officer

Pete Salzmann, M.D., MBA, is the Chief Executive Officer of Immunovant and a member of our board of directors. From November 2018 to June 2019, he served as a Global Brand Development Leader in Immunology at Eli Lilly and Company, where he was responsible for the design of a comprehensive indication strategy and oversaw Phase 2 and 3 clinical trial execution. From March 2013 to October 2018, Dr. Salzmann was Head of U.S. Immunology at Eli Lilly, and he also served as Managing Director of Lilly Alps from January 2011 to April 2013. From January 2008 to December 2010, Dr. Salzmann was the Head of Marketing for Eli Lilly China.

Dr. Salzmann earned a B.A. in Chemistry from Northwestern University, an M.D. from University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine, and an M.B.A. from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

Renee Barnett, MBA

Renee Barnett, MBA

Renee Barnett, MBA

Chief Financial Officer

With two decades of experience in healthcare, Renee is a passionate and effective leader, who thrives in fast-paced growth organizations. Renee began her career at Eli Lilly where her roles included CFO of Lilly Austria and Switzerland, global lead for Financial Planning and Analysis, and financial lead of a partnership with Amylin Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Immunovant, she served in a variety of executive leadership functions, including Finance, Human Resources, Data & Analytics, Call Center Operations, and Technology Transformation at AbleTo, Inc., a leading technology-enabled behavioral health provider. Renee holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in Physics from DePauw University.

Christine Blodgett

Christine Blodgett

Christine Blodgett

Senior Vice President of Human Resources

Christine brings 20 years of progressive human resources leadership experience across several industries and growth phases, from startups to the Fortune 100. She's spent the majority of her career focused on the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Most recently, as the head of HR at Turnstone Biologics, Christine oversaw the Company’s talent strategy and management, learning and development programs, and all matters relating to Turnstone’s people and culture. Prior to that, Christine served as HR Director at Honeywell and held multiple leadership roles at Bristol-Myers Squibb and Medarex, Inc.

Christine holds a B.S. in Business Administration from The College of New Jersey and earned two certifications: a Strategic Human Resources Practices certification from Cornell University and a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification.

Andy Deig

Andy Deig

Andy Deig

Senior Vice President Strategic Finance

Prior to joining Immunovant, Andy spent almost 13 years at Eli Lilly & Company where he held numerous roles in different functions across the business, including finance, sales, and value & access. Most recently, Andy served as the national account manager for McKesson and Walmart after leading the commercial integration of Dermira.
Andy earned a B.A. from Wabash College in 2008 with majors in Economics and German and an M.B.A. in health sector management and strategy from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business in 2016.

Michael Geffner M.D., MBA

Michael Geffner M.D., MBA

Michael Geffner M.D., MBA

Chief Medical Officer

Prior to joining Immunovant, Dr. Geffner was the Chief Medical Officer and head of Product Development for BlueSphere Bio (BSB), an Immuno-Oncology company focused on developing adoptive T-cell therapeutics. Before his role at BSB, he led Hematology Clinical Development for the danicopan development program and was the Head of Global Medical Affairs for Achillion Pharmaceuticals (now Astra Zeneca). Prior to Achillion, he spent 15 years in various senior leadership positions at Schering-Plough/Merck across Clinical Development, Clinical Operations, and Medical Affairs. His other prior roles include, Head of the Anti-infectives/hospital and specialty care Medical Affairs teams, US Medical Affairs integration lead, and Clinical Development Leader.

Dr. Geffner has dual board certification from the American Board of Pediatrics and The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, with special competency in Child Neurology. He is a Graduate of Albany Medical College and holds an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University

Melanie Gloria, BSN

Melanie Gloria, BSN

Melanie Gloria, BSN

Chief Operating Officer

After a successful nursing career, Melanie joined the pharmaceutical industry to fulfill her personal mission to have a broader impact on patients’ lives. Melanie has over 20 years of experience in operational roles in the biotechnology industry. Her experience spans across all phases of development and multiple therapeutic areas. Prior to joining Immunovant, Melanie was the Chief Operating Officer at ACELYRIN where she was responsible for all operational functions and the company’s operating governance. Prior to ACELYRIN Melanie worked at Horizon Therapeutics and led the build out of R&D capabilities. Melanie’s foundational pharmaceutical industry experience started with her time at Abbott and AbbVie. Melanie received her BS in Nursing from University of Illinois, Chicago.

Julie Kirschling

Julie Kirschling

Julie Kirschling

Senior Vice President, Program and Alliance Management

Prior to joining Immunovant, Julie spent 33 years in a variety of project leadership roles at Eli Lilly & Company. She is an experienced project and functional Leader with a proven track record of developing and leading high performing cross-functional teams to enable business critical outcomes and maximizing performance of others with and without direct authority. She has 30+ years of pharmaceutical development experience and 20+ years of experience leading projects across all phases of development and therapeutic areas including leading successful submissions for two marketed products. 

She holds a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University and is a certified Project Management Professional.

Mark Levine

Mark Levine

Mark Levine

Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary

Mark has more than 25 years of legal experience, including negotiating mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures; managing licensing agreements and partnerships; and providing counsel to optimize development and commercialization. Mark most recently served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Flexion Therapeutics, Inc., a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company, where he was a member of the executive committee and was responsible for overseeing all legal and compliance affairs related to Flexion’s launch of ZILRETTA® in the United States in 2017 and building its pipeline. Mark’s tenure at Flexion culminated in the acquisition of the company by Pacira BioSciences, Inc. in late 2021. Mark previously served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Minerva Neurosciences, Inc.

Mark holds a B.A. from Binghamton University, SUNY, and a J.D. from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis.

Bill Macias, M.D., Ph.D.

Bill Macias, M.D., Ph.D.

Bill Macias, M.D., Ph.D.

Chief Medical Officer

From 2018 to May 2021, Bill was the Chief Executive Officer at Focus Biomedical Consulting LLC, and in that role was the interim Chief Medical Officer for Promethera Biosciences S.A. from 2019 through 2020. From 1994 through 2017, Bill was at Eli Lilly and Company. At Lilly, he led multiple clinical development programs, leading to the submission and approval of medications across diverse therapeutic areas in both biologic and small molecules. From 2011 onward, he held multiple global development leadership roles in the Biomedicines Business Unit. Prior to joining Eli Lilly and Company, he was an Associate Professor of Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine.

Bill earned a B.A. in Biology from Marquette University and both an M.D. and Ph.D. from Indiana University School of Medicine. He held board certifications in Internal Medicine, Nephrology, and Critical Care in Medicine.

Becky Merlina

Becky Merlina

Becky Merlina

Senior Vice President, Global Head of Quality

Becky Merlina brings extensive Quality leadership experience to her position at Immunovant. 

Prior to joining Immunovant, she was the Vice President, Quality & Regulatory Clinical Trials Division, Thermo Fisher Scientific, responsible for leading the global quality & regulatory organization to support their clinical trial division in manufacturing, labelling, packaging, storage, and distribution of IMP, Comparator and Clinical Ancillaries at sites worldwide.

Prior to Thermo Fisher Scientific, she served as Head of R&D Quality for Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA), a division of Novartis. Becky began her career at Eli Lilly, where she held roles of increasing levels of responsibility, and eventually served as Director of Global Quality Auditing and Compliance.

Becky holds a B.S. Pharmacy degree from Butler University.

Jody Roth, MS, RAC, PMP

Jody Roth, MS, RAC, PMP

Jody Roth, MS, RAC, PMP

Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs

Jody is recognized for her communication and advocacy of label-in-mind concepts, as well as her expertise in FDA interactions. Prior to joining Immunovant, Jody held leadership positions at Outpost Medicine, Gate Neurosciences, and Guidehouse where she set up new molecules for a successful global registration across multiple regions. Prior to roles in biotech, Jody spent 25 years at Eli Lilly and Company established robust filing experience across the drug development lifecycle where she supported the initiation of new molecules and obtaining US approvals for BLAs and NDAs.

Jody has her B.S. in Animal Science and M.S. in Growth Physiology/Immunology from Purdue University. Jody is a member of Regulatory Affairs Professionals and Project Management Institute.

Jay S. Stout, PhD

Jay S. Stout, PhD

Jay S. Stout, PhD

Chief Technology Officer

Jay is the Chief Technology Officer at Immunovant. From 2020 until April 2023, he was an independent consultant supporting the scale up and validation of late-stage products in immunology and cell and gene therapy. From June 2018 until January 2021, he led the Technical Operations at Immunomedics (Gilead) leading to the approval of an antibody drug conjugate for oncology. Prior to that Jay has held various senior leadership roles in Technical Operation at Versartis (Aravive), San Bio, Merck, Amgen, Pfizer, and BioNebraska (Restoragen). He has a proven track record of Biologic approvals for Monoclonal Antibodies, Antibody Drug Conjugates, and Cell and Gene Therapies.

Jay received a B.S. and M.S. in Chemistry from the University of Iowa and a Ph.D. in Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Stout has served on the Amgen Center for BioProcessing Advisory Board at the Keck Graduate Institute for more than 10 years and was the Chair of the Advisory Board from 2021-2023.

Yan Zheng, Ph.D.

Yan Zheng, Ph.D.

Yan Zheng, Ph.D.

Senior Vice President Biostatistics, Programming & Data Management

Yan brings more than 16 years of experience with broad knowledge in diverse aspects of drug development, including real-world evidence and medical affairs, microbiome biosciences, and across multiple therapeutic areas. Prior to Immunovant, Yan led biometrics at Kaleido Biosciences, where she built and led the biometrics team and strategic and operational planning of biometric resources and contributions. Prior to Kaleido Biosciences, Yan held roles at Sarepta Therapeutics, Merck, Allergan, and Sanofi.

Yan earned a B.S. in Probability and Statistics from Peking University in China. She has an M.S. and Ph.D. in Biostatistics from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Senior Management

Chandra Adams

Chandra Adams

Chandra Adams

Vice President, Associate General Counsel

Chandra is an attorney with over 20 years of experience in the biotech industry, providing counsel on corporate, transactional, R&D, and intellectual property-related matters. She started her career in Regulatory Affairs prior to moving into her first in-house legal role as an intellectual property attorney. From there, Chandra has held legal roles of increasing responsibility, including as Deputy General Counsel, Head of Legal and Intellectual Property, for Surface Oncology a clinical-stage company, until its acquisition by Coherus BioSciences, a commercial company where she was appointed Acting General Counsel and was responsible for the management and oversight of all legal and intellectual property-related matters, including supporting the launch of two commercial products.

Chandra holds a B.S. in Chemistry and Biology from Valparaiso University (Valparaiso, Indiana), and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School (Boston, Massachusetts). She is admitted to the Massachusetts Bar and is a registered patent attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Maria Alba, M.D.

Maria Alba, M.D.

Maria Alba, M.D.

Vice President of Clinical Development

Maria has over 16 years of experience across all phases of development in rare disease, endocrinology, and metabolism. Prior to joining Immunovant, Maria was the Global Medical Leader at Amicus Therapeutics for a phase 2 and 3 clinical program for the development of a second-generation enzyme replacement therapy for Pompe disease. Prior to Amicus Therapeutics, Maria held clinical roles at Vertex, Merck, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

Maria earned her M.D. from the Catholic University in Rome, Italy, where she also completed her fellowship in endocrinology and metabolism. Maria went on to complete a post-doctoral fellowship for preclinical research on growth hormone deficiency at the Johns Hopkins University.

Farah Ali

Farah Ali

Farah Ali

Vice President, Clinical Development

Prior to joining Immunovant, Farah was Vice President, Clinical Development for Rare Disease at Amgen. Previously she was Vice President, Clinical Development at Horizon Therapeutics, specializing in rare and autoimmune diseases. In those roles she led multiple clinical development programs across diverse disease states involving global development in both biologic and small molecules. Across her decade of industry experience, including roles at AbbVie and Baxter Healthcare, she served as a leader within clinical development as well as global medical affairs.

Prior to joining industry, she held a faculty position at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine where she conducted clinical research in addition to providing patient care. She earned a BA in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley and both her MD and a Master’s in Clinical Investigation from Northwestern University. She completed her residency and fellowship training at Northwestern University and is a board-certified Pediatric Nephrologist.

Jennifer Ashley

Jennifer Ashley

Jennifer Ashley

Vice President, Associate General Counsel

Jennifer has over 23 years of experience providing legal and business advice for technology and pharmaceutical companies, advising on complex business transaction, product development, and commercialization/compliance matters. She started her career at Cooley LLP, before transitioning to various in-house roles of increasing scope and oversight responsibility. Most recently, Jennifer served as Senior Vice President, Legal for a commercial stage, public biopharma company, overseeing legal support for the in-licensing, development, launch and commercialization of oncology products in multiple indications.

Jennifer holds a B.A. in Biological Sciences and Sociology from Southern Methodist University and a J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law.

Annetta Beauregard

Annetta Beauregard

Annetta Beauregard

Vice President, Regulatory Affairs Strategy

Annetta brings over 2 decades of experience in bringing innovative medicines to patients to Immunovant. She has successfully led global regulatory teams in navigating regulatory end-to-end from initial regulatory intelligence to strategy development to creating policy in partnership with Health Authorities. Prior to joining Immunovant, Annetta held Global Regulatory leadership positions at Johnson & Johnson, Vertex, Merck KGaA, Amgen and Eli Lilly. She has created, built, and led teams/functions across the globe and numerous therapeutic areas always with a deep passion for furthering regulatory science for patients.

Annetta has a BS and MS from the University of Indianapolis. She has an MBA from Indiana University Kelley School of Business and executive education from Harvard University, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) and Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires (INSEAD).

Harry Berlanga, MSc.

Harry Berlanga, MSc.

Harry Berlanga, MSc.

VP, CMC & Distribution Quality

Harry Berlanga brings nearly 25 years of experience as a quality professional to Immunovant. His experience includes large and small molecule manufacturing and packaging and has worked across both commercial and clinical phases.Most recently he managed the quality organization for a contract manufacturing organization producing viral vectors.

He is an experienced UK/EU Qualified Person taking final legal responsibility for the quality of medicines prior to release to market or clinic. 

He holds a Masters degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Brighton, United Kingdom. He also earned a Masters degree in Strategic Quality Leadership from the University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom.

Thomas Coady

Thomas Coady

Thomas Coady

Vice President, Laboratory Quality

Thomas Coady (TC) brings nearly 30 years of experience in numerous roles across analytical and quality in all phases of development and commercialization for both small and large molecule drugs. Prior to joining Immunovant, TC led a 45-member team at a CDMO that provided continuous support for 24/7 manufacturing operations that included microbiology, analytical, raw materials, stability testing, LIMS, and sample logistics management.  During his tenure, TC oversaw the implementation LabWare LIMS and SmartQC and defended QC processes and systems for FDA/regulatory inspections, three of which closed without observations. His work with CDMOs provides a unique perspective that is well-suited for CRO, CMO, and CDMO management.

TC holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Campbell University.  TC is a member of the Parenteral Drug Association.

Ranjit Deshmukh, Ph.D.

Ranjit Deshmukh, Ph.D.

Ranjit Deshmukh, Ph.D.

Vice President of CMC and Technical Operations

Ranjit Deshmukh joins Immunovant with over 25 years of pharmaceutical experience in CMC process development, technical operations, and manufacturing at Ionis, Wyeth / Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Ocugen. He has contributed to the development and global commercialization of multiple biologicals and vaccines. Prior to Immunovant, Ranjit led the technical operations for cell and gene therapy products at Ocugen where he led the capability build of a custom GMP QC and manufacturing facility for autologous regenerative cell therapy. Prior to Ocugen, he was a key member of the pandemic vaccine team at AstraZeneca, implementing one of the largest networks for COVID vaccines and antibodies across more than 15 global manufacturing sites.

He holds a B.Tech degree in Chemical Engineering from IIT, Varanasi, India, MS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kentucky, Lexington, and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Arizona, Tucson.

Scott Forman, MBA

Scott Forman, MBA

Scott Forman, MBA

Vice President, Program Management

Prior to joining Immunovant, Scott spent over 25 years in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry across several functional and therapeutic areas at Eli Lilly, ICON Clinical Research, Baxter, and, most recently, Horizon Therapeutics and Amgen.  His expertise include: cross-functional team leadership, program management, continuous improvement, and corporate business transformation.  He has led teams through global regulatory submissions, R&D governance infrastructure build outs, research to clinical transitions, clinical and CMC timeline acceleration initiatives, and an R&D integration resulting from M&A.  Scott is an experienced and inclusive ally to all functional areas involved in the drug development process and also is passionate about early career professional development and mentorship. 

Scott has a B.S. in Chemistry from Miami University (Ohio), a M.S. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Maryland, and an M.B.A. from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. 

Tom Forman, MBA

Tom Forman, MBA

Tom Forman, MBA

Vice President, CMC Project Management

Tom Forman, MBA spent over 30 years with Eli Lilly where he had numerous roles across Manufacturing, CMC Development, and Portfolio Leadership.  He brings over 20 years of experience leading CMC teams in all phases of development from pre-clinical to seeing the successful launch of multiple marketed products.  Most recently, he was the early phase portfolio leader for Diabetes and Obesity development.

He holds a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA with Healthcare focus from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.  Tom is a registered Project Management Professional.

Ian Gourley, M.D.

Ian Gourley, M.D.

Ian Gourley, M.D.

Vice President of Clinical Development

Ian is a translational medicine and clinical development physician with over 20 years of experience in the biopharma industry. He has focused on early development of both large and small molecules in the immunology/inflammation space. Prior to joining Immunovant, Ian worked at CSL Behring in Clinical Pharmacology & Translational Development, where he was responsible for strategy and clinical oversight of early development programs in the immunology therapeutic area. Prior to CSL Behring, he held positions as Head of Translational Medicine Science, Immunology, at Janssen and in Clinical Precision Medicine at Pfizer. Ian started his industry career with Eli Lilly as a clinical research pathologist.

Ian received his M.B., B.Ch. and completed his M.D. thesis, both from Queen’s University of Belfast, and is a member of the Royal College of Physicians. He is a board-certified clinical pathologist and is accredited by the American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics as an HLA laboratory director.

Thomas Hardy, M.D., Ph.D.

Thomas Hardy, M.D., Ph.D.

Thomas Hardy, M.D., Ph.D.

Vice President of Drug Safety and Pharmacovigilance

Tom is a physician scientist with extensive early- and late-phase clinical development expertise. Prior to joining Immunovant, Tom spent 18 years at Eli Lilly and Company, holding key roles in all phases of clinical development. He oversaw numerous IND filings and directed the design and implementation of phase 1 and 2 clinical trials across multiple disease areas. Tom went on to direct multiple global registration trials in the Diabetes Business Unit, resulting in two global approvals. Before joining Lilly, he ran a busy clinical practice in endocrinology.

Tom earned a B.A. in Biology from University of California, Santa Cruz, and he earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Indiana University. He completed fellowship training in Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism at Vanderbilt Medical Center.

Laci Hasenour

Laci Hasenour

Laci Hasenour

Vice President Marketing, Neurology

Laci brings a unique combination of launching new-to-market biotechnology product while also building brands for Fortune 300 companies. Laci's brings 14+ years of experience in biotechnology and healthcare, primarily focusing on specialty therapeutics. She has a proven track record of launching successful brands with go-to-market strategies and market management that leverages sales partnerships and customer insights across diverse product life cycles. Prior to joining Immunovant, Laci's spent 3+ years at Berry Global, a leading B2B sustainable packaging supplier, where she broadened her skills in executive marketing leadership, corporate brand building, and social responsibility initiatives. In her role as VP of Marketing and Corporate Brand Owner, Laci was recognized as Ragan’s 2024 Top Women in Communications. Prior to that, Laci launched a leading dermatology biologic at Eli Lilly and went on to become the senior brand leader.

Laci obtained her BA in Marketing and Economics and an MBA from Xavier University. Laci holds a Sustainability Certificate from the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

Aileen Ilaria, MBA

Aileen Ilaria, MBA

Aileen Ilaria, MBA

Vice President, Clinical Operations – Global Site Management

Aileen brings an extensive depth of drug development experience in global operations including trial design and execution across a broad array of indications.  Prior to joining Immunovant, Aileen was at HUTCHMED International where she was responsible for portfolio and project management and business operations for the execution of the international portfolio.  While spending almost 20 years at Eli Lilly and Company, Aileen was a collaborative leader with a proven track record of delivering broad transformational initiatives and excelled in a fast-paced, innovative, and dynamic environment.  Before joining Eli Lilly, Aileen worked at several academic medical centers in both clinical and research administration roles.

Aileen holds a B.A in Sociology/Pre-Med from Boston College and an MBA with a concentration in healthcare administration from Boston University.

Claudia Jacobs, Ph.D.

Claudia Jacobs, Ph.D.

Claudia Jacobs, Ph.D.

Vice President of CMC Project Management Operations and Clinical Supply

Prior to joining Immunovant Claudia spent over 15 years at Eli Lilly & Company where she held numerous roles in product development in CMC, Clinical Trial Materials Manufacturing and Operations, Clinical Supply and Quality roles, supporting early and late phase program as well as launching products to market. Most recently Claudia was a consultant for biotechnology start-up companies as CMC Project Manager, CMC Development Lead, and Quality Assurance Head for early phase programs small and large molecules.

Claudia obtained her Pharmacy Degree from the University of Hamburg, Germany and earned her Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Technology from The Free University of Berlin, Germany.

Jonathan Janes, MB

Jonathan Janes, MB

Jonathan Janes, MB

Vice President Clinical Development

Before joining Immunovant, Jonathan held numerous roles working on diabetes, endocrine, and cardiovascular products at Eli Lilly and Company. Between 2009 and 2021 he held various global Medical Director roles, in critical care, immunology and dermatology. While at Eli Lilly he took a lead medical role in the development of both biologic and small molecules leading to successful product submissions and approvals. 

Jonathan received a First-Class Honours degree from London University in 1983. Qualifying in Medicine in 1988 from the University of Wales, he trained in the University Hospital of Wales, becoming a Member of the Royal College of Physicians in 1992. In 2005 he was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and in 2021 he also became a Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine.

Ant Kidwell

Ant Kidwell

Ant Kidwell

Vice President of IT and Facilities

Prior to joining Immunovant, Ant led IT and Facilities at Iterum Therapeutics. He has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, with the last 11 years setting up and leading IT and facilities at Bio-tech start-ups. Ant’s leadership in IT, cybersecurity, and facilities enables true partnership between IT and business functions to further the goal of delivering needed medicines to patients.

He holds a B.Sc. In Information Management from Albertus Magnus College.

Chedvi Levin-Sister

Chedvi Levin-Sister

Chedvi Levin-Sister

Vice President of Finance

Chedvi’s expertise includes regulatory compliance (PCAOB, US GAAP, SEC, and IFRS), technical and income tax accounting, revenue recognition (inclusive of gross-to-net in domestic US pharma), stock-based compensation, and leases. She has deep transactional experience in carve-out and business combinations along with implementation of internal controls over financial reporting, including remediation of material weaknesses. Prior to Immunovant, Chedvi spent over 15 years at PwC, where she held numerous roles, most recently as Assurance Director, serving a range of industries and global clients including large pharmaceutical, life science and medical device companies, SEC registrants, technology, and startup companies.

Chedvi earned a B.A. (cum laude) in Management Accounting and Information System from the Jerusalem College of Technology, Israel. She is a CPA (Is).

Launi Masterson

Launi Masterson

Launi Masterson

Vice President of Clinical Operations

Launi has more than 25 years of drug development experience in the areas of Global Trial Execution, CRO oversight, client relationship management, vendor management and clinical operations. Prior to Immunovant, Launi led execution of clinical trials at Metavant Sciences, in metabolic disorders. Prior to Metavant, Launi led diverse teams in large pharma, biotech, CROs, and as an entrepreneur managing professionals across a diverse scope in clinical trial planning and delivery.

Launi holds a B.S. degree in Environmental and Biological Sciences from Rutgers University, Cook College.

Andy Minke

Andy Minke

Andy Minke

Vice President Program Management

Andy brings over two decades of progressive project leadership experience from pre-clinical to commercialization. He has is a seasoned pharmaceutical project management professional with experience in all phases of global drug and device development. Prior to joining Immunovant, he led efforts at OncoNano Medicine to bring its first therapeutic program to patients with advanced solid tumors and lymphomas. Prior to OncoNano, Andy held positions of increasing responsibility at Galderma, Alcon/Novartis and Bausch & Lomb in project management, quality, and regulatory affairs. He brings over two decades of progressive project leadership experience from pre-clinical to commercialization.

Andy earned a bachelor’s degree from Zuyd University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands and went on to complete an M.B.A from Harrison College of Business at Southeast Missouri State University.

Linda McKerral

Linda McKerral

Linda McKerral

Vice President, CMC Analytical Sciences

Linda joins Immunovant with over 20 years experience in Vaccines and Biologics development and commercialization.  Prior to joining, she held various leadership roles overseeing Analytical, Technical Operations and Quality Control functions during her 6 years at Moderna.  There, she also led various technical development teams, advancing notable infectious disease vaccine and personalized cancer therapy programs.  She scaled analytical development and QC departments to facilitate the company’s rapid growth and evolution. Linda’s career began at Merck and over 15 years she held various technical and leadership roles spanning bioprocess/ analytical development to leading external collaborations.  Prior to departing Merck, she was overseeing a large network of CRO’s for pre-/clinical bioanalysis for large molecules, including complex oncology clinical development programs.

Linda holds a Master of Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Guelph, Canada and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of Waterloo, Canada. She is a Certified Project Manager (CPM).  

Pooja Mehta

Pooja Mehta

Pooja Mehta

Vice President Drug Substance Tech Transfer

Pooja brings over 16 years of experience in biologics development, tech transfer and manufacturing at Roivant, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Glaxo Smith Kline Vaccine, Grifols and Bristol Myers Squibb. Prior to joining Immunovant, she held various roles of increasing responsibility as a technical lead supporting CMC process development, tech transfer, manufacturing and validation, managing internal and external manufacturing and supported organizations as a member of extended leadership team utilizing innovative approaches to resolve complex issues while meeting quality, regulatory and development objectives.

Pooja holds a Master of Science degree in Biotechnology (Regulatory Affairs) from Johns Hopkins University and Bachelor of Science degree in Biotechnology (Biochemical Pharmacology) from University at Buffalo.

Regina Mirra

Regina Mirra

Regina Mirra

VP, Regulatory Operational Excellence

Regina brings 30+ years of pharmaceutical experience to Immunovant and has a diverse background ranging from regulatory and business operations, systems technology and process innovation, quality and regulatory strategy. With a continuous commitment to regulatory excellence, coupled with a persistent process improvement mindset, she has built successful global submission team models focused on the delivery of quality and timely registration outcomes. Regina held key leadership positions most recently at Bausch Health Companies, Sanofi and Eli Lilly & Company where she led submission and project teams, delivering new system implementations and process enhancements.

Regina attended Gibbs College with a concentration in Business Administration and is a member of the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS), the Drug Information Association (DIA) and the Healthcare Businesswomen Association (HBA).

Jennifer Moseley

Jennifer Moseley

Jennifer Moseley

Vice President of Clinical Operations

Jennifer has more than 25 years of drug development experience in the areas of global operations, CRO oversight and management, and operational excellence in clinical trial delivery. Prior to joining Immunovant, Jennifer was at Astellas, where she was responsible for managing program delivery teams supporting regulatory filings, clinical inspection activities, and operational excellence initiatives. Prior to Astellas she spent 16 years at Abbott/AbbVie, where she contributed to development and global submissions for 2 approvals that resulted in new treatment paradigms for AIDS and HCV patients.

Jennifer holds a B.Sc. in Microbiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Ike Ogbaa, MD

Ike Ogbaa, MD

Ike Ogbaa, MD

Vice President & Global Head of Medical Affairs

Ike Ogbaa, MD brings over 20 years of comprehensive experience in the clinical practice and pharmaceutical sectors. He most recently served in senior leadership positions as Vice President and Global Head of Medical Affairs at both Bluebird Bio and Chinook Therapeutics, a Novartis company. His extensive background includes progressively responsible roles in Medical Affairs at Merck, Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline, and Bayer, where he has successfully spearheaded drug launches across diverse therapeutic areas, including Endocrinology, Hematology, Neuroscience and Immunology. 

Dr. Ogbaa earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a concentration in Behavioral Neuroscience from Yale University. He holds a Medical Doctorate from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, New Jersey, and completed his Internal Medicine residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Additionally, Dr. Ogbaa is certified in Medical Affairs and Medicines Development by King’s College London, and he has completed the AI in Pharma & Biotech certification from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Sheetal Patel M.D., MS MBA

Sheetal Patel M.D., MS MBA

Sheetal Patel M.D., MS MBA

Vice President of Clinical Development

Sheetal is a physician with more than 20 years of experience in academia and the biopharmaceutical industry. She has held key roles in all phases of clinical development, medical affairs, and data generation. She has led cross-functional teams for filing of multiple BLA, NDA and device submissions, bringing multiple products to market. Her skillsets expanse from Phase I-IV, registrations trials, prelaunch, launch and LCM in various therapeutic areas globally. Sheetal has worked across large and small biopharmaceutical companies, including: Baxter, Abbott, Shire, Takeda, Bayer, Exact Sciences, Relmada and Lundbeck. She also held positions at Rush University Medical Center and University of Illinois and other Chicago Hospitals prior to making her transition to industry.

Sheetal received her MD from Medical University of Lublin and a Master of Clinical Research from Rush University. In 2022, Sheetal received her Executive MBA from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

Cassandra Pauyo

Cassandra Pauyo

Cassandra Pauyo

Vice President, Data Management

Cassandra is an experienced R&D professional with a deep leadership background in Data Management operations across multiple treatment modalities, therapeutic areas, and phases of drug development. Prior to Immunovant, Cassandra has held roles of increasing responsibility, including building and leading the Data Management function, at Cubist Pharmaceuticals (now a Merck company), Akebia Therapeutics, and Albireo Pharma (now an Ipsen company) in support of successful Regulatory approvals across several compounds and indications.

Cassandra earned a B.S. in Biomedical Laboratory and Clinical Sciences from Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts. She has a Masters in Public Health from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. In addition, Cassandra holds a Certificate in Biotechnology from Boston University and a Certificate of Clinical Data Management from the Society of Clinical Data Management.

Rod Saponjic Ph.D., MBA

Rod Saponjic Ph.D., MBA

Rod Saponjic Ph.D., MBA

Vice President of Clinical Operations

Rod has more than 25 years of drug development leadership experience in the areas of global operations, project management, clinical operations, clinical systems, and vendor management. Prior to Immunovant, Rod led Clinical Operations at Respivant, responsible for the management of Phase 1-3 trials in the areas of immunology and respiratory disease. Prior to Respivant, Rod led global development operations at Greenwich Bioscience, resulting in the NDA submission and the first FDA approval of a cannabinoid therapy. Prior to Greenwich, Rod has held senior management positions at Alkensa, Clingenix, Patara Pharma, PRA International, AirPharma, Quintiles, and Synteract.

Rod earned his B.A. in Psychology at Texas Tech University. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Texas Christian University and an M.B.A. at Baker University.

Lauren Schrier, MBA

Lauren Schrier, MBA

Lauren Schrier, MBA

Vice President of Marketing

Lauren brings expertise in commercial product strategy and execution in immunology. Prior to joining Immunovant, Lauren held multiple leadership roles at Celgene, including experiences spanning Global Marketing, Commercial Development, Project Leadership, and Chief of Staff for the Inflammation and Immunology franchise. Prior to Celgene, Lauren worked in management consulting at Accenture and Easton Associates, where she advised life science clients in opportunity assessment, strategy, and development engagements.

Lauren earned a B.S.E. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and an M.B.A. in Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Management from Columbia Business School.

Philip Tedeschi

Philip Tedeschi

Philip Tedeschi

Vice President, Translational Sciences and Clinical Laboratories

Phil is a translational scientist who brings more than 15 years of drug development knowledge for both small and large molecule programs. His expertise includes biomarkers, bioanalysis and toxicology.  Prior to joining Immunovant, Phil worked at Pfizer where he led laboratory teams supporting discovery through phase 1 trials in oncology, including INDs for first-in-class therapeutics.  Prior to Pfizer, Phil worked across programs of various stages in both oncology and inflammation/Immunology therapeutic areas. 

Phil holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Pharmacology from Rutgers University, a M.S. in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University and a B.S. in Biology from The College of New Jersey.

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