Board of Directors
Alexis Borisy
Alexis Borisy is a leading life sciences entrepreneur and investor, focusing over the past 25 years on building, operating, and investing in breakthrough life science-based companies. He currently serves as the Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of EQRx, and has been the founder, chairman, CEO, or founding investor of eight NASDAQ listed companies. Alexis was also previously a partner at Third Rock Ventures, where he played key roles in launching and building many of Third Rock’s portfolio companies. He currently serves as Chairman of Relay Therapeutics (RLAY) and as a Director at Blueprint Medicines (BPMC), both companies he co-founded and served a turn as CEO. Previously he was chairman of the board, co-founder and the first chief executive officer of Foundation Medicine (acquired by Roche) and Director of Thrive Earlier Detection (acquired by Exact Sciences). Alexis also currently serves as chairman of privately held Celsius Therapeutics and as a director of Tango Therapeutics and Dascena.
Prior to joining Third Rock Ventures, Alexis founded CombinatoRx in 2000, serving as its chief executive officer and bringing the company public on the NASDAQ, and as a co-founder and chairman of FORMA Therapeutics. He has transacted tens of billions in financing, business development, and M&A deals, and has authored numerous scientific papers and patents. Trained in chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard where he was a Howard Hughes Predoctoral Fellow, Alexis was honored as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Technology Review Innovator of the Year. He was also chosen as the New England Entrepreneur of the Year in Life Sciences and was honored as a Presidential Scholar.
Alexis’ undergraduate degree in chemistry is from the University of Chicago, and he did his graduate work in the laboratory of Dr. Stuart Schreiber at Harvard University. Alexis previously was Chair of the National Venture Capital Association, served on the Board of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, and is currently Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Boston Museum of Science.
Mark A. Goldsmith, M.D., Ph.D.
President, Chief Executive Officer and Board Chairman
Mark grew up around academic medical centers and knew early on that he would devote his professional life to medical science on behalf of patients. After studying biology and science in human affairs at Princeton University, he pursued a dual career in clinical medicine and scientific research through the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). After postgraduate training at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School and UCSF, Mark joined the faculty of the UCSF School of Medicine, led a dynamic research laboratory within the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology focused on the pathogenesis of and discovery of new treatments for life-threatening viral diseases, and taught and practiced medicine at the San Francisco General Hospital/UCSF. He co-authored 85 scientific publications and is co-inventor on multiple issued patents and applications. He also served as assistant director of the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology and was consultant and collaborator to a variety of small and large biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
Mark has also been active in business since childhood, negotiating his first significant technology deal while a graduate student. After a productive career in academia, he was recruited to the private sector, where he served in senior management roles in private and public biotechnology companies, including Genencor International and Constellation Pharmaceuticals, where he drove the development of an industry-leading strategic alliance with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group. Prior to Revolution Medicines, he served as chief executive officer of four companies spanning early discovery through full development. He also served as senior executive-in-residence at Prospect Venture Partners. In 2012, Mark joined Third Rock Ventures full-time to lead its West Coast operations and design, launch and build new biotech companies. As partner, he led the collaboration with David Pompliano, Marty Burke and others that gave rise to Revolution Medicines. From 2015-2018 Mark served as a part-time venture partner at Third Rock Ventures.
Mark holds an A.B. from Princeton University and an M.D. and Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from UCSF. He was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians.
In addition to his role at Revolution Medicines, he serves as chairman of the board for Constellation Pharmaceuticals and is a board director for Nura Bio, a start-up in the field of neurodegeneration.
Liz McKee Anderson
With degrees in engineering and finance and an early career in the chemicals industry, Liz soon discovered her passion for bringing innovative medicines to market to prevent or treat life-threatening disease. Applying a strong analytic framework, strategic discipline and commercial experience in leading high-growth businesses, she brings a deep commitment to partnerships with R&D and operating colleagues to benefit patients.
Liz previously served as the worldwide vice president and commercial leader in the infectious diseases and vaccines global commercial strategy organization at Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a Johnson & Johnson company. In this role, she led strategy, global commercialization and market access for the respiratory infections, HIV, sexually transmitted infections and bacterial pathogens portfolios. Liz also helped develop and execute Janssen’s first global vaccines strategy and played a key role in the acquisition of vaccines company Crucell N.V. She held several leadership positions within Johnson & Johnson, including worldwide vice president, immunology & respiratory, global strategic marketing, and worldwide vice president, global strategic marketing for the biotechnology, immunology and oncology business unit. Liz played key roles in the launch or life cycle management of important Janssen brands, including STELARA, SIMPONI, VELCADE and REMICADE, in the development of numerous early- and medium-stage compounds and in the advancement of therapeutic area and company strategies. During her tenure, she served on the Centocor, Inc. and Crucell management boards, the Centyrex and Betalogics internal venture boards, the BIO R&D management board and the Pharmaceuticals Group development committee.
Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, Liz was the vice president and general manager of Wyeth Vaccines from 1997 to 2002, where she played a key role in the launch of PREVNAR, a first-in-class vaccine that achieved $1 billion in sales within 18 months of introduction, the most successful launch in the 75-year history of Wyeth and for which she received the President’s Award. Earlier in her career, Liz served as the vice president and general manager for the U.S. biopharmaceuticals business of Rhone Poulenc Rorer and as the vice president of plasma operations for the American National Red Cross.
Liz holds a B.S. in engineering from Rutgers College of Engineering and an M.B.A. in finance from the Sellinger School of Business and Management at Loyola University in Maryland. She is the Principal of PureSight Advisory LLC, serves on the board of directors of GSK, BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Inc., Aro Biotherapeutics Company, Insmed, Inc. and The Wistar Institute, a leading biomedical research organization, and the advisory board of Naxion, Inc.
Flavia Borellini, Ph.D.
Dr. Borellini brings extensive experience in the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries, including her track record in precision oncology, her experience as an executive and her service as a director for other biotechnology companies.
Dr. Borellini has served as a member of the board of directors of Kartos Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company, since February 2018 and as a member of the board of directors of Cantargia AB, a publicly traded biotechnology company, since October 2020. Dr. Borellini served as the Global Franchise Head, Hematology at AstraZeneca PLC, a pharmaceutical company, from September 2018 to January 2020. Dr. Borellini previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Acerta Pharma LLC, a biotechnology company, from February 2016 to February 2019. Dr. Borellini has also led the global development, approval and launch of several oncology drugs, including a first-in-class EGFR T790M inhibitor (osimertinib, AstraZeneca), a first-in-class BRAF inhibitor (vemurafenib, Roche), and served as the program leader for a HER2 Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer inhibitor (trastuzumab) and an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (erlotinib) at Genentech. Dr. Borellini also previously held a Research Assistant Professor position at Georgetown University in Washington D.C.
Dr. Borellini received a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Modena in Italy and completed her post-doctoral training at the National Cancer Institute.
Lorence Kim, M.D.
Dr. Kim is an accomplished healthcare industry leader who has made significant contributions across the biotechnology and financial industries during his career at Moderna and Goldman Sachs. He has extensive operational expertise and an extraordinary track record in raising capital for high-growth health care companies.
Dr. Kim has served as a venture partner at Third Rock Ventures since September 2020. Dr. Kim was previously the chief financial officer of Moderna, Inc., where over six years from April 2014 to June 2020, he was instrumental in raising $4.4 billion in capital to support the company’s platform efforts in mRNA therapeutics and the development of its pipeline of more than 20 drug candidates spanning oncology and other therapeutic areas. Before joining Moderna, Dr. Kim had a highly productive 14-year career at Goldman Sachs, where he advised numerous companies as a managing director and co-head of biotechnology investment banking.
Dr. Kim currently serves on the boards of directors of Cowen Inc., Flare Therapeutics, Inc., and Abata Therapeutics, Inc. and previously served on the board of directors of Seres Therapeutics, Inc. He is also on the Board of Governors of the American Red Cross. Dr. Kim received an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, an M.B.A. in healthcare management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an A.B. in biochemical sciences from Harvard University.
Sushil Patel, Ph.D.
Dr. Patel is a seasoned operating executive who brings to our Board substantial experience and perspective on the precision oncology commercial landscape.
Dr. Patel has served as Chief Commercial Officer of Replimune Group, Inc., a biotechnology company, since May 2021. Prior to joining Replimune, he served as VP, Franchise Head for Lung, Skin, Tumor Agnostic, and Rare Cancers at Genentech, Inc. from April 2018 to May 2021, and previously held various positions at Genentech, Inc. from 2002 to April 2018, including global launch lead and lifecycle leader for Tecentriq in lung cancer. From 1999 to 2002, he was Senior Consultant at Front Line Strategic Management Consulting. Prior to this served as a Senior Research Executive at IMS Health in the Pharma Strategy Group from 1996 to 1999 and Clinical Research Scientist at the Central Public Health Laboratory from 1993 to 1996.
He obtained his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of London in 1999, his M.S. in Biotechnology from the Imperial College London in 1993, and his B.S. in Microbiology and Microbial Technology from the University of Warwick in 1992.
Eric T. Schmidt, Ph.D.
Eric T. Schmidt, Ph.D. currently serves as the chief financial officer of Allogene Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of allogeneic cell therapies for cancer. Previously, he was managing director and senior biotechnology analyst at Cowen and Company. During his two decades at Cowen, he was a highly trusted industry analyst whose work was recognized in polls conducted by The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Alpha Magazine, and Institutional Investor.
Prior to joining Cowen in 1998, Eric was vice president and research analyst covering the biotechnology sector at UBS Securities.
Eric also serves on the board of directors for Relmada Therapeutics, Inc. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he serves on the visiting committee for the department of biology.
Thilo Schroeder, Ph.D.
Thilo Schroeder, Ph.D. is a Partner at Nextech Invest and has a passion for precision medicines in cancer with a focus on identifying first and best-in-class targeted therapies.
Thilo has been a leading investor in several precision medicine oncology companies and is a board member of PMV Pharma, Circle Pharma, MOMA Therapeutics, Silverback Therapeutics and Black Diamond Therapeutics (BDTX). Past board seats include Blueprint Medicines (BPMC), Peloton Therapeutics (acquired by Merck), IDEAYA Bioscience (IDYA) and ImaginAb.
Thilo began his biotech career at the pioneering cancer immunology company Micromet (acquired by Amgen) while studying at Ecole Supérieure de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg, conducted research at the University of Sydney and obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Zurich, focused on protein engineering in the development of Designed Ankyrin Repeat Proteins (DARPins), a technology now commercialized by Molecular Partners (SWX:MOLN). He also holds a M.Sc. in biotechnology from the Ecole de Supérieure de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg in France, and a B.Sc. in biology from the Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany.
Barbara Weber, M.D.
Barbara has been focused on making a difference for patients as long as she can remember – starting with childhood books about people whose lives were changed by medical advances and the exceptional people behind them. In medical school surgery was her specialty of choice, until a rotation at a renowned trauma center made it clear that her aversion to getting up early would be career-limiting. With the recent discovery of oncogenes, oncology merged her passion for genetics and patients.
Barbara served as Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan and Associate and then Professor of Medicine and Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania. She contributed to the identification of the breast cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 and is internationally recognized for her contributions to understanding their function, genetic epidemiology and clinical management.
In 2005, Barbara joined GlaxoSmithKline as Vice President Oncology Discovery and Translational Medicine with the goal of making a difference to cancer patients as genetically-targeted therapies were being developed. She subsequently served as Senior Vice President and Global Head of Oncology Translational Medicine at Novartis, with a single-minded focus on shortening drug development timelines, increasing success rates and implementing patient selection in phase I clinical studies. The highlight of this work was the FDA approval of the ALK inhibitor ceritinib based on the phase I study, three years after the first patient was dosed.
Barbara subsequently joined Third Rock Ventures. As an EIR and then Venture Partner, she played key leadership roles in the design and launch of Neon Therapeutics, Relay Therapeutics, and Tango Therapeutics. After serving as interim CEO for Tango, Barbara decided she couldn’t bear to hand the leadership role over to someone else and accepted appointment as the company’s long-term CEO; as a part-time Venture Partner, Barb continues to advise TRV on selected companies.
Barbara is an elected member of the honorary societies American Association of Physicians and the American Society for Clinical Investigation, of which she served previously as President. She also has served on numerous scientific advisory boards and on the Boards of Directors for both the ASCO and the AACR. Barbara earned a B.S. in chemistry and M.D. from the University of Washington, and completed residency in Internal Medicine at Yale University and fellowship in Medical Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.