Our Company

Michael M. Morrissey, PhD, has served as a director and as Exelixis’ President and Chief Executive Officer since July 2010. Dr. Morrissey has held positions of increasing responsibility at Exelixis since he joined the company in February 2000, including serving as President of Research and Development from January 2007 until July 2010. From 1991 to 2000, Dr. Morrissey held several positions at Berlex Biosciences, last holding the position of Vice President, Discovery Research. Earlier in his career, Dr. Morrissey served as a Senior Scientist and Project Team Leader in Medicinal Chemistry at CIBA-Geigy Corporation. Dr. Morrissey serves as a member of the board of directors of XWPharma Ltd., a privately held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. He is the author of numerous scientific publications in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery and an inventor on 70 issued U.S. patents and 25 additional published U.S. patent applications. Dr. Morrissey holds a B.S. (Honors) in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Harvard University.

Dr. Andrew Cheng joined Akero in September 2018, as President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining Akero, Andrew served as Gilead Sciences’ Senior Vice President from 2009-2015, then became Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, during which time, he was responsible for the clinical development for the HIV program resulting in 11 FDA/EMA approved products. His past responsibilities also included medical affairs and the creation of the development operations department (regulatory affairs, clinical operations, pharmacovigilance, project management, clinical pharmacology, and biometrics), which covered clinical development support in multiple therapeutic areas including oncology, inflammation, respiratory, cardiovascular, HIV, and liver diseases.

Andrew previously served on the board of directors of Syntimmune, Inc., which was acquired by Alexion, and in August 2019, joined the board of directors of Arbutus Biopharma Corporation. He holds a BA in biology from Johns Hopkins University, and an MD and PhD in cellular and molecular biology from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed his internal medicine residency at UCLA, and was board certified in internal medicine.

Dr. Seidenberg is a founding managing director of Westlake Village BioPartners and a general partner at Kleiner Perkins, a leading venture capital firm. A longtime life sciences investor, she has incubated-invested 25 biotech ventures.

Dr. Seidenberg has a demonstrated ability to identify and accelerate medically meaningful molecules through development. Her expertise is grounded in her significant senior level industry experience with leadership roles at Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck Research Laboratories. Most recently, at Amgen, Dr. Seidenberg was chief medical officer and head of global development.

Dr. Seidenberg holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and anthropology from Barnard College and attended medical school at the University of Miami School of Medicine. She completed her medical residency at Johns Hopkins University and the George Washington University, and Fellowship at the National Institutes of Health.

Maha Katabi is a General Partner at Sofinnova Investments. Dr. Katabi is an experienced investor with over two decades in managing public and private biotech companies through bull and bear markets. She is focused on investing in development stage biopharmaceuticals and is currently a member of the board of directors of Aerovate (AVTE), Quanta, RayzeBio, and was recently a board member of Gyroscope (acquired by Novartis) and Amplyx (acquired by Pfizer).

Prior to joining Sofinnova in 2019, Maha was Managing Partner of Oxalis Capital.  Prior to founding Oxalis, Maha was Partner at Sectoral Asset Management, where she formed and led a dedicated investment team and advisory board to drive investments in private companies. Two of these companies were Ascendis (ASND) and Apellis (APLS), both also Sofinnova portfolio companies. Additionally, she was a Portfolio Manager for a family of funds that invested in small cap healthcare companies. She started her career in venture as a principal investor with associate and principal roles at T²C²/Bio and Ventures West.

Maha received her BSc In Biology and PhD in Pharmacology from McGill University, where she was a Cancer Research Society fellow, and is a CFA charter holder since 2011. She currently serves as Chair of the board of Exactis Innovation, a not-for profit oncology precision medicine network.

Mr. Enright is a Managing Director and Founder of Longitude Capital. Prior to Longitude Capital, Mr. Enright was a Managing Director of Pequot Ventures where he co-led the life sciences investment practice. Prior to Pequot, he was a Managing Member of the Delta Opportunity Fund at Diaz & Altschul Capital Management. Mr. Enright began his investment career at PaineWebber Development Corporation. Mr. Enright also has significant life sciences operations experience, including senior executive positions at Valentis (VLTS), Boehringer Mannheim (acquired by Roche) and Sandoz (now known as Novartis). Mr. Enright currently serves on the boards of Aptinyx (APTX), CuraSen Therapeutics, Dascena, Epirium Bio (formerly Cardero Therapeutics), Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ), Orbus Therapeutics, Rivus Pharmaceuticals, Vera Therapeutics as well as the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). Selected prior board memberships include Aimmune (AIMT, acquired by Nestlé Health Science), Codexis (CDXS), Corcept Therapeutics (CORT), Esperion Therapeutics (ESPR), Horizon Pharmaceuticals (HZNP), InfaCare Pharmaceutical, MAP Pharmaceuticals (MAPP, acquired by Allergan), Prestwick Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Lundbeck), Sequenom (SQNM, acquired by LabCorp), Threshold Pharmaceuticals (THLD) and Vaxcyte (PCVX). Mr. Enright holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University.

Dr. Fordyce brings more than 15 years’ experience leading teams in drug discovery, development, clinical translation, and commercialization of new treatments.

Before founding Vera, Fordyce was the founder and CEO of gene-editing company Trucode Gene Repair, Inc., having previously served as an entrepreneur in residence at Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers.

Earlier in his career, Fordyce served as Senior Director of clinical research at Gilead Sciences, Inc., where he contributed to seven new drug approvals and served as project lead for Gilead’s TAF/GENVOYA development program.

With subspecialty training in infectious disease from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Fordyce was previously Chief Resident at NYU Bellevue and spent two years as a translational research fellow at Rockefeller University.

Fordyce currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation. He received his BA from Harvard University and his MD from Harvard Medical School.

Kimball Hall is a longtime pharmaceutical industry leader with 30 years of experience in quality, regulatory and manufacturing. Formerly holding leadership positions at Genentech and Amgen, she is currently president and chief operating officer of Abzena, a biologics-focused contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO). Prior to her role at Abzena, Kimball held several executive positions at Genentech, Inc., a member of the Roche family, most recently as senior vice president, global head of drug substance manufacturing and a member of the Genentech executive committee. Responsible for seven internal sites and 27 external manufacturing locations, she supported five commercial product launches, built a strong quality and safety culture, and established small-volume production. Prior to joining Genentech, Kimball spent 16 years at Amgen, a biotechnology company, most recently as vice president of manufacturing.

Kimball has held a variety of board and advisory board positions, including as a member of Genentech’s patient access board and as an advisor to Genentech’s global women’s professional organization. She holds a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from the University of Washington.