Carlos Paya

Dr. Paya’s esteemed career spans over 30 years as a leading physician-scientist in immunology and a senior executive in the biopharmaceutical industry. He has broad leadership expertise in R&D, commercial readiness and product launches. Dr. Paya currently holds a number of board positions and serves as the Board Chairman for Fluidigm and Highlight Therapeutics. Most recently, Dr. Paya served as the CEO and President of Immune Design Corp., as they advanced their dual platforms focused on vaccine adjuvants and cancer immunotherapies, culminating in the company’s acquisition by Merck. Previously, he was the President of Elan Pharmaceuticals responsible for the Biopharmaceutical unit focused on neuroscience. In this role, he partnered with Biogen Idec to support the global marketing and sales strategy for Tysabri®. Dr. Paya spent a number of years at Eli Lilly in roles of increasing responsibility, including Global Head for the Diabetes and Endocrine Franchise. He started his career in academics as a Professor of Medicine, Immunology and Pathology at the Mayo Medical School. During his tenure at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Paya served at the Vice Dean for the Clinical Investigation Program. Dr. Paya has a MD and PhD from Complutense University of Madrid.