Abzena, an end-to-end integrated CDMO + CRO for complex biologics and bioconjugates, has appointed Moncef Slaoui, PhD, to its Board of Directors.

An accomplished leader in the biopharmaceutical industry with over 40 years of experience, Dr. Slaoui has held numerous executive leadership and board-level positions to help drug development companies through high phases of growth.

Matt Stober, CEO of Abzena said, “Dr. Slaoui’s exceptional track record of leadership and expertise in product innovation will be extremely valuable as we continue to grow and position ourselves as the leading drug development and manufacturing organization for complex biologics and bioconjugates. We welcome him to our board and look forward to leveraging his extensive experience in supporting high‐growth pharmaceutical businesses.”

Experience

Slaoui currently serves as an advisor to Medicxi and is on the Board of Directors of several companies including Cedar Health, Arcturus Therapeutics, Altesa, Zephyr AI and Vicebio. He has previously sat on biotechnology company boards for Moderna, Inc., Lonza Group AG, Galvani, and Vaxcyte. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he served as the Chief Scientific Advisor to Operation Warp Speed.

Slaoui spent three decades of his career at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), where he held several senior leadership positions, including being a member of the Board of Directors of GSK PLC, Chairman of Pharmaceutical R&D, Chairman Global R&D, Vaccines & Oncology, and Chairman, Global Vaccines. During his tenure, he led GSK’s Pharmaceutical R&D restructuring to improve its focus on innovation and productivity and was directly involved in the development of 14 new vaccines.

Slaoui holds a PhD in Molecular Biology and Immunology from the Université Libre de Bruxelles and completed his postdoctoral studies at Harvard Medical School and Tufts University. He also has an accelerated MBA from IMD in Switzerland.

“I am thrilled to be joining Abzena’s Board of Directors,” said Slaoui. “Abzena is a true innovator in the CRO and CDMO space, and I look forward to helping them develop new technologies and platforms that enable the better delivery of next gen therapeutics.”