Linda Masat

Linda Masat has 18 years of experience in the discovery and development of Biologics within global biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies. As a strategic leader at Takeda Pharmaceutical and XOMA Linda has built state of the art discovery and preclinical development infrastructures and assembled and led talented multidisciplinary team of scientists that discovered therapeutic-grade biologic molecules to over 60 targets across multiple therapeutic areas. Three programs led by Linda entered clinical development stage and more are in IND-enabling research activities. She was the inventor of XOMA’s Gevokizumab, an IL1b antibody that was licensed to Novartis in 2017. As member of executive teams Linda helped develop and support corporate strategies through in-house research as well as both in-licensing and out-licensing activities.

After leading Takeda’s global antibody discovery capability, Linda joined Takeda’s Center for External Innovation. In this role she identified and managed innovative therapeutic programs in collaboration with academic laboratories and early stage companies to bring novel drug concept to bear at Takeda. She also was the Takeda scientific leader in residence and Scientific Advisory Board member at the Tri-Institutional Therapeutic Discovery Institute in New York City, where she managed the Biologics collaboration between the two organizations. Here she enabled translation of early stage programs from Cornell University, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Rockefeller University, to first in class therapeutic antibodies.

Currently an independent consultant, Linda provides expertise in the area of biologics discovery and preclinical development, due diligence for novel targets concepts and novel technology platforms, primarily in the immunology and oncology therapeutic areas.

Linda received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Urbino, Italy. She did her postdoctoral training at the department of Immunology and Microbiology of the University of California, San Francisco. Her industry career includes leadership positions at Takeda Pharmaceutical, XOMA and Abgenix (now Amgen).