James Panek

James Panek has more than 40 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. He joined VaxGen in 2002 as Senior Vice President of Technical Operations, and was appointed its Chief Executive Officer in 2007. During his tenure at VaxGen, Panek served as Co-CEO and Chairman of its highly successful international joint venture, Celltrion, Inc., the first large scale, commercial contract manufacturing and development company in Asia. Prior to joining VaxGen, Panek was Senior Vice President of Product Operations at Genentech, Inc. and a member of its Executive Committee. In this position, Panek was responsible for all process development, manufacturing, and quality functions. He also led the development of one of world's largest manufacturing facilities enabling FDA approval and launch of multiple recombinant products including Rituxan® and Herceptin®. Prior to joining Genentech, Panek spent six years with Eli Lilly in a variety of engineering and development positions. Panek holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and has served on several Boards of Directors and Advisory Boards including VaxGen, Inc., DiaDexus, Inc., Celltrion, Inc., and Geneworks.