Ann Lee-Karlon

Ann Lee-Karlon, Ph.D., is the CEO, President, and a Board Member at EpiBiologics, a biotechnology company focused on developing antibody-based protein degradation therapies. She took on this role in July 2023, following her tenure as Chief Operating Officer at Altos Labs, where she played a crucial role in scaling the company to 500 employees across three global sites.134

Education and Early Career

Dr. Lee-Karlon holds a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley, an MBA from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from UC San Diego, where she was recognized as a National Science Foundation Fellow.25 Her early career included positions at Eli Lilly and Advanced Tissue Sciences, as well as an internship at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.5

Career at Genentech

She spent over 18 years at Genentech, ultimately serving as Senior Vice President. During her time there, she led portfolio strategy and operations and oversaw more than 80 drug development teams from research through FDA approval and global launch. Notable projects included leading teams for Ocrevus (for multiple sclerosis) and Rituxan (in immunology) .136

Contributions and Leadership Roles

In addition to her role at EpiBiologics, Dr. Lee-Karlon is a board member of Eko Health and has served as the president and board chair of both the Genentech Patient Foundation and the Association for Women in Science. She is also a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and the Aspen Institute.125

Vision for EpiBiologics

At EpiBiologics, Dr. Lee-Karlon is focused on expanding the company's proprietary EpiTAC platform, which targets membrane and extracellular proteins for therapeutic applications in cancer, immunology, and neurological diseases. She aims to establish value-driven collaborations to enhance the company's pipeline of bispecific antibody protein degrader therapeutics.346