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Ivana Magovcevic-Liebisch, PHD, JD

Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer

 

Dr. Ivana Magovcevic-Liebisch has more than 18 years of senior management experience in biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry with expertise in financing, corporate partnering and M&A, clinical development, regulatory affairs, commercialization, legal and IP matters, and preparation and implementation of operating plans.

Prior to joining Axcella, Dr. Magovcevic-Liebisch was Senior Vice President and Head of Global Business Development at Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. In her time at Teva, Dr. Magovcevic-Liebisch led and executed over $5 billion in business development transactions, including licensing and acquisition of companies, businesses, commercial products, drug candidates and/or technologies, as well as asset divestitures to support operational strategies and objectives of Teva’s Global Specialty R&D and Commercial Franchises to drive growth and value for the company.

Dr. Magovcevic-Liebisch began her biopharma career at Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc., where she was Director of Intellectual Property and Patent Counsel. Subsequently, Dr. Magovcevic-Liebisch joined Dyax Corp. and served in management roles of increasing scope and responsibility, including Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. She established the commercial infrastructure of the company’s first FDA-approved drug, Kalbitor®, for treatment of hereditary angioedema attacks, a very rare and potentially life-threatening genetic condition.

Dr. Magovcevic-Liebisch currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (AGTC), a biotech company developing cures for rare eye diseases through gene therapy, a member of the Board of Directors for Alivio Therapeutics, a biotech company developing novel drug formulations for inflammatory diseases, a Trustee of the Wentworth Institute of Technology, and an overseer of the Boston Ballet, Boston Museum of Science and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Dr. Magovcevic holds a Ph.D. in Genetics from Harvard University and received her J.D. in High Technology law from Suffolk University Law School. She graduated from Wheaton College with a B.A. in Biology and Chemistry. In 2008, Dr. Magovcevic-Liebisch was the winner of the Woman Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology Leadership Award.

What drew you to Axcella?

The opportunity to be a member of an exceptional team working together to improve lives of patients and their families through a revolutionary technology.

Your greatest non-professional accomplishment?

Being a mother to two amazing kids.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A fashion designer.

What do you know now that your wish you knew when you were younger?

The importance of work-life balance – this is such an important part of the culture at Axcella!

Favorite book and author?

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez.