John Applegate

Applegate joined Verge from Valo Health, an AI-powered drug discovery company, where he was a member of the founding leadership team and helped grow the company from seed stage to a valuation greater than $1B. Prior to Valo, he spent 14 years at Biogen, where he served as the head of global R&D finance, leading a 19 person team supporting nearly 100 R&D programs and a $2B annual budget.

Applegate joined Verge after 24 years of finance leadership in both the biotech and technology industries. As a member of the Biogen R&D Leadership Team, Applegate advised senior management on capital allocation decisions that spanned 11 business units, 14 collaborations, and 32 clinical development programs across 25 indications. He supported major business development transactions, including the $3.25B purchase of TYSABRI® (natalizumab) rights from Elan. Applegate also managed critical alliances on Biogen’s behalf that included collaborations with Eisai on developing and commercializing drug candidates to treat Alzheimer’s disease, and Genentech for developing and commercializing RITUXAN® (rituximab). He held leadership roles on multiple late-stage and commercial programs at Biogen, including as program director of lecanemab, one of the first treatments of its kind to show positive Phase 3 results for Alzheimer’s Disease.

Applegate received his MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in Economics from Northwestern University.