Dr. Jean-François Formela focuses on new advances in biology and drug discovery technologies, as well as novel therapeutics. He is chair of the board of IFM Therapeutics and KDAC Therapeutics and serves on the boards of F-star, Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NTLA), Kyn Therapeutics, Navitor, RaNA Therapeutics, which he co-founded, and Spero Therapeutics.
Dr. Formela has been involved in the formation of companies, such as Adnexus (acquired by BMS), ArQule (NASDAQ: ARQL), Arteaus Therapeutics (acquired by Lilly), Cellzome (acquired by GSK), deCODE (NASDAQ: DCGN, acquired by Amgen), Exelixis (NASDAQ: EXEL), MorphoSys (Xetra: MOR.DE), NxStage (NASDAQ: NXTM), and SGX Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SGXP, acquired by Lilly). He was also an investor in Achillion (NASDAQ: ACHN), Annovation Biopharma (acquired by The Medicines Company), CoStim Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Novartis), and Horizon Pharma (NASDAQ: HZNP), as well as a board member of Biochem Pharma (NASDAQ: BCHE, acquired by Shire) and Novexel (acquired by AstraZeneca).
Dr. Formela joined Atlas Venture in 1993 to build the U.S. life sciences franchise. Prior to joining Atlas, he worked at Schering-Plough, where he directed U.S. Phase IV studies in all therapeutic areas. Before that, he was responsible for the marketing of Intron A, Schering-Plough’s alpha-interferon. He began his career as a medical doctor and practiced emergency medicine at Necker University Hospital in Paris. He is a member of the Massachusetts General Hospital research advisory council and a former trustee of the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art.