Date: Jan 10, 2014 Source: Business Wire (
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CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mersana Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing its Fleximer® antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) platform and therapeutics, today announced two executive appointments. Donald A. Bergstrom, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed Chief Medical Officer, adding substantial experience in oncology translational research to Mersana's team. Eva M. Jack has been appointed Mersana's Chief Business Officer, bringing a successful track record in business development and venture capital. David Mott, chairman of the company's Board of Directors, was also recently named Executive Chairman, following Nicholas Bacopoulos' return to his Board of Directors' role after having stepped in as CEO to lead the company through a transition over the past few years.
"Eva is a seasoned business development executive and operational leader with whom I have had the pleasure of working in the past; we are fortunate to now welcome her to Mersana"
"Don is an extraordinary oncology translational scientist and drug developer," said David Mott, Executive Chairman of Mersana. "He joins us at an exciting time in the maturation of our technology. He will be instrumental both in helping us select the best therapeutics for internal development and in enhancing our collaborations with partners as we apply our technology to their therapeutics candidates. His experiences at Sanofi and Merck as well as in academic medicine will be invaluable as we continue to progress at Mersana."
"Eva is a seasoned business development executive and operational leader with whom I have had the pleasure of working in the past; we are fortunate to now welcome her to Mersana," continued Mr. Mott. "Her prior experiences at MedImmune and Pulmatrix, as well her consulting work in the industry, position her well to advance Mersana's corporate development efforts, working to strike important collaborations and alliances as we build a next-generation ADC company."
Mr. Mott also commented, "We are grateful to Nick Bacopoulos for having stepped in from the board three years ago to lead the company through a repositioning to focus its technology exclusively on the ADC field and within oncology. We are in a stronger place today as a result of Nick's leadership, and we look forward to his continued contributions on our Board of Directors."
Dr. Bergstrom joins Mersana after serving since May 2010 as Global Head of Translational and Experimental Medicine at Sanofi Oncology, where he led a team of more than 60 laboratory and clinical scientists who integrated translational science into oncology drug development. From 2004 to 2010, Dr. Bergstrom held roles of increasing responsibility at Merck Research Laboratories, culminating in his role as Oncology Franchise Lead, Experimental Medicine. Prior roles at Merck included positions in Oncology Clinical Research and Clinical Molecular Profiling. Dr. Bergstrom received an M.D. from the University of Washington, Seattle and a Ph.D. from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, where he also completed post-doctoral training. He was a resident in clinical pathology at the University of Washington.
Ms. Jack joins Mersana after serving as an independent advisor and consultant to biotech companies and investors on business and financing strategies since 2012. From 2010 to 2012, she served as the Chief Business Officer of Pulmatrix, and before that, she was with MedImmune, the worldwide biologics unit of AstraZeneca. Her most recent role within MedImmune was as Managing Director of MedImmune Ventures, and previously she worked in MedImmune's Business Development group, where she was responsible for in-licensing and out-licensing activities. Prior to joining MedImmune in 2004, Ms. Jack held a variety of positions at Intel Corporation, where she worked in venture investments, corporate strategy and public policy. Ms. Jack holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia and a master's degree in health sciences from The Johns Hopkins University.
About Mersana
Mersana engineers novel drug conjugates that maximize the potential of new and established therapeutic classes. Utilizing its proprietary conjugation technology, which is comprised of the Fleximer® polymer and a broad array of customizable linker chemistries, Mersana is developing its next-generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADCs) platform with superior properties not found with other ADC technologies. Mersana is currently working with a number of top pharma companies to develop next generation Fleximer-ADCs. The company is also advancing its own pipeline of next-generation drugs with best-in-class potential to address unmet needs and improve patient outcomes in multiple oncology indications.
