Board of Directors

Srini Akkaraju, M.D., Ph.D.

Managing Director, New Leaf Venture Partners

Srini Akkaraju is a Managing Director of New Leaf Venture Partners and concentrates on biopharmaceuticals investments. Srini joined New Leaf in January 2009. Prior to joining New Leaf, Srini was a co-founder and Managing Director at Panorama Capital. Before forming Panorama, Srini served as Partner of J.P. Morgan Partners, where he was responsible for leading venture investing in biotech companies. Earlier, Srini held business and corporate development positions at Genentech. During his tenure at Genentech, Srini was responsible for worldwide partnering activities, in-licensing of therapeutics and out-licensing of development projects. In addition, he also was a founding member of BioStreet, an online marketplace for biotech opportunities.  Srini is the author of a number of peer-reviewed articles, including ones published in Science and Nature. He received B.A. degrees in both Biochemistry and Computer Science from Rice University and M.D. and Ph.D. degrees in Immunology from Stanford University School of Medicine.

Felix J. Baker, Ph.D. – Chairman of the Board
Managing Partner, Baker Brothers Investments

Felix Baker has served as a member of the board of directors since October 2000 and as chairman since 2003. Together with his brother Julian, Dr. Baker co-founded a biotechnology investing partnership, which the Bakers have managed since 1994. The Bakers have partnered with major universities and other endowments to form a family of healthcare investment funds known as Baker Brothers Investments, which has grown into one of the largest private sources of capital focused on publicly traded life science companies. Dr. Baker holds a B.S. with honors and a Ph.D. in Immunology from Stanford University where he also completed two years of medical school. Dr. Baker also serves as a director for Conjuchem, Seattle Genetics, Trimeris and Presidio.

Stephen Biggar serves as a Partner at Baker Brothers Investments, a New York based healthcare investment fund that he joined in April 2000 (see above). Prior to joining Baker Brothers, Dr. Biggar received an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Immunology from Stanford University and received a B.S. degree in Genetics from the University of Rochester. Dr. Biggar also serves as a Director for BioCryst.

Mark Goldberg, M.D. first joined Genzyme in 1996 as Medical Director for Oncology and following several promotions, has held his current position of Senior Vice President Clinical Research since 2000. Dr. Goldberg is a board-certified medical oncologist and hematologist. Prior to working at Genzyme, he was a full-time staff physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Institute, where he still holds appointments. Dr. Goldberg is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and is an author on more than 50 published papers. Dr. Goldberg received his A.B. (magna cum laude) from Harvard College and his M.D. (cum laude) from Harvard Medical School.

Thomas R. Malley
Former Portfolio Manager, Janus Global Life Sciences Fund

Thomas Malley joined Synageva’s Board in 2006. Mr. Malley is a long term veteran of the securities industry, having served as a portfolio manager and securities analyst at Janus Capital Management, LLC, for over sixteen years. During his tenure at Janus, Mr. Malley concentrated on global biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and managed several health care focused funds including the Janus Global Life Sciences Fund, which he managed from its inception in December 1998 until his retirement in May 2007. Mr. Malley holds a Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology from Stanford University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Mr. Malley also serves as a director for Cougar Biotechnology as well as another private enterprise.

Sanj Patel was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer and to the Company's Board of Directors in June 2008. Sanj brings 18 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. He joins Synageva from Genzyme Corporation (1999 to 2008), where most recently, he was Head of US Sales, Marketing and Commercial Operations for Genzyme Therapeutics and led the commercial US launch for Myozyme®. Previously, Sanj held several cross-functional senior leadership roles at Genzyme including Vice President, Clinical Research and Head of the Global Clinical Research Operations Council. He was responsible for clinical operations and development for all cross-business Genzyme products and was instrumental in the path to commercialization for several treatments. Notably, Sanj led the Fabrazyme® clinical operations team and development program to FDA approval in April 2003. Prior to Genzyme, Sanj held roles in clinical research and commercial development with increasing levels of responsibility at Burroughs Wellcome, Hoechst Marrion Roussel and Fujisawa Pharmaceuticals. Sanj obtained his B.Sc. with Honors in Pure and Applied Biotechnology from South Bank University, London. He attained his post-graduate management and business degree from Ealing College, London, and completed his Doctorate program in Clinical Pharmacology from King's College and The Wellcome Foundation.

Robyn Samuels is Vice President of Tisch Family Interests - the family office for the Laurence A. Tisch and Preston Robert Tisch families. In this capacity, she is responsible for a wide range of investment activities including public and private equity, real estate, and other transactions. She has been with the Tisch family office since 1996. Prior to that, she was a financial analyst in the investment banking division of Goldman, Sachs & Co. Robyn received an A.B., summa cum laude, with honors in Economics from Barnard College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

James L.L. Tullis
Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Tullis Health Investors

Jim Tullis is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tullis Health Investors, a family of healthcare-focused venture capital funds based in Stamford, Connecticut. Under his direction, the firm has invested in a portfolio of companies representing innovative concepts in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, managed care, health insurance, health care information technology, logistics and distribution, and medical devices. Prior to establishing Tullis Health Investors in 1986, Jim worked as an analyst at Morgan Stanley where he managed health care investment research, focusing on pharmaceuticals and medical devices. During his tenure on Wall Street, he received many accolades, including recognition on the Institutional Investor All-Star list of Wall Street's top securities analysts. He was twice named #1 Drug Analyst, was featured on the Wall Street Week television program, and authored Wall Street's first research report on biotechnology. Jim is a graduate of Stanford University and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. He currently serves on the Boards of several public and private companies.