Board of Directors
Mark Pruzanski, M.D.
Chairman
Dr. Mark Pruzanski is a physician and entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience in the life sciences. Most recently he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Versanis Bio where he spearheaded the development of novel therapies for obesity and other cardiometabolic diseases until the company’s acquisition in 2023 by Eli Lilly and Company. Prior to joining Versanis, he founded and was the longstanding Chief Executive Officer of Intercept Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Pruzanski is currently a member of the Board of Directors of several biotechnology companies, the Emerging Company Section of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Dr. Pruzanski received his M.D. from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, a M.A. degree in International Affairs from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy and Washington, D.C., and a B.A. degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
Frédéric Cren
CEO and co-founder of Inventiva
Frédéric Cren is an experienced executive in the pharmaceutical industry and has served as our Chief Executive Officer since co-founding Inventiva in 2011, and has been Chairman of the Board of Directors from May 2016 until December 2024.
Mr. Cren has held several key positions in the pharmaceutical industry, most recently he served as General Manager of Research for Abbott Laboratories from 2010 to 2012. Prior to joining Abbott, Mr. Cren held several positions at Solvay Pharmaceuticals and at Laboratoires Fournier SA before its acquisition by Solvay in 2005. Through his various roles as Vice-President of strategic marketing, Vice-President of US operations and member of the executive committee of Laboratoires Fournier from 2001 to 2005, Mr. Cren demonstrated his strong expertise in the areas of research, development, marketing, strategy and business operations. During his time at Fournier, Mr. Cren was responsible for the fenofibrate franchise as well as the successful development and launch of TriCor® 145. Following the acquisition of Fournier by Solvay in 2005, Mr. Cren became Head of strategy and portfolio management, Senior Vice-President of research and member of the executive committee. Before joining the pharmaceutical industry, Mr. Cren worked for 8 years at the Boston Consulting Group as a consultant and manager in the group’s health division.
Frédéric Cren holds an MBA from INSEAD, an MA from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree from Paris IX Dauphine University.
Srinivas Akkaraju, M.D., Ph.D.
Independent Administrator
Dr. Srinivas Akkaraju is the Founder and Managing General Partner of Samsara BioCapital. Before establishing Samsara, he served as a General Partner at Sofinnova Ventures from 2013 to 2016, and as Managing Director at New Leaf Venture Partners from 2009 to 2013. Dr. Akkaraju also held the position of Managing Director at Panorama Capital, LLC, a private equity firm, and was a Partner at J.P. Morgan Partners, where he worked from 2001 and became a Partner in 2005. Prior to his time at J.P. Morgan Partners, Dr. Akkaraju was involved in Business and Corporate Development at Genentech, Inc. (now a part of The Roche Group), most recently as Senior Manager from 1998 to 2001.
Dr. Akkaraju earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in Immunology from Stanford University, where he was a graduate student. He also holds undergraduate degrees in Biochemistry and Computer Science from Rice University.
In addition to his leadership role at Samsara, Dr. Akkaraju serves on the boards of Scholar Rock, Mineralys Therapeutics, vTv Therapeutics, Alumis, and several private biotechnology companies. He has previously served as a director for a range of biopharma companies, including Seattle Genetics, Principia Biopharma, Chinook Therapeutics, Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, ZS Pharma, Synageva Biopharma Corp., Amarin Corporation, Syros and Barrier Therapeutics.
Lucy Lu, M.D.
Independent Administrator
Dr. Lu has over 20 years of extensive experience in the biotechnology and healthcare industries as an investment banker, financial analyst and executive of listed biopharmaceutical companies in the United States. She brings additional skills to Inventiva’s board in the areas of finance and clinical development as well as American market experience.
In addition to her functions at Inventiva, Dr. Lu has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Avenue Therapeutics, Inc., a public biotechnology company, since its inception in 2015. Previously, she was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Fortress Biotech, Inc. from 2012 to 2017. Dr. Lu worked as Senior Biotechnology Analyst for Citigroup Inc. from 2007 until 2012.
Dr. Lu holds a MD from New York University School of Medicine and a MBA from Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University. She also received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee’s College of Arts and Sciences.
Heinz Maeusli
Independent Administrator
Heinz Maeusli has been a member of our Board of Directors since 2019. Before joining our Board of Directors, Mr. Maeusli was Chief Financial Officer of Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA) from 2003 to 2018, where he was instrumental in making this company a leader in the sector of nuclear medicine. In this capacity, he led AAA’s IPO on the Nasdaq in November 2015 and was involved in the sale of AAA to Novartis in January 2018. Throughout his career, he has developed an expertise in operational, organizational, financial and cultural aspects relating to the growth and integration of international companies.
Heinz Maeusli holds an MBA from Columbia University, New York, USA and a MA in Business from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.
Annick Schwebig, M.D.
Independant Administrator
Annick Schwebig has served as a member of our Board of Directors since February 2017. Mrs. Schwebig was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Actelion Pharmaceuticals France from 2000 to 2015, a laboratory specializing in the development of drugs for orphan diseases. She has held senior positions in the pharmaceutical industry as Vice-President of Medical Affairs France and Vice-President of Research and Development Europe at Bristol-Myers Squibb from 1983 to 2000.
Mrs. Schwebig has been a member of the Board of Directors of Cellectis since 2011. She is a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris.
Andre Turenne
Independent Administrator
Andre Turenne has more than 20 years of global experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of the Boston-based biotech Matchpoint Therapeutics, and Advisor to Atlas Venture since 2021. Prior to joining Matchpoint, Mr. Turenne served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Voyager Therapeutics. He previously held senior leadership positions at Sanofi, including Senior Vice President and Global Head of Business Development & Licensing, responsible for strategic transactions across therapeutic areas, modalities, and geographies. Andre also served as Global Head of Commercial Operations for the renal franchise of Genzyme.
Mr. Turenne holds a B.A. from Kalamazoo College and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
Martine Zimmerman, Pharm.D.
Independent Administrator
Martine Zimmermann is currently the SVP, Head of Global Regulatory affairs and R&D Quality at Ipsen. Prior to joining Ipsen, Martine was the Senior Vice President and Head of global regulatory affairs of Alexion Pharma International. During her 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, she has acquired extensive expertise in regulatory affairs in both small and large pharmaceutical groups, holding senior roles in the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Martine Zimmermann has worked across all phases of drug development within several therapeutic areas, interacting with relevant regulatory authorities in key markets, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Japanese Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA).
She is also an active member of several life-sciences trade associations and has been a member of the Board of Directors of U.S.-based Caelum Biosciences since 2019.
