John Maraganore

John Maraganore is an American scientist and life sciences industry leader.

Education

John was born in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. in 1962 to Greek immigrant parents. In 1984, he completed his B.A. from University of Chicago in Division of Biological Sciences. In 1985, he completed his M.S. from the University of Chicago in Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. In 1986, Maraganore received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Career

Maraganore started his career as a post-doctoral research scientist at Upjohn in Kalamazoo, Michigan, from 1985-86. From 1986-87, he was a senior scientist at Zymogenetics in Seattle, Washington. From 1987-1997, he was a senior scientist, group leader of thrombosis and hemostasis research, director of biological research, director of market and business development, and program executive at Biogen in Cambridge, Massachusetts. At Biogen, he invented bivalirudin, a direct-acting thrombin inhibitor, later commercialized in the U.S. as ANGIOMAXTM. In 1997, Maraganore joined Millennium Pharmaceuticals and was the general manager of their Biotherapeutics subsidiary till 1999. He then became vice-president of mergers, acquisitions, and strategic planning and led the acquisitions of Leukosite and Cor Therapeutics. In 2000, he was appointed senior vice-president of strategic product development.

For a nearly 20 years from 2002-2021, John served as the founding Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals. At Alnylam, he led the company’s pioneering efforts to advance RNA interference therapeutics from early research through global approval and commercialization of the first four RNAi therapeutic medicines: ONPATTRO, GIVLAARI, OXLUMO, and LEQVIO. At Alnylam, he forged over 25 major partnerships with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and raised over $7 billion to fund the company’s research, development, manufacturing, and commercialization activities. He continues to serve on Alnylam’s Scientific Advisory Board.

Since his departure at Alnylam, John serves as a Venture Partner for Arch Ventures and Atlas Ventures, an Executive Partner for RTW Investments, and a Senior Advisor for Blackstone Life Sciences. He is a Director of Agios Pharmaceuticals, Beam Therapeutics, and Kymera Therapeutics. He has been nominated to join the Board of Takeda. He is also on the Board of a number of privately held biotechnology companies including Aerium Therapeutics and Hemab Therapeutics, where he serves as Chair.

Maraganore was the Chair of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization also known as BIO from 2017-2019, was appointed Chair Emeritus in 2022, and serves as a member of the BIO Board and its Executive Committee. In addition, he is a Director of the Termeer Foundation, which advances the legacy of the late Henri Termeer and of Ariadne Labs, which focuses on health system innovations. He is also Chair of the Advisory Board for n-Lorem, committed to advancing medicines for patients with nano-rare diseases.

Finally, Maraganore is an active mentor to emerging leaders across the biotechnology industry and also serves in strategic advisory roles for a number of biotechnology companies committed to bringing innovative medicines to patients.