Our Leadership
A Wide Range of Skills and Experience
With many years of dedicated work in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, our leadership team has significant experience in developing and commercializing therapeutics for chronic inflammatory diseases.
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Marc de Garidel, MBA Chief Executive Officer
40+ years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, with the last 12 years as a CEOMarc joined Abivax in May 2023. Prior to that, he led the successful sale of CinCor Pharma for up to USD 1.8B, subject to the achievement of certain milestones, to AstraZeneca in February 2023, after joining the firm in July 2021. Marc also led the sale of Corvidia Therapeutics in August 2020 to Novo Nordisk for USD 2.1B in total consideration after having joined the company as CEO in April 2018. He was the CEO of Ipsen from November 2010 to July 2016, overseeing the development of its US presence. Prior to that, Marc worked for Amgen and Eli Lilly in jobs of increasing responsibilities in various international markets. He has served as Chairman of the Board of Ipsen since 2016 and has been a member of the board of directors of Claris Bio since 2020. Marc has a degree in civil engineering from the Ecole des Travaux Publics in Paris, a master’s degree in international management (MIM) from Thunderbird School of Global Management, and an executive MBA from Harvard Business School.
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Didier Blondel Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Board Secretary
Served as the CFO at Sanofi Pasteur MSD, a Lyon-based joint venture between Sanofi and Merck, and a leading force in human vaccines across Europe from 2012 to 2016Didier joined Abivax in December 2016. During the previous 20-year period, he held a wide scope of senior finance positions at Sanofi, in Commercial Operations and then R&D, where he became Global R&D CFO. He started his career as an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers, after graduating from the Commercial Institute of Nancy (ICN), a leading French business school. He also holds a master’s degree in finance and accounting from University of Nancy, as well as a graduate diploma in finance and accounting (DESCF).
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Chris Rabbat, PhD Chief Medical Officer
20 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience with deep expertise in IBD and medical affairsChris brings 20 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience spanning drug discovery and medical affairs, including broad cross-functional leadership across the development and commercialization lifecycle with deep expertise in IBD. He has led Global Medical Affairs at Abivax since 2023 and brings significant experience developing medical strategies, engaging with key opinion leaders, and advancing therapies through late-stage development and launch. Prior to joining Abivax in 2023, Chris held roles at CymaBay (formerly Metabolex), Baxter, Baxalta, Shire, Arena Pharmaceuticals, and Pfizer. He holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry from UCLA and a BS from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
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Ida Hatoum Chief People Officer,
Chief Compliance Officer25+ years of experience and a strong track record in talent acquisition and developmentIda has occupied different leading People Operations positions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Prior to joining Abivax, Ida was Senior Vice President and Head of People, Talent, and Culture at CinCor Pharma, where she successfully managed and led the recruitment strategy and organizational design of the company during a period of strong growth. Ida holds a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Toledo, Ohio, US.
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Tim Kelly, MS, MBA Chief Technical Officer
Extensive technical and operational leadership experience across development and commercializationTim brings extensive biopharmaceutical technical and operational leadership experience and leads Abivax’s CMC, Quality, and IT functions. His experience spans manufacturing strategy, process and platform development, technical operations, and global commercial supply operations. Most recently, he served as Chief Technology Officer of Caribou Biosciences and previously was the CEO of Oxford Biomedica Solutions, and held senior leadership roles at Homology Medicines, Sarepta, Shire, UCB, and Biogen. Earlier in his career, Tim served as a fighter pilot in the US Air Force. He holds an MS/MBA from Troy State University and a BS from the United States Air Force Academy.
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Michael Nesrallah, MBA Chief Commercial Officer
20 years of global biopharmaceutical leadership experience, including multiple leadership rolesMr Nesrallah leads global commercial strategy and launch preparation as the company advances toward potential regulatory approval and market entry for obefazimod, bringing more than 20 years of global biopharmaceutical leadership experience with deep expertise in gastroenterology and immunology. Prior to joining Abivax, he held several senior leadership roles at Takeda, including Vice President and US Franchise Head for its inflammatory bowel disease business, where he drove significant growth for Entyvio while expanding treatment access for patients. He also served as General Manager for Belgium and Luxembourg and later established and led Takeda’s International Marketing & Commercial Excellence organization, building integrated commercial capabilities across more than 60 countries to support launch readiness and portfolio growth. Earlier in his career, Mr Nesrallah held commercial leadership roles at Novartis and began his career at McKinsey & Company. He holds an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Ottawa.
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Pierre Courteille, Pharmacist, MBA Chief Business Officer
25+ years of experience in marketing, sales, and business development within the pharmaceutical industry (13 years based in Japan)Pierre was appointed Chief Business Officer in May 2023. Prior to this appointment, he served as Chief Commercial Officer and Vice President, Business Development at Abivax. Before joining Abivax in April 2015, he was Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Guerbet as well as Chief Executive Officer of Medex (a medical devices company owned by Guerbet) for 3 years. Starting in 2009, Pierre served as Vice President, Sales for Asia, Latin America, and EMEA and met the ambitious objective of optimizing commercial performance across these 3 regions. As President of Guerbet Japan and Vice President for Guerbet Asia, Pierre successfully managed the rollout of its Japanese subsidiary and led the development of other branches in Asia. He holds a pharmacy degree (Caen-France), a master’s degree in company management (IAE of Caen-France), a master’s degree in biological and medical sciences (Caen-France), and an MBA with honors from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, US.
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David Zhang, PhD Chief Strategy Officer
25+ years in clinical development, diagnostics, and biomarker researchPrior to joining Abivax in July 2024, David was Senior Vice President, Head of Biometrics and Data Management at Alumis Inc. As part of the founding management team at Alumis, he served as Chief Information Officer responsible for building up capabilities in biometrics, IT, facilities, and investor relations during the early days of the company. Before joining Alumis, David was Vice President of Biometrics, Data Science, and Digital Health at MyoKardia where he built the advanced analytics capabilities from the ground up to enable the successful completion of critical Phase 3 study design, data readouts, and New Drug Application submission of CAMZYOS® (mavacamten) until the company's acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb in 2020. Prior to MyoKardia, David spent 15 years at Roche/Genentech with increasing responsibilities leading and building biostatistics and strategic innovation functions. He began his pharmaceutical industry career at Eli Lilly and Abbott Laboratories after receiving his PhD in biostatistics with a minor in genetics from UCLA and completing post-doctoral research at Columbia University, New York, NY.
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Nadège Briancon-Eris, PhD Senior Vice President, Global Head of Development Operations
15 years of post-PhD experience in academia and the biopharmaceutical industry, with a track record in chronic diseases program managementNadège joined Abivax in September 2023. Prior to that, Nadège led Program Management at small and large biotech and pharmaceutical companies. At Corvidia Therapeutics and CinCor Pharma, she helped build the key investigational programs for chronic inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases from the early days of the companies through their acquisition by Novo Nordisk and AstraZeneca, respectively. Nadège directed the R&D Program Management branch of the Astellas Institute for Regenerative Medicine, supporting cell therapy program expansion into multiple diseases. Before that, she led the cardiovascular programs at Moderna, where she helped develop and expand the alliance portfolio with AstraZeneca. Nadège received a PhD in Human Genetics from Pierre et Marie Curie (now Sorbonne) University in Paris, and completed her postdoctoral studies at Harvard Medical School.
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Maurus de la Rosa, PhD Senior Vice President, Research
15+ years of experience in immunomodulation and drug developmentMaurus joined Abivax in September 2025. He is a seasoned immunologist with more than 15 years of experience in immunomodulation and drug development across multiple programs, modalities, and development stages. He brings extensive expertise in immunology—spanning discovery, translational research, and clinical development, including advanced therapies such as cell and gene therapy. Prior to joining Abivax, Maurus served as Vice President of Research at Sangamo Therapeutics, where he led and successfully advanced CAR-Treg programs for autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel disease, with a focus on Crohn’s disease. Earlier in his career, he held research leadership roles at Baxter, Baxalta, Shire, and Takeda, contributing to translational programs and regulatory filings including INDs and BLAs. He holds a PhD in immunology from Humboldt University in Berlin and earned a degree in chemistry with a specialization in molecular biology from the University of Cologne, Germany.
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Sylvie Grégoire, PharmD Chair of the BoardMarc de Garidel, MBA Chief Executive OfficerCorinna zur Bonsen-Thomas Co-founder and CEO of RetInSight; Former General Counsel at Baxter/Baxalta InternationalJune Lee, MD FACCP Venture Partner at 5AM VenturesTroy Ignelzi CFO of Rapport TherapeuticsCamilla Soenderby Board Member of BB Biotech, F2G, and Affibody; Member of Novo Holdings Advisory Group; Industrial Advisor for EQTDominik Höchli, MD Founder of Abinode AG
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Hema Keshava Senior Vice President, FinancePatrick Malloy Senior Vice President, Investor RelationsDouglas Jacobstein, MD Senior Vice President, Global Head of Clinical DevelopmentJennifer Fine, ScD Senior Vice President, Global Head of HEOR and RWEKeith Fournier, PhD Senior Vice President, Global Regulatory AffairsKevin Shan, PhD Vice President, Global Head of BiometricsMarcus Wilkes, PhD Vice President, Business Development and Operational StrategySophie LaCourrege Vice President, HR Business Partner, Engagement and Culture
IBD=inflammatory bowel diseases.
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