Rob brings valuable experience in corporate biotech leadership and business strategy, from having led innovative and diverse teams from inception to successful exits to serving on the boards of multiple private and public life sciences companies.
Rob Chess is the former CEO and current chairman of Nektar Therapeutics, (NASDAQ: NKTR), a health care biotechnology company; serves as lead director of Twist Biosciences (NASDAQ: TWST), a company in the field of synthetic biology; and lectures at Stanford's Graduate School of Business.
Previously, Rob co-founded Biota Technologies, a pioneer of DNA sequencing for energy and industrial applications, Penederm, a dermatology company acquired by Mylan Laboratories; was the first CEO of OPX Biotechnologies, a renewable chemicals company sold to Cargill.
Founded in 2019, BigHat Biosciences is an early-stage biotechnology company in the San Francisco Bay Area. BigHat is led by a team of experts spanning machine learning, molecular biology, drug development, and medicine.
BigHat is supported by a cadre of leaders, including a Nobel Laureate and the physician-scientist that brought Herceptin to market.
To date, BigHat has raised USD 25m from top investors led by a16z and 8VC and is quickly succeeding in partnerships with large biopharma partners.
In addition to these collaborations, BigHat has active therapeutic programs spanning multiple domains of human health, including inflammation, oncology, hematology, and infectious diseases in preclinical studies.
Norgine submits first marketing authorisation application submissions for approval of eflornithine
Innovent Biologics names new Oncology CMO
UroGen's UGN-103 IND accepted by FDA for bladder cancer treatment
Innate Pharma advances Sanofi-developed NK cell engager to Phase 2 for blood cancer patients
Portage Biotech expands evaluation of strategic alternatives
Stamford Pharmaceuticals starts locally advanced basal cell carcinoma (laBCC) trial of SP-002
QST selects RayStation for advanced carbon ion therapy
Candel Therapeutics granted FDA Orphan Drug Designation for CAN-2409 in pancreatic cancer treatment
Innate Pharma reports preclinical efficacy of IPH45
Roche attains CE Mark for first companion diagnostic for HER2-low metastatic breast cancer
BioCity Biopharma's BC2027 Phase one study IND application receives US FDA approval
enGene Holdings names new senior vice president, Urologic Oncology and Clinical Development
CLS secures second order from NIH Clinical Center for Thermal Therapy System accessories