Prelude was founded in 2016 with the vision of bringing together the energy and collaborative culture of a start-up environment with seasoned experience in developing cancer medicines.
Board of Directors
Paul Friedman, M.D. was appointed to the Board of Directors in July 2016. He currently serves as Chairman of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, having served as its Chief Executive Officer since July 2016 until September 2023. Dr. Friedman previously served as the Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Incyte Corporation from 2001 until his retirement in 2014. From 1994 to 1998, he served as President of Research & Development for the DuPont-Merck Pharmaceutical Company; and from 1998 to 2001 as President of DuPont Pharmaceuticals Research Laboratories, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the DuPont Company. From 1991 to 1994, he served as Senior Vice President at Merck Research Laboratories. Prior to his tenures at Merck and DuPont, Dr. Friedman was an Associate Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation. Dr. Friedman currently serves on the board of directors of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He has previously served on the boards of directors of Incyte Corporation, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cerulean Pharma Inc. and Verastem, Inc. Dr. Friedman received his A.B. in Biology from Princeton University and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School.
David Bonita, M.D.
Director
David P. Bonita, M.D., has served as a member of Prelude’s Board of Directors since July 2016. Since June 2014, Dr. Bonita has served in various roles at OrbiMed Advisors LLC. Dr. Bonita currently serves on the boards of directors of a number of public and private companies. He has also worked as a Corporate Finance Analyst in the healthcare investment banking groups of Morgan Stanley and UBS. He received his A.B. in Biological Sciences from Harvard University and his joint M.D./M.B.A. from Columbia University.
Julian C. Baker
Director
Julian C. Baker joined the Prelude Board of Directors in January 2021. Mr. Baker is a Managing Member of Baker Bros. Advisors LP (“BBA”) a biotechnology-focused investment adviser to fund partnerships whose investors are primarily endowments and foundations. Mr. Baker founded BBA, together with his brother Felix Baker, in 2000. Prior to BBA, Mr. Baker was a portfolio manager at Tisch Financial Management from 1994 to 1999. Previously, Mr. Baker was employed from 1988 to 1993 by the private equity investment arm of Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation. Mr. Baker holds an A.B. from Harvard University. He serves on the boards of Incyte Corporation, Acadia Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Prelude Therapeutics Incorporated, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Everyone Medicines Inc., and Alumis, Inc.
Kris Vaddi, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Kris Vaddi, Ph.D. founded Prelude Therapeutics and has served as the Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors since 2016. Prior to founding Prelude, from 2014 to 2016, Dr. Vaddi served as Chief Executive Officer of Orsenix, LLC, a clinical stage biotechnology company. Previously, he held several roles at Incyte Corporation, starting as a Founding Scientist and an Executive Director in 2002, and most recently as a Senior Advisor from 2015 to 2016. Dr. Vaddi initiated and championed JAK research programs at Incyte that led to the discovery, development, and approval of Jakafi®(ruxolotinib) for Myelofibrosis and Polycythemia Vera and Olumiant®(baricitinib) for rheumatoid arthritis. He received his BVSc in Veterinary Medicine from APAU in India and his Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from University of Florida.
Mardi C. Dier
Director
Mardi C. Dier has served as a member of Prelude’s Board of Directors since August 2020. Ms. Dier currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals. Prior thereto she served as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Development Officer at ACELYRIN, INC. and Chief Financial Officer of Ultragenyx. Ms. Dier also served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and also as Chief Business Officer, of Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, from November 2013 and October 2018, respectively, until its acquisition by Alexion Pharmaceuticals in July 2020, and as a Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from August 2006 to November 2013. From 2003 to 2006, Ms. Dier served as Vice President of Investor Relations at Chiron Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company. From 1994 to 2001, Ms. Dier served as a Director, Investment Banking at Prudential Securities, Inc., a securities firm. Ms. Dier previously served as a supervising senior accountant at the audit department of KPMG Peat Marwick, an accounting firm, from 1986 to 1990. Ms. Dier currently serves as a director of Health Care Royalty and a director and member of the audit committee of Oric Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Synthekine. Ms. Dier received a B.S. in Biology from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Victor Sandor, M.D.
Director
Victor Sandor has served as a member of Prelude’s Board of Directors since May 2020. From September 2014 to December 2019, Dr. Sandor served as the Chief Medical Officer at Array BioPharma Inc., a pharmaceutical company. From September 2010 to June 2014, he served as the Senior Vice President for Global Clinical Development at Incyte Corporation, a pharmaceutical company. Dr. Sandor also previously served as Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Oncology at Biogen Idec and held positions of increasing responsibility in oncology product development at AstraZeneca. Dr. Sandor has served on the board of directors of Kymera Therapeutics since November of 2022, ADC Therapeutics SA since April 2020, Istarti Oncology since July 2019, and Merus N.V. since June 2019. Dr. Sandor received a M.D.C.M. from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and completed his Fellowship in Medical Oncology at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
Martin Babler
Director
Martin Babler joined the Board of Directors in July 2021. Mr. Babler currently serves as President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alumis. Prior thereto he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Principia Biopharma until its acquisition by Sanofi S.A. in October 2020. Prior to joining Principia Biopharma, Mr. Babler served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Talima Therapeutics from 2007 to 2011. From 1998 to 2007, he held several positions at Genentech, Inc., most notably as Vice President, Immunology Sales and Marketing. While at Genentech, he also helped to build and led the Commercial Development organization and led the Cardiovascular Marketing organization. Mr. Babler previously served at Eli Lilly and Company in positions focused on sales, sales management, global marketing, and business development. He presently serves on the Board of Directors of Neoleukin Therapeutics, Inc., Sardona Therapeutics, Inc. and on the Emerging Companies Section Governing Board of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization. Mr. Babler received a Swiss Federal Diploma in Pharmacy from the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and completed the Executive Development Program at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.