Douglas E. Williams, PhD '84 (Medicine)

Douglas E. Williams, Ph.D., is currently the President, CEO, and member of the Board of Directors of Codiak BioSciences. He was previously Biogen’s Executive Vice President, Research and Development, serving in this role from January 2011 to July 2015. He joined Biogen from ZymoGenetics, where he was most recently CEO and member of the Board of Directors. ZymoGenetics was purchased for $985MM by Bristol Myers Squibb during Dr. Williams’ tenure.

Previously, he held leadership positions within the biotechnology industry, including Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of Research and Development at Seattle Genetics, and Senior Vice President and Washington Site Leader at Amgen.  Dr. Williams served in a series of scientific and senior leadership positions over a decade at Immunex, including Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer and a member of the Board of Directors. 

During his 30+ year career in the biotechnology industry he has played a role in the development of several novel drugs including Enbrel, Tecfidera, and Spinraza. He has served on the board of numerous biotechnology companies. Most recently, he had served as a member of the board of Ovid Therapeutics Inc. and Cygnal Therapeutics, a private company. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of AC Immune, and is a Director for private companies Panacea II, CytoImmune Therapeutics, Inc and Xenikos B.V.