AlivaMab Discovery Services Appoints Jane Seagal, PhD, as Vice President of Antibody Discovery

AbbVie veteran to support rapid growth and new technologies.

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AlivaMab Discovery Services, LLC (“ADS”), a leader in the discovery of superior antibody-based therapeutics, today announced Jane Seagal, PhD, has joined the company as Vice President of Antibody Discovery. In this newly created role, Dr. Seagal will join John “Lippy” Lippincott, PhD, founder and Vice President of Research, and Jonah Rainey, PhD, Vice President of Antibody Engineering and Protein Science, in leading therapeutic antibody discovery programs for a rapidly expanding list of partners, which includes IGM Biosciences, Janssen, Tanabe Research Labs, Teva Pharmaceuticals and dozens of other companies.

Dr. Seagal joins ADS from AbbVie where, as Research Fellow, Drug Discovery Science and Technology, she headed the in vivo antibody discovery group, led projects across diverse therapeutic areas including oncology, immunology and virology, and chaired a cross-functional team of scientists responsible for biologics discovery and screening funnel strategies. During her 11-year tenure, she contributed to over 150 antibody discovery campaigns, increased antibody discovery capacity by incorporating advanced automation platforms and informatics, introduced multiple technological improvements and built a molecular core team. Dr. Seagal brings a deep understanding of the science of in vivo antibody drug discovery through her postdoctoral work studying B cell biology and humoral immune responses in the laboratory of Professor Klaus Rajewsky at Harvard Medical School and doctoral work in the laboratory of Professor Doron Melamed at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.

“Jane adds to our team’s diverse experience and further strengthens our leadership position in the science of antibody discovery for challenging targets, delivering on functional design goals, and engineering alternate modalities,” said Justin Mika, Chief Executive Officer at AlivaMab Discovery Services. “In 2021, ADS signed more new discovery partners than in any previous year, and new programs with existing partners more than doubled from 2020 to 2021. We are excited Jane has chosen to join the ADS team, where she will help support this exceptional growth and continue to expand our success in delivering pharma-quality discovery and engineering of antibody drugs.”

“I’m thrilled to begin working with the ADS team and the growing list of exceptional partner organizations. It is a unique opportunity to join a team with years of diverse professional experience in antibody discovery and engineering at many of the world’s top 15 pharmaceutical companies, including AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Novartis, Pfizer and Roche/Genentech,” said Dr. Segal. “I joined ADS because I believe we are a foundational contributor to a transformative improvement in human health. The most challenging problems in antibody drug discovery will not be addressed by technologies alone, but rather by combining technologies, such as the proven AlivaMab® Mouse suite of transgenic mice, with great science and human experience, knowledge and passion.”

About AlivaMab Discovery Services

AlivaMab Discovery Services (ADS) sets its partners’ antibody discovery programs on the fastest and most de-risked path through discovery and development. Trusted by top-tier pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, ADS delivers drug-quality, fully human antibodies on exceptional timelines. ADS achieves its partners’ design goals, from simple to extraordinarily challenging, through the generation and function-first screening of large, molecularly diverse panels of antibodies. ADS focuses on rapid and efficient delivery of antibodies, characterized for function, kinetics and developability, and engineering for alternative modalities, including multispecifics and CARs. The ADS team’s experience and passion for antibody drug discovery and development combined with the use of trusted, proven technologies, including Ablexis’ AlivaMab® Mouse platforms, ensure the highest probability of success. For more information, please visit www.alivamab.com or email info@alivamab.com.

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