About Us

With more than 30 years of global biopharmaceutical leadership experience, Pascal Touchon joined Atara Biotherapeutics as President, Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors in June 2019. Pascal has committed his career to transforming the lives of patients with serious medical conditions through pioneering science, teamwork, and a commitment to excellence.

Previously Global Head, Cell & Gene and member of the Oncology Executive Committee at Novartis Oncology, he oversaw the Oncology Cell & Gene unit and had responsibility for the unit’s financial performance and its activities, including the global launch of KYMRIAH® (tisagenlecleucel), securing regulatory approval and reimbursement in major markets, expanding global CAR T manufacturing and technical operations, overseeing multiple new clinical studies, and building a strong leadership team.

Prior to that, he served as Global Head, Strategy, Business Development, Oncology at Novartis, where he was responsible for early commercial strategy, portfolio management, therapeutic integrity and established medicines, disruptive technologies, diagnostics, business development and external collaborations, and served as a member of the Oncology Executive Committee. Pascal has also held key leadership roles in research, marketing, general management, and business development at companies including Servier, Glaxo-Wellcome and Glaxo, Sanofi. He has also been a board member of Genoptix and Navigate Biopharma Services (Novartis companies) and Cogen Therapeutics (a Flagship Pioneering company).

Pascal holds a doctorate in veterinary medicine from Paul Sabatier University (Toulouse, France), a Diplôme d’Etudes Superieures Specialisees (DESS) in management from Institut d’Administration des Entreprises (Toulouse, France) and an MBA from INSEAD (Fontainebleau, France).

Beyond his passion for science and business, Pascal enjoys traveling with his family around the world, wine tasting with friends, watching rugby, and reading.

Carol Gallagher, Pharm.D. is a venture partner in the life sciences practice of New Enterprise Associates and an experienced public company director. She has served as a Director at Atara since 2013 and as a member of both the Compensation and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees.

From 2008-2011, Carol was the president and CEO of Calistoga Pharmaceuticals that developed the first-in-class cancer therapeutic, CAL-101, now known as ZYDELIG. During her tenure as CEO at Calistoga Pharmaceuticals, Carol raised $80 million in venture financing and led the company to a successful exit with the acquisition by Gilead Sciences in April 2011 for $375 million and a total consideration of $600 million. Gilead continued to rapidly advance registration trials of ZYDELIG in patients with certain types of leukemia and lymphoma. In 2014, ZYDELIG was approved in the US and Europe for three indications simultaneously.

Carol studied chemistry at Vanderbilt University and then pursued a clinical background, attaining Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from the College of Pharmacy at the University of Kentucky.

Ameet Mallik is President and Chief Executive Officer of ADC Therapeutics, a commercial-stage cancer biotechnology company. Prior to ADC Therapeutics, Ameet served as Chief Executive Officer of Rafael Holdings. Previously, Ameet spent more than 16 years of his career at Novartis, where he most recently served as Executive Vice President. In this role, Mr. Mallik was responsible for Novartis’ commercial and medical oncology operations in the United States. From November 2015 to November 2017, Mr. Mallik served as Global Head, Marketing, Value and Access, and from April 2014 to November 2015 as Head, Latin America and Canada, both for Novartis Oncology. Mr. Mallik began his career at Novartis as Head of Strategic Planning and has held a number of commercial leadership roles at Novartis and Sandoz. At Sandoz, Mr. Mallik was Global Head of Biopharmaceuticals & Oncology Injectables. Mr. Mallik previously worked as an Associate Principal at McKinsey and Company. Mr. Mallik holds an M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and an M.S. in Biotechnology and B.S. in Chemical Engineering, both from Northwestern University.

Eric Dobmeier is President and Chief Executive Officer of Chinook Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on precision medicines for kidney disease. He was previously President and Chief Executive Officer of Silverback Therapeutics, and prior to that was Chief Operating Officer of Seattle Genetics, overseeing business development, corporate communications, manufacturing and program/alliance management activities, as well as corporate strategy initiatives. While at Seattle Genetics, Eric was directly involved in raising more than $1.2 billion in equity capital, and led negotiation and completion of multiple corporate alliances with leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Eric received a J.D. from University of California, Berkeley School of Law and an undergraduate degree from Princeton University.

Matthew Fust is an advisor to life sciences companies. He was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Onyx Pharmaceuticals from January 2009 through its acquisition in October 2013. From May 2003 to December 2008, Matthew served as Chief Financial Officer of Jazz Pharmaceuticals. From 2002 to 2003, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Perlegen Sciences. Previously, he was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of ALZA Corporation, where he was an executive from 1996 until 2002. From 1991 until 1996, Matthew was a member of Andersen Consulting’s healthcare strategy practice. He received a B.A. from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Mr. Heiden is an experienced pharmaceutical and biotechnology executive. He joined AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMAG) in May 2012 as president and chief executive officer. Mr. Heiden is also a member of AMAG’s board of directors. Prior to joining AMAG, Mr. Heiden served as president and chief executive officer of GTC Biotherapeutics, Inc. since June 2010. Prior to joining GTC Biotherapeutics, Mr. Heiden was the president and chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of Elixir Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, from September 2004 until December 2008.

Prior to joining Elixir Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Heiden served as president and chief operating officer of Praecis Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (which was acquired by GlaxoSmithKline plc), from 2002 to 2004. From 1987 to 2002, Mr. Heiden progressed through various positions of increasing responsibility at Schering-Plough Corporation (now Merck & Co.), including managing a number of businesses in the United States, Europe and Canada. Mr. Heiden served on the board of directors of GTC Biotherapeutics, Inc., rVEO Biologics and LFB Biotechnologies S.A.S., a private French biotechnology company. Mr. Heiden holds an M.B.A. from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, a M.I.M. degree from the University of Louvain and a B.A. degree from the University of Florida.

Dr. Roncarolo is the George D. Smith Professor in Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, Director of the Center for Definitive and Curative Medicine, and Co-Director of the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Stanford University.

In 2014, Dr. Roncarolo established the Stanford Center for Definitive and Curative Medicine. The center, which is dedicated to the development of innovative stem cell and gene therapies for patients with currently incurable diseases, spans a wide range of bench and clinical research activities from basic biology through translational research, and features its own GMP cell processing and Phase 1 study units.

She has also served as the primary investigator in several landmark trials involving the development of innovative stem cell- and gene-based therapies. Dr. Roncarolo worked at DNAX Research Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology in Palo Alto for several years, where she contributed to the discovery of novel cytokines, cell-signaling molecules that are part of the immune response, studying the role of these cytokines in inducing immunological tolerance and in promoting stem cell growth and differentiation. As Director of the Telethon Institute for Cell and Gene Therapy and the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan, Dr. Roncarolo was the principal investigator leading the successful gene therapy trial in SCID, a severe life threatening disorder in which patients lack an enzyme critical to DNA synthesis.

Beyond studying new therapies, Dr. Roncarolo has also helped elucidate drivers of disease at the molecular and cellular level, as she has investigated the mechanisms of immune-mediated diseases throughout her career and helped advance the understanding of immunological tolerance. In 2010, Dr. Roncarolo was the recipient of the outstanding achievement award from the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), and from the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) in 2017. She is currently the president of the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies.

Dr. Seidenberg is a founding managing director of Westlake Village BioPartners and a partner at Kleiner Perkins, a leading venture capital firm.

From standing on a stool as a child watching her father conducting heart surgery, to her groundbreaking work developing new treatments for diseases as diverse as AIDS and arthritis, Dr. Seidenberg has applied her medical expertise to the venture capital world to help entrepreneurs translate their scientific breakthroughs into new medicines. Since 2006, Seidenberg has incubated and invested in more than 20 healthcare companies, including but not limited to ARMO, Arresto, Arsenal Biosciences, Atara Biotherapeutics, Cell Design Labs, Epizyme, Flexus, iPerian, Kyverna Therapeutics, TESARO, RAPT, True North, Livongo, and Progyny.

As a founding managing director of Westlake Village BioPartners, Seidenberg believes the pace and quality of innovation has hit an inflection point, providing the opportunity to turn the next big technologies into products and companies that benefit human health.

Seidenberg has a demonstrated ability to identify and accelerate meaningful molecules through development. Her expertise is grounded in her significant senior-level industry experience with leadership roles at Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck Research Laboratories.

Prior to life science investing, Seidenberg’s career focused on developing new treatments for AIDS, arthritis, asthma, cancer and psoriasis, cardiovascular, metabolic, neurological and renal disorders for over 20 years. During that time, she introduced 10 innovative products to market.

Dr. Seidenberg holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and anthropology from Barnard College and attended medical school at the University of Miami School of Medicine. She completed her medical residency at Johns Hopkins University and the George Washington University, and Fellowship at the National Institutes of Health.