Who we are

Mr. Poukalov is a Managing Director at Perceptive Advisors focused on various strategies across the Perceptive platforms. In addition to LianBio, he also serves on the board of directors of Lyra Therapeutics (Nasdaq: LYRA). Prior to joining Perceptive, Mr. Poukalov served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of Kadmon from 2014 to 2018. From 2012 to 2014, he served as Kadmon’s Vice President, Strategic Operations. Prior to joining Kadmon, Mr. Poukalov was a member of the healthcare investment banking group at Jefferies LLC from 2009 to 2012, focusing on companies across the life sciences and biotechnology sectors. Prior to Jefferies, he was a member of UBS Investment Bank, focusing on the healthcare industry, from 2006 to 2009. Mr. Poukalov earned Bachelor of Engineering, in Electrical Engineering, from Stony Brook University.

Yizhe Wang, Ph.D., has served as our Chief Executive Officer since May 2021. Dr. Wang previously served as Global Brand Development Leader, Lilly Oncology, at Eli Lilly and Company (“Eli Lilly”), from April 2018 to May 2021. From June 2020 to November 2020, Dr. Wang served as Global Platform Lead for anti-COVID Therapy, Lilly Research Lab, where he led a new operating model integrating discovery, development and launch resulting in the EUA of bamlanivimab. From April 2018 to May 2020, Dr. Wang was Senior Vice President, Head of BioMedicines and Oncology Businesses, Lilly China, where he was a member of the Global Oncology and Biomedicines Business Unit lead teams, and China Executive Committee. Prior to Eli Lilly, Dr. Wang was at GlaxoSmithKline plc for 15 years where he held product and commercial strategy roles of increasing responsibility in the United States (2003-2012), United Kingdom (2012-2014) and China (2014-2018), ultimately serving as Head of GlaxoSmithKline plc China Pharmaceuticals’ Respiratory Business Unit. Earlier in his career, he was a researcher at BMS. Dr. Wang received a doctorate in organic chemistry from Yale University. He also earned a master’s degree in business administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Ramapo College of New Jersey.

Adam Stone, Chief Investment Officer, joined Perceptive Advisors in 2006 and has acted as Chief Investment Officer since 2012 and is a member of the internal investment committees of Perceptive Advisors’ credit opportunities and venture funds. Mr. Stone currently also serves on the boards of directors of Solid Biosciences (Nasdaq: SLDB), Renovia, Xontogeny and Immatics (Nasdaq: IMTX), which are portfolio companies of Perceptive Advisors. Prior to joining Perceptive Advisors, Mr. Stone was a Senior Analyst at Ursus Capital from 2001 to 2006, where he focused on biotechnology and specialty pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Kumar, Ph.D., is a co-founder and has served as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors at BridgeBio since April 2015. Dr. Kumar has also served as the Chief Executive Officer of Eidos Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: EIDX), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, and a member of Eidos Therapeutics’ board of directors since March 2016. Prior to that, he served as the interim vice president of business development at MyoKardia, Inc. (Nasdaq: MYOK). Prior to that, Dr. Kumar was a principal at Third Rock Ventures and an associate principal at McKinsey & Company.

Mr. Gianakakos has served as Chief Executive Officer of MyoKardia (Nasdaq: MYOK), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing targeted therapies for the treatment of serious cardiovascular diseases, since October 2013. He joined MyoKardia from MAP Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Allergan in March 2013), where he was most recently senior vice president and chief business officer. Prior to MAP, Mr. Gianakakos led the formation of Codexis, Inc., a spin-off of Maxygen, Inc., where he served as president and senior vice president, business development, and global head of Codexis’ Pharmaceuticals Business Unit. Before forming Codexis, Mr. Gianakakos was director of business development at Maxygen. Mr. Gianakakos began his career as a process engineer within Merck & Co.’s vaccine division. Mr. Gianakakos holds B.Sc. degrees in chemical engineering and economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an M.Sc. in biotechnology from Northwestern University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

During a 30 year career at Pfizer, Ms. Silbermann held numerous leadership positions in marketing, commercial development and general management in the U.S. and international markets. Prior to her retirement in May 2021, Ms. Silbermann chaired Pfizer’s Global COVID-19 Task Force. At the same time, Ms. Silbermann served as Pfizer’s Global President, Emerging Markets, where she oversaw operations across marketing, medical, sales, access and government affairs in China, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. In this role, she designed and implemented a new innovation-focused organization in China, working in close collaboration with both the central government and the provinces to address their specific healthcare needs. From 2012 until 2018, Ms. Silbermann served as President and General Manager of Pfizer Vaccines. In this role, Ms. Silbermann was responsible for both the commercial development and operational management of Pfizer’s portfolio of preventative and therapeutic vaccines. She was also a member of the board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance from 2017 until 2020. From 2008 until 2012, she was the regional president of Latin America within Pfizer’s Emerging Markets Business Unit where she managed Pfizer’s pharmaceutical operations in this diverse region. Ms. Silbermann earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and French from Tufts University, and masters’ degrees in international business and French studies from the Stern Graduate School of Business and the Institute of French Studies at New York University.

Ms. Chen has over 17 years of experience serving as a Chief Financial Officer for a number of companies, including in the consumer retail and healthcare sectors. Most recently, she served as Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of Starbucks (China) Company Limited, where she drove significant business growth and played a key role in multiple business transformation initiatives. Prior to that, Ms. Chen served as Chief Financial Officer of Yum! Brands, Inc.’s China Division. Before joining the consumer retail sector, Ms. Chen worked in the healthcare sector for fifteen years, where she last served as Chief Financial Officer, Asia of Sanofi Group. Prior to Sanofi, she worked for Schering-Plough Corporation. Ms. Chen started her career as an auditor at Ernst & Young, LLP. She currently serves as a non-executive director at DFI Retail Group, and as a non-executive director at HBM Holding Limited. Ms. Chen is a certified public accountant. She received her bachelor’s degree in accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her master’s degree in business administration from Rutgers University.