Agenus :: the patient is waiting

Dr. Armen is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Agenus Inc., the biotechnology company he co-founded in 1994. From mid-2002 through 2004, he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the biopharmaceutical company Elan Corporation, plc which he successfully restructured. Dr. Armen serves as non-executive Chairman of the Board of Protagenic Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focusing on human brain hormones for the treatment of neurological and metabolic disorders. He also serves as Founder and Chairman of the Children of Armenia Fund (COAF), a philanthropic organization which he founded in 2000; COAF is dedicated to the development of children and youth in Rural Armenia.

Jonae leads our investor relations and corporate communications functions. She is responsible for developing and implementing investor relations, corporate communications and media relations plans and ensuring that we consistently and effectively tell the Agenus story. Jonae joined us in 2011 from Sepracor where she held a series of progressively responsible management and executive roles over a 14 year period and was most recently Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. Jonae's experience in strategic investor relations, corporate communications and media relations spans the full life cycle of drug development and commercialization. She holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Suffolk University and Master's degrees in financial economics and multinational commerce from Boston University.

Ozer's principle role is to lead Agenus' efforts in establishing commercial capability and accelerating Agenus' transition to becoming a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company. Previously, Ozer spent 30 plus years with Pfizer in a broad number of functional and geographic areas, most recently serving as President of Europe, Emerging Markets Region where he grew revenue to $2.5 billon. He has held key leadership positions in Marketing, Sales, Manufacturing, Country Management and Corporate. While at Pfizer, he successfully integrated three major acquisitions and was actively involved with numerous licensing and M&A activites. He holds a bachelor's degree from Bosphorus University in Industrial Engineering and has completed the Programs for Leadership and Management Development at Harvard Business School.

John leads our human resources, facilities and information technology functions. John joined Agenus in 2003 as Vice President Human Resources. He assumed additional responsibility for facilities in 2005, information technology in 2006, and led our corporate communications from 2009-2011. Prior to joining Agenus, John was Vice President of Human Resources for Perkin Elmer Global Life Sciences. In addition, he spent 9 years at Bristol-Myers Squibb in a series of progressively responsible roles in corporate staff and worldwide medicines. John has extensive experience in leadership development and human resource planning, organization development, mergers and acquisitions, compensation design, and sales force effectiveness. He holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University, and a Masters in organizational psychology from Columbia University.

Christine leads our finance, accounting, and corporate treasury functions. Christine joined Agenus in 1996 as Finance Manager and has held several positions of increasing responsibility within our accounting and finance departments. Prior to Agenus, she was at Arthur Andersen from 1987, as an audit manager. Ms. Klaskin received her Bachelor of Accountancy from The George Washington University.

Janice leads our business development and licensing functions. In her career as a business executive and consultant she has led over $2 billion in investment and partnering deals. Most recently she was the Chief Business Officer of Amakem Therapeutics. Previously, she served in leadership roles at Ingenix, ActivBiotics, Praecis Pharmaceuticals (now a GSK company), and Abbott and Takeda. Janice received a bachelor's degree from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences. She also holds an MBA and is in the process of completing the Pharmaceutical Doctorate program at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy.

Steve leads our manufacturing and process and analytical technology functions. Since joining Agenus as a Scientist in 2001, Steve has held several positions of increasing responsibility. He has played a key role in supporting the clinical development of Agenus lead immunotherapeutic Oncophage, defining the strategies for its manufacture, characterization, and release. In his current role as Vice President of Manufacturing, Process & Analytical Technologies, Steve oversees the manufacture of Agenus' clinical products, aligned external contract manufacturing and the transfer of technology from research into development. Prior to joining Agenus, he was with Genetics Institute (now Wyeth) from 1998 - 2001. Steve received his BSc, with first class honors, from the University of Queensland and his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Melbourne. Following his PhD, Steve completed a Howard Hughes fellowship at Brandeis University.

Dr. Marcel Rozencweig is recognized as a world leading expert in anti-cancer drug development. He built and led the clinical research group at Bristol-Myers Squibb (“BMS”) that developed all the NCEs brought by BMS to the market from 1983 to 2001 in the area of cancer (including carboplatin and paclitaxel). Under his leadership, a total of 17 marketing applications (NDAs or sNDAs1) were successfully filed by BMS in the area of cancer, HIV, and infectious diseases. From 2001-2007, Dr. Rozencweig served as Senior Vice President Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer for GPC Biotech. Dr. Rozencweig is currently an independent consultant to the biotech industry. In addition to his role as Senior Advisor to Agenus, he serves in a part-time capacity as Senior Executive Vice President Clinical Affairs for Sopherion Therapeutics and Senior Vice President Clinical and Regulatory Strategies for Innate Pharma.

Dr. Rozencweig holds a Medical degree from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, in Belgium.

Karen leads our legal and compliance functions. Prior to joining Agenus, Karen was an associate in the biotechnology practice of Palmer & Dodge LLP (now Edwards, Angell, Palmer & Dodge LLP). While at the law firm, she provided corporate law services to a broad range of both public and private corporations, and developed an expertise in the areas of licensing and strategic collaborations. Prior to entering the legal profession Karen was an underwriter for Chubb Group of Insurance Companies. Karen holds a BS in neuroscience from Colgate University, and received her law degree from Boston University School of Law. Ms. Valentine has been recognized as a "Rising Star Super Lawyer" by Boston Magazine.

Kerry leads our clinical, regulatory, quality, and translational medicines functions. Kerry joined Agenus in 2004, was promoted to Vice President Regulatory Affairs and Clinical Operations in 2006 and appointed Vice President Clinical, Regulatory, and Quality in 2009. Prior to joining Agenus, Kerry served as Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs at Genelabs Technologies, where she was responsible for the business’ regulatory and quality functions. Prior to Genelabs, Kerry held various positions in regulatory affairs at Shaman Pharmaceuticals and at Genzyme Corporation. Kerry has considerable expertise in the development, global licensing, and post-marketing activities associated with drug and biological products. She holds a BS in pre-veterinary medicine from the University of New Hampshire.

Dr. Armen is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Agenus Inc., the biotechnology company he co-founded with Pramod Srivastava in 1994. From mid-2002 through 2004, he was Chairman of the Board of Directors for the biopharmaceutical company Elan Corporation, plc. Dr. Armen also serves on the Board of Protagenic Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focusing on human brain hormones for the treatment of mood disorders. He is the founder and President of the Children of Armenia Fund, a charitable organization established in 2000 that is dedicated to the positive development of the children and youth of Armenia.

Mr. Corvese is president and founder of Vencor Capital, a private equity firm with telecommunications and technology investments in the Middle East and Mediterranean regions. Prior to Vencor, Mr. Corvese worked on investments in the US and global equity markets as a managing director and partner at Soros Fund Management, the largest hedge fund in the world at the time. From 1988 to 1996, Mr. Corvese was a partner at Chancellor Capital Management, a $25-billion money management firm. While at Chancellor, Mr. Corvese was a portfolio manager with responsibility for investments made in basic industries, restructurings, and special situations, corporate governance investments, as well as founding and managing his own hedge fund. From 1981 to 1988, Mr. Corvese was with Drexel Burnham Lambert as an equity analyst following the chemical and specialty chemical industries and he participated in a significant number of merger and acquisition activities. While at Drexel, Mr. Corvese was a member of the top chemical and specialty chemical research team, as ranked by Institutional Investor. Mr. Corvese currently serves on the board of the National Telecommunications Company, based in Cairo, Egypt.

Mr. Corvese earned degrees in finance and political science from The University of Rhode Island and attended New York University Graduate School.

Mr. Dechaene is an advisor to various TMT (telecom, media and technology) and life sciences companies. Mr. Dechaene serves on the boards of KBC Group, a financial group listed on the NYSE Euronext, of Transics N.V., a company listed on NYSE Euronext and which develops and markets fleet management solutions for the transport and logistics sector, and of Bourn Hall International Ltd, a private provider of IVF services in India and the MENA region. Mr. Dechaene was a director of Telindus NV, listed on Euronext, from 2005 until its acquisition by Belgacom in 2006. Since 2006 Mr. Dechaene has been a director of the Telindus Foundation in the Netherlands. From 2000 to 2002, Mr. Dechaene was the Chief Financial Officer of SurfCast Inc., a software development company. He was with Deutsche Bank from 1991 through 1999, most recently as a director in the principal investments group within the equity capital markets division. Mr. Dechaene holds a law degree from the Central Exam Commission, Belgium, a masters degree in applied economics from the University of Antwerp, and an MBA from INSEAD, France.

Mr. Jordan has been a director since March 2003. Mr. Jordan is president of NearEast Pharma, a company marketing pharmaceuticals in Near East markets, and has served in such position since 1996. From 1993 to 1995, Mr. Jordan served as a vice president of Cyanamid International, a research-based life sciences company, and from 1976 to 1993 Mr. Jordan served as a managing director within Cyanamid International. Since December 2005, Mr. Jordan has served as a member of the board of directors at Pollex SAL, a company that specializes in the distribution and marketing of BASF products in the Middle East and North Africa. Since December 2003, Mr. Jordan has been a trustee of the board of directors of the Lebanese American University, located in Beirut, Lebanon, and incorporated under the Board of Regents in New York State. Mr. Jordan received a bachelor’s degree in agriculture at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, and a certificate in international business from Columbia University.

Ms. Shalini Sharp is the Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Finance of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Inc. Prior to Ultragenyx, Ms. Sharp served as the Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Agenus Inc. from September 9, 2006 to May 2012. During her tenure at Agenus, which began in 2003, Ms. Sharp also served as its Senior Director of Strategic Planning and Corporate development. Prior to this, she served as Director of Strategic Planning at Elan Corporation Plc, where she served as Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the board during the restructuring process and drove to completion a number of strategic corporate and financial transactions. Shalini was previously a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, specializing in pharmaceuticals and medical devices. She has been a Director of Agenus Inc. since May 11, 2012. She received her BA and MBA from Harvard University.

Mr. Wright is currently the Director of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center Drug Development Institute and Chairman and acting CEO of Curaxis Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Wright brings to Agenus' board nearly 30 years of pharmaceutical industry experience in general management, product development and commercialization as well as business restructuring and transaction experience. Previously, Mr. Wright was President of the Imaging Solutions and Pharmaceutical Products Sector of Covidien, a global leader in medical devices and supplies, diagnostic imaging agents, pharmaceuticals, and other healthcare products. Prior to Covidien, he was chief operating officer of Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals, a privately held pharmaceutical company focused on pain management and women's health, where he created and executed transition plans to build infrastructure in development, regulatory affairs and operations. Mr. Wright was also president and interim CEO of AAI Pharma, a hybrid pharmaceutical, drug delivery/manufacturing, and global clinical research organization. In addition, he has held senior management positions at Elan Bio-Pharmaceuticals, Cardinal Health Inc., and Dupont Merck Pharmaceutical Company. Mr. Wright has served on several boards of directors, including those for Curaxis Pharmaceuticals, AAI Pharma and CeNes Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Wright earned his bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University.