TEAM
Cocoon is led by a committed group of physicians, scientists, and engineers dedicated to providing patients freedom from serious diseases.
Ailis Tweed-Kent
CEO & Founder
Peter Mitchell
Chief Scientific Officer
Mike Santos
Vice President R&D
Board of Directors
Annalisa Jenkins
Executive Chair
Annalisa Jenkins, M.B.B.S., F.R.C.P., President and Chief Executive Officer at leading gene therapy company Dimension Therapeutics, is a biopharma thought leader with 20 years of industry experience. Prior to joining Dimension in September 2014, Dr. Jenkins served as head of global research and development at Merck Serono Pharmaceuticals from 2013 to 2014, where she also served as executive vice president global development and medical from 2011 to 2013. Prior to this, Dr. Jenkins held several leadership roles at Bristol Myers-Squibb from 1997 to 2011, most recently serving as senior vice president and head of global medical affairs. Earlier in her career, Dr. Jenkins was a medical officer in the British Royal Navy during the Gulf Conflict, achieving the rank of surgeon lieutenant commander. Dr. Jenkins is a member of the board of directors of Ardelyx, Inc., iOX Therapeutics Limited, MedCity, TSI, Cocoon Biotech Inc, and Vium (elected to Executive Chair in 2017), and previously served as a board member of Biothera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Prosensa Holding N.V. (acquired by BioMarin Pharmaceutical), and Viventia Bio, Inc. (acquired by Eleven Bio). She also is a committee member of the Science Board to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, and serves on the board of the Center for Talent Innovation (U.K.). She is also an executive committee member of Springboard Enterprises, and is on the Advisory Panel of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association. Dr. Jenkins graduated with a degree in medicine from St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in the University of London and subsequently trained in cardiovascular medicine in the U.K. National Health Service.
Grace Colón
Board Member
Dr. Colón brings over 25 years experience in biopharma, genomics, healthcare, drug delivery and industrial biotechnology. Currently she is President and CEO at InCarda Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company pioneering a novel approach of treating cardiovascular conditions and diseases by the inhalation route. She is also a senior advisor at New Science Ventures (where she was formerly a partner), serves on the boards of Proterix Bio (Executive Chairman; formerly CEO) and PerceptiMed, and is an advisor at Kiverdi. She has served as a member of the Advisory Board of the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University since 2014. She also co-founded Pyranose Biotherapeutics, an early stage discovery platform company. Previously she was founding President of the Industrial Products Division at Intrexon Corporation, where she established a new division focused on leveraging synthetic biology for bioindustrial applications such as biofuels and renewable chemicals and was a key contributor to the company’s $100M Series E raise. Prior to Intrexon, she was head of Clinical Operations for Gilead Sciences, where she was responsible for global execution of clinical trials. At Gilead, she also created and led both the Alliance Management and Commercial Strategic Planning groups. Prior to Gilead, she was VP, Corporate Planning at Affymetrix, where she was responsible for strategic planning and project management and where she also served as COO for the International Genomics Consortium, a non-profit medical research organization focused on cancer genomics. Earlier in her career she was a consultant with McKinsey & Co., where she served clients in healthcare, biotech, high tech and venture capital. She was also an engineer with Merck & Co. in France and in Rahway, NJ. Dr. Colón received her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and holds a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a Benjamin Franklin Scholar.
Mary Thistle
Board Member
Ailis Tweed-Kent
CEO & Founder
Advisory Board
Andrew Bellinger
Advisory Board
Dean Eliott
Advisory Board
Duncan Lascelles
Advisory Board
Mark Papich
Advisory Board
Mark Prausnitz
Advisory Board
Gary Zieziula
Advisory Board
Career History
Previously, Mr. Zieziula led the financial growth of AMAG Pharmaceuticals as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. Prior to joining AMAG Pharmaceuticals, he served as General Manager, and Vice President of Specialty Care at Roche, where he grew the company’s multi-billion dollar specialty care US portfolio – including oncology, hepatitis c, virology, and transplant. Mr. Zieziula gained international experience serving as the Managing Director for Roche in Greece. Mr. Zieziula has also held multiple senior leadership positions at Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck & Co. Mr. Zieziula holds his BS from State University of New York at Buffalo and an MBA from Canisius College. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and a Management Advisor for Pykus Therapeutics, an innovative ophthalmology start-up company.
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