CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Codiak BioSciences, Inc., a company at the forefront of advancing engineered exosomes as a new class of biologic medicines, today announced the appointment of Yalonda Howze as Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer. Ms. Howze will serve on the executive leadership team and report to Codiak’s president and CEO, Douglas E. Williams, Ph.D.
“I am delighted for Yalonda to join our team at Codiak. Her breadth of experience as legal and strategic counsel to multiple life science corporations will significantly benefit our company,” said Dr. Williams. “Yalonda is a welcome addition to our leadership team as we continue to grow our business and advance engineered exosome therapeutics for patients in need.”
“The Codiak team has a deep commitment to excellence and integrity, building a company with a discovery platform that has potential applications across multiple therapeutic areas and is supported by robust, state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities,” said Ms. Howze. “I look forward to working with Doug and the team as we pioneer a new class of biologic therapies for patients.”
Ms. Howze brings to Codiak deep legal expertise, with extensive life science industry experience managing transactional and litigation matters, including M&A and joint ventures, patent prosecution, employment and HR, and regulatory, as well as securities law. Prior to Codiak, she was at Mintz Levin, PC, for more than 13 years, most recently serving as President, Equity Partner starting in 2014. At Mintz Levin, Ms. Howze served as legal advisor to many top-tier life science companies, including Biogen, Vertex, Bioverative and Perrigo. Prior to Mintz Levin, she was Associate at Nutter, McClennen and Fish, LLP.
Ms. Howze received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, an M. Div. from the Harvard University, School of Divinity and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.
About Codiak BioSciences
Codiak BioSciences is harnessing exosomes—natural intercellular messengers—to develop a new class of biologic medicines, exosome therapeutics. Utilizing our proprietary and versatile exosome engineering and manufacturing platform (engEx™ Platform), Codiak is developing exosomes with precisely engineered properties to engage pathways and deliver potent therapeutics to specific cell targets. We are building a broad pipeline of therapeutic candidates that may have a transformative impact on the treatment of many diseases, including in the areas of oncology, immune-based diseases, neurological disorders and rare diseases. For more information, visit http://www.codiakbio.com.
