AbSci Announces Recent Additions to Board of Directors

VANCOUVER, Wash., Nov. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Absci, a growth-stage synthetic biology company whose Protein Printing™ technology enables rapid and low-cost biomanufacturing and discovery of biotherapeutics, today announced that Ivana Magovčević-Liebisch and Karen McGinnis have joined its board as independent directors.

“We are delighted to welcome Ivana and Karen to our board of directors,” said Sean McClain, Founder and CEO of AbSci. “Eli Casdin from Casdin Capital and Amrit Nagpal from Redmile Group have also recently joined our board in connection with our Series E financing. These four new directors are joining AbSci at an exciting time as we accelerate our efforts to impact the future of biomanufacturing and drug discovery. They collectively bring tremendous strategic leadership and financial markets experience, and we look forward to their contributions as we enter into our next phase of growth.”

“I am thrilled to join the AbSci Board and am eager to contribute to the company’s mission to revolutionize biopharmaceutical discovery and manufacturing,” said Dr. Magovčević-Liebisch. “I look forward to applying my expertise to help advance this vitally important effort to enable next-generation biologics and positively impact human health.”

“AbSci is poised for significant growth and I’m incredibly excited to join their board,” said Ms. McGinnis. “Next-generation biologics has a current end market of $14 billion and is the fastest growing segment in the therapeutics market today. AbSci’s Protein Printing^TM technology has a unique opportunity to support the commercialization of next-generation biologics which have long been considered unmanufacturable, allowing biopharmaceutical companies to get the absolute best drug candidate to market.”

About Ivana Magovčević-Liebisch, Ph.D., J.D.
Magovčević-Liebisch is an accomplished pharmaceutical and biotechnology executive focused on corporate excellence and execution. She has over 20 years of senior management experience in biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry with expertise in financing, corporate partnering and M&A, clinical development, regulatory affairs, commercialization, legal and IP matters, and preparation and implementation of operating plans. She currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer at Vigil Neuroscience, Inc., a biotech company focused on harnessing microglia biology to treat neurodegenerative diseases.

Prior to Vigil, she was Executive Vice President, Chief Business Officer of Ipsen. Magovčević-Liebisch serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (AGTC) and Aeglea BioTherapeutics. Magovčević-Liebisch is also a Trustee of the Boston Museum of Science and the Boston Ballet, and an overseer of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She holds a Ph.D. in Genetics from Harvard University and received her J.D. in High Technology law from Suffolk University Law School. She graduated from Wheaton College with a B.A. in Biology and Chemistry. In 2008 and 2019, she was the recipient of the Women Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology Leadership Award. In 2019, she was recognized as one of the 20 Fiercest Women in Life Science by FiercePharma.

About Karen McGinnis
McGinnis has over 20 years of experience in executive operational and finance roles at international public and private companies. She currently serves as the Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of Illumina. Prior to Illumina, McGinnis served as the Chief Financial Officer and later as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Mad Catz Interactive. She has also served as the Chief Accounting Officer, Corporate Controller and Vice President of Cymer and as the Chief Accounting Officer of Insight Enterprises. McGinnis is a member of the Board of Directors of Alphatec Holdings (ATEC). She is a Certified Public Accountant and received her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Oklahoma.

About AbSci
AbSci is a leading synthetic biology company focused on redefining protein biomanufacturing. We are making protein production as simple as DNA synthesis through our revolutionary Protein Printing™ technology. AbSci enables a pathway to commercialization for biologics that otherwise wouldn’t get to market due to poor manufacturability. Our mission is to improve patients’ lives by reducing drug costs, accelerating development timelines, and enabling new biologic therapies to market. For more information, please visit https://www.absci.com.

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SOURCE AbSci