Dr. Walters has over 20 years of leadership and expertise in oncology/immunology drug development and specializes in the evaluation, prioritization and the innovation of new therapies for the treatment of severe diseases.
Ian B Walters, MD, MBA,
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Dr. Walters has over 20 years of leadership and expertise in oncology/immunology drug development and specializes in the evaluation, prioritization and the innovation of new therapies for the treatment of severe diseases. Currently, he is the CEO of Portage Therapeutics.
Prior to Portage, Ian spent seven years at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he managed physicians overseeing the international development of more than eight oncology compounds (including nivolimab (anti-PD-1), ipilimumab (anti-CTLA-4), brivanib (anti VEGF/FGF), anti-IGF/IR, VEGFR2 biologic, elotuzimab (antiCS1), as well as biomarker and companion diagnostic work). He was a core member of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Strategic Transactions Group evaluating and executing licensing agreements, mergers and acquisitions, clinical collaborations, and the company’s immuno-oncology strategy. Prior to BMS, he held positions at PDL BioPharma, Inc., Millenium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc., leading corporate development, translational medicine, clinical development and medical affairs.
Before entering the private sector, Ian was a lead investigator at the Rockefeller University and initiated advanced immunology research to understand the mech anism of action of several compounds. Ian received his MD from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and an MBA from the Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania.