Biocom California Appoints New Members to Its Board of Directors and Board of Governors

Biocom California, the association representing the California life science industry, today announced the appointment of Thierry Diagana, Ph.D., head of Global Health and California sites head for Novartis Biomedical Research; Stephen Hatke, vice president of operations and site head at Takeda’s Thousand Oaks facility; and Kelly Hayes, assurance partner at Ernst & Young, to its board of directors. Additionally, Adam Lenain, member at Mintz Levin; Aaron K. Cohen, vice president, government affairs and public policy at Neurocrine Biosciences; and Diane Simeone, M.D., director of the Moores Cancer Center at University of California San Diego, were appointed to the board of governors.

“The addition of these accomplished leaders, scientists and policy changers brings strategic depth to our board of directors and board of governors,” said Tim Scott, president and CEO of Biocom California. “Their expertise in capital raising, public policy and research will help shape our strategic priorities and ensure we continue supporting our member organizations as they navigate today’s complex life science and drug development landscape.”

Board of Directors Appointees

Thierry Diagana leads Global Health at Novartis Biomedical Research, focusing on discovering new treatments and prevention methods for significant global medical needs. He conducted his Ph.D. research at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France, and his post-doctoral studies at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California. He joined the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (Singapore) in 2007 to oversee the malaria program, resulting in two drug candidates that are now in Phase II clinical trials. Prior to this role, he gained expertise in drug discovery at Exelixis and therapeutic approaches to neglected tropical diseases at the Institute for OneWorld Health. In 2017, Dr. Diagana relocated to Emeryville, California, and has served as a member of Biocom California’s board of governors since 2021.

With more than 25 years of experience, Stephen Hatke is currently the vice president of operations and site head at Takeda’s Thousand Oaks facility. Mr. Hatke first joined Takeda in the plasma business unit as head of manufacturing fractionation in Los Angeles. He also led many key initiatives including the Baby Big Campaign, Plasma Fractionation “Factory of Future” strategy development, and the Thousand Oaks site transformation. Prior to joining Takeda, Mr. Hatke spent 15 years with Amgen in various roles including director manufacturing technologies, director of manufacturing and plant engineering manager. He holds a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from Colorado State University.

As an assurance partner at Ernst & Young, Kelly Hayes has significant experience in a variety of industries including medical technology, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology for both privately-held and publicly-traded entities. She has assisted clients in IPOs, follow-on offerings, the transition to 404(b) requirements associated with internal controls, collaboration agreements, mergers and acquisitions and various other ‘34 Act filings. Mrs. Hayes holds a bachelor of accountancy from San Diego State University. She is a CPA in California and a member of the AICPA.

Board of Governors Appointees

Adam Lenain is a member at Mintz Levin and routinely assists public and private life sciences companies and their investors in navigating complex legal and business issues throughout the corporate life cycle. He has over twenty-five years of experience representing clients in seed and venture capital financings, public offerings, reverse mergers, PIPEs, mergers and acquisitions, SEC Compliance, and complex commercial transactions and was recently named Biotechnology and Life Sciences Practice Lawyer of the Year in San Diego for 2025 by Best Lawyers in America. Mr. Lenain received a bachelor of arts degree from Yale University and a J.D. from University of San Diego School of Law.

Aaron K. Cohen leads the federal and state government affairs and public policy teams as the head of Neurocrine Biosciences’ Washington, D.C. office. He has over 25 years of experience in public policy and political strategy on Capitol Hill and in the private sector. Mr. Cohen’s career includes working for two members of the U.S. Senate, both as chief of staff and healthcare policy advisor, with successes in authoring and facilitating the passage of multiple pieces of legislation through Congress on healthcare issues specific to Medicare beneficiaries, providers, women’s health, and animal health that were signed into law. In the private sector and prior to joining Neurocrine, he represented a wide array of clients in government affairs and led on securing legislative and regulatory victories on issues such as health care, tax policy, and veterans’ affairs. He also has advised and worked on several political campaigns at the federal, state, and local level. Mr. Cohen holds a bachelor of arts in political science from Pepperdine University.

Diane Simeone, M.D., is the director for Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego and provides the overall strategic and intellectual direction for the center’s research programs, administrative structure, and multidisciplinary cancer clinical care. She serves as the principal investigator for the center’s comprehensive cancer center grant sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Dr. Simeone partners with academic and clinical leaders to guide cancer research and care and provides counsel to campus and university-level committees. Prior to her current role, she served as the director of the Pancreatic Cancer Center and was the associate director of translational research at Perlmutter Cancer Center at New York University Langone Health. She is an internationally renowned pancreatic surgeon and researcher with a long-standing career focused on treating pancreatic cancer and pancreatic cystic tumors. Dr. Simeone also served as the chair of the scientific and medical advisory board of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and is a past president of the American Pancreatic Association and Society of University Surgeons. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and served on the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Pancreatic Cancer Task force and the NCI Cancer Centers Study Section. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. She is the principal investigator of IMPACT PANC, a national clinical trials consortium focused on next generation clinical trials for patients with pancreatic cancer. She is also the founder of the Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection (PRECEDE) Consortium, an international consortium established to drive the early detection of pancreatic cancer. Dr. Simeone completed her residency at the University of Michigan and earned her medical degree at Duke University.

About Biocom California

Biocom California is the leader and advocate for California’s life science sector. We work on behalf of our members to drive public policy, build an enviable network of industry leaders, create access to capital, introduce cutting-edge STEM education programs and create robust value-driven purchasing programs.

Founded in 1995 in San Diego, Biocom California provides the strongest public voice to research institutions and companies that fuel the local and state-wide economy. Our goal is simple: to help our members produce novel solutions that improve the human condition. In addition to our San Diego headquarters, Biocom California operates core offices in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, with satellite offices in Sacramento, Washington, D.C. and Tokyo. Our broad membership benefits apply to biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, genomics and diagnostics companies of all sizes, as well as to research universities and institutes, clinical research organizations, investors and service providers.

For more information on Biocom California, please visit our website at www.biocom.org. Connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and X.

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