Mahmoud Mahmoudian, PhD, FRS

Mahmoud Mahmoudian, PhD, FRS has extensive work experience in various leadership roles in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Mahmoud is currently serving as the Managing Director at Cobro Ventures and also holds the position of Board of Directors at BioEclipse Therapeutics, Inc. In addition, they are the President and Chief Executive Officer at Mana Therapeutics and the Chief Business Officer at Dynamic Cell Therapies, Inc.

Prior to their current roles, Mahmoudian was the Senior Vice President and Head of Global Oncology External Innovation at Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Oncology. During their tenure, they successfully established innovation bio-hubs worldwide and led business development initiatives, raising $70M in capital and forming strategic alliances with prestigious institutions such as Columbia, Wistar Institute, Harvard, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Before that, Mahmoudian served as the Vice President and Head of Innovation Hub at Purdue Pharma, where they were responsible for diversifying the pipeline and investing in various therapeutic areas such as immuno-oncology, inflammation, genetic diseases, and autoimmune diseases. Mahmoud played a key role in identifying and integrating disruptive platforms in $150B markets and established the joint venture with AnaBios.

Mahmoudian also held the position of Vice President and Head of Innovative Medicines at Ferring Pharmaceuticals, where they led the global innovation hub and spearheaded scientific and commercial due diligence to scout, evaluate, and develop emerging modalities such as phage therapy, microbiome, and gene editing. Mahmoud was instrumental in forming Trizell Holdings, a company focused on commercializing the immunotherapy pipeline.

Prior to Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Mahmoudian worked at Merck as the Managing Director of External Research - Worldwide Business Development. Mahmoud led scouting, scientific search and evaluation, licensing, and deal closure in the field of vaccines, biologics, and Merck BioVentures. Mahmoud successfully closed 13 deals in immuno-oncology, autoimmune disorders, and infectious diseases, including the acquisition of Sirna for RNA interference technology.

Mahmoudian's career began at Dow, where they served as the Chief Innovation Officer. Mahmoud led research and development across five sites and directed global teams that developed products for bio-pharmaceutical applications in emerging markets. Mahmoud also established the biosciences footprint at Dow.

Earlier in their career, Mahmoudian held the role of Chief Biotechnology Officer and served on the Board of Directors at Eastman. Mahmoud was responsible for building a biotech hub and developing a broad pipeline through research, strategic alliances, divestitures, licensing, acquisitions, and venture investments.

Throughout their career, Mahmoud Mahmoudian has demonstrated strong leadership, innovation, and strategic decision-making skills in driving growth and advancement in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.

Mahmoud Mahmoudian, PhD, FRS pursued their educational journey at various prestigious institutions. Mahmoud completed their PhD and MSc in Biotechnology at Imperial College London. Additionally, they obtained a degree in Marketing from The Wharton School. Mahmoudian's academic achievements include being recognized as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) by The Royal Society London.