Best Practices Throughout the Lifecycle of Pharma-Biotech Partnerships and M&A

Seemi Khan, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., Chief Medical Officer of Alkeus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (Cambridge, MA) is an accomplished executive who worked across multiple therapeutic areas. Dr. Khan is an internist and nephrologist with expertise in rare disease, immunology and rheumatology. She completed her residency and fellowship at Tufts Medical Center program and served as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine prior to joining pharmaceutical industry. She has an M.P.H. from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an M.B.A. from Brandeis University. Prior to joining Alkeus, she served as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Reata Pharmaceuticals, which was later acquired by Biogen. Dr. Khan was instrumental in the approval and launch of the first treatment for Friedreich’s ataxia by Reata Pharmaceuticals. During her career, she oversaw multiple clinical programs from early stage to late stages. She played pivotal role in driving clinical development strategy. She led multiple therapeutic areas and functions across early and late stages of drug development. Dr. Khan held leadership positions at Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Quark Pharmaceuticals, Abbott and AbbVie.

Joseph M. Palumbo, MD, LFAPA, MACPsych, is Executive Vice President (EVP), Head of Research & Development (R&D) and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of BioVie Inc., a clinical-stage company developing innovative drug therapies for the treatment of neurological and neurodegenerative disorders and advanced liver disease. In addition to his role at BioVie, Palumbo is a Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and a Fellow of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology. He is also involved in academia, serving as a member of the American College of Psychiatrists along with sitting on the Dean’s Council of Advisors at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Prior to joining BioVie, Dr. Palumbo served as CMO for Zynerba, developing therapeutics for autism and other rare neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions of adults and children. He previously held senior worldwide governance roles at Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma in both the United States (US) and Japan, where he led medical science and translational research across multiple therapeutic areas, and guided successful registrational programs for RADICAVA® (edaravone) for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the US, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, South Korea, and other countries. Palumbo also served as Global Head and Franchise Medical Leader for Psychiatry, and the Interim Head of Global Neuroscience at Johnson & Johnson, where he led the medical teams who achieved successful global registrations in multiple neuropsychiatric conditions for RISPERDAL® (risperidone), CONCERTA® (methylphenidate HCL) and INVEGA® (paliperidone). He has also served on the executive teams of international pharmaceutical companies including Sanofi-Synthelabo and Cephalon, as well as senior leadership roles at prestigious academic institutions including Yale University, Cornell University, and the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Palumbo holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and a Doctor of Medicine from the George Washington University School of Medicine. He was a Biological Sciences Training Program Fellow of the National Institutes of Health, a research mentor of junior faculty at both the APA and the Society of Biological Psychiatry, and served as Chief Resident for the Abraham Ribicoff Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit at Yale University. Dr Palumbo has also received Board Certification in Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry.

As Chief Medical Officer and Head of the Medical and Development organization, Dr Tadaaki Taniguchi is responsible for overseeing a global team striving to identify, discover and develop treatments with the potential to reshape expectations of medical care. This includes multiple divisions focused on developing innovative and patient-centric treatments and ensuring their appropriate and safe use throughout the product’s life cycle, including Data Science, Development in key Primary Focus areas (BioPharma, Cell & Gene Therapy, Oncology, Immuno-Oncology)​, Clinical Operations, Medical Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance and Strategy and Operations. Dr Taniguchi has over 20 years of industry experience spanning research, development and medical affairs. He has worked across a range of therapy areas including diabetes and oncology to deliver life-changing medicines to patients. Prior to joining Astellas, Dr Taniguchi held senior roles in major multinational pharmaceutical companies in the US, Japan and China operating at global and regional levels and most recently served as Senior Vice President, Head of Global Medical Affairs, Oncology Business Unit at AstraZeneca. Dr Taniguchi earned his Doctor of Medicine from Tottori University, Japan and completed a PhD in Medicine at Imperial College, London. As a surgical oncologist, he spent 10 years working in clinics and research laboratories, contributing to his unique perspective on how global pharma can create and deliver breakthrough science that can change the way diseases are treated.