the medical operations, Dr. Lange has been part of the leadership team for strategic re-invigoration of the medical center, overseeing projects including construction of two research buildings and recruitment of over 100 faculty members.
Dr. Lange has also led the most respected industry and trade associations in the biotechnology sector. From 1999 to 2009, Dr. Lange served on the Board of Directors of Biotechnology Innovation Organization, the trade organization of biotechnology companies, leading the largest committee of member companies for two years. Dr. Lange has been on numerous other public and private Boards in both the non-profit and for-profit arena, including the Institute of Systems Biology (“ISB”), a nonprofit biomedical research organization co-founded by industry stalwart Dr. Leroy (“Lee”) Hood, and the UCSF Gladstone Institute, an independent, nonprofit life science research organization located in the epicenter of biomedical and technological innovation in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Dr. Lange has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester, an M.D. from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry, also from Harvard University. Mr. Lange is well qualified to serve on the Board due to his extensive operating, investing and board experience in the biotechnology industry.
Stephen Sherwin
Since December 2021, Stephen Sherwin, M.D. has served a director of BioPlus Acquisition Corp. Dr. Sherwin is a medical oncologist who has spent over 35 years in the biotechnology industry, helping to create and manage companies that discover and develop new treatments for patients with cancer. During his career as a C-level executive, Dr. Sherwin co-founded and served as CEO and/or chairman of industry-leading biotechnology companies that generated over $2.0 billion in shareholder value. From 1990 to 2009, Dr. Sherwin served as the Chief Executive Officer of Cell Genesys, Inc., a cancer immunotherapy company, and was its Chairman from 1994 until the company’s merger in 2009 with BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (now ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Nasdaq: ANIP). In addition, Dr. Sherwin co-founded and served as chairman of Abgenix, Inc. (Nasdaq: ABGX), an antibody company that was acquired by Amgen Inc. (Nasdaq: AMGN) in 2006 and co-founded and served as Chairman of Ceregene, Inc., a gene therapy company acquired by Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGMO) in 2013. Prior to Cell Genesys, Dr. Sherwin served as Vice President of Clinical Research at Genentech, Inc. (NYSE: DNA) and was the first medical doctor hired by the company. In addition to his corporate experience, Dr. Sherwin previously served on the Board of Directors of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization from 2001 to 2014 and as its chairman from 2009 to 2011.
Dr. Sherwin currently divides his time between advisory work in the life science industry and patient care and teaching in his specialty of medical oncology. Dr. Sherwin is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and a volunteer Attending Physician in Hematology-Oncology at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. In addition, Dr. Sherwin currently serves as an Advisory Partner at Third Rock Ventures, a leading healthcare venture firm, and on the boards of directors of Biogen Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB), a multinational commercial-stage biotechnology company and Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: NBIX), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on neurological and endocrine diseases. Dr. Sherwin received his Bachelor of Arts in Biology at Yale University, and his M.D. at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Sherwin is well qualified to serve on the Board due to his extensive operating, investing and board experience in the biotechnology industry.
There are no family relationships between Messrs. Eastman, Lange, Haghighat, and Sherwin and any of the Company’s other directors or executive officers, or persons nominated or chosen by the Company to become an executive officer or director of the Company. There are no transactions between the Company and Messrs. Eastman, Haghighat, Lange and Sherwin that are subject to disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
In connection with the appointments, Messrs. Eastman, Lange, Haghighat, and Sherwin have agreed to become parties to certain letter agreement, dated January 7, 2021, by and among the Company, the Company’s directors and officers, and other certain securities holders (the “Letter Agreement”) and entered into joinders to the Letter Agreement and an indemnity agreement with the Company on September 16, 2022.