Lee Swem

Chief Scientific Officer at Federation Bio

Dr. Lee Swem is the Chief Scientific Officer at Federation Bio, which he helped launch in January 2019. Under his leadership, the company has built out a research lab, bioanalytical lab, a germ-free vivarium and process development capabilities. ​

Prior to starting Federation Bio, Dr. Swem served for four years as Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, Vice President of Research and Director of the Therapeutic Antibody Program at Achaogen, where he developed a state-of-the-art antibody discovery platform to rapidly identify rare functional antibodies to treat serious human infectious diseases. This platform was funded by a $20M agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. ​

Before joining Achaogen, Dr. Swem worked as a scientist in the Infectious Disease Department at Genentech. During his tenure at Genentech, Dr. Swem established and led the anti-influenza A and B program and began a small-molecule anti-bacterial program. Under his leadership, the anti-influenza team established an innovative human B cell enrichment and cloning technique to discover rare functional antibodies. This work led to the discovery of a broadly neutralizing anti-influenza A antibody, which was transitioned into development as a first- and best-in-class treatment for severe influenza A infections. Dr. Swem also led the identification and development of a broadly neutralizing influenza B antibody, which was transitioned to development as a treatment for severe influenza B infections.​

Dr. Swem received his Ph.D. from Indiana University and conducted his postdoctoral research at Princeton University under Dr. Bonnie Bassler. He has authored an Investigational New Drug application, as well as more than 25 patents and publications.

Timeline

  • Chief Scientific Officer

    Current role

View in org chart