Board of Directors


Keith A. Katkin | Chairman of the Board of Directors

Mr. Katkin has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since the acquisition of Otic Pharma, Ltd. by Eledon Pharmaceuticals (formerly Novus Therapeutics, Inc.) in May 2017.  Prior to the acquisition, Mr. Katkin served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Otic Pharma from 2015 to 2017.  Mr. Katkin served as the Principal Executive Officer and as a member of the board of directors of Urovant Sciences Ltd, a public biopharmaceutical company from September 2017 until March 2020. Mr. Katkin served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly-traded biopharmaceutical company, from 2007 to 2016. Mr. Katkin led the growth and ultimate sale of Avanir to Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for $3.5 billion.  Mr. Katkin joined Avanir in 2005 as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing and a member of Avanir’s executive management team.  Prior to joining Avanir, Mr. Katkin served as Vice President, Commercial Development for Peninsula Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, playing a key role in the concurrent initial public offering and ultimate sale of the company to Johnson and Johnson.  Additionally, Mr. Katkin’s employment experience includes leadership roles at InterMune, Inc., Amgen, Inc. and Abbott Laboratories.  Mr. Katkin currently serves on the Board of Directors of Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Emergent BioSolutions, Inc. Mr. Katkin served on the board of Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. until May of 2022. Mr. Katkin has an M.B.A. from the Anderson School of Business at UCLA and earned a B.S. in Business and Accounting from Indiana University. Mr. Katkin is also a certified public accountant.

David-Alexandre C. Gros, MD | Director

Dr. Gros has served as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly Novus Therapeutics, Inc.) since September 2020. He joined Eledon Pharmaceuticals from Imbria Pharmaceuticals Inc., where he served as Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors. Prior to Imbria, Dr. Gros was President and Chief Operating Officer of Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc., Chief Business and Principal Financial Officer of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Chief Strategy Officer of Sanofi, S.A. Before joining Sanofi, Dr. Gros held leadership positions in healthcare investment banking at Centerview Partners, LLC, and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc., and in healthcare consulting at McKinsey & Company. He previously served on the Board of Directors of Eliem Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company which he co-founded, and of Saint Jean Groupe, S.A., a leading French manufacturer of pasta products since 1935. Dr. Gros earned his Doctor of Medicine from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, and a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College.

Jan Hillson, MD | Director

Dr. Hillson has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since July 2021. Dr. Hillson currently serves as Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at Provention Bio (a Sanofi Company), a clinical stage biotech, purchased by Sanofi for $2.9 billion in 2023, focused on debilitating and life-threatening immune-mediated disease a position held since November 2021.  Prior to Provention, Dr. Hillson was Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at Alpine Immune Sciences. Prior to Alpine Immune Sciences, Dr. Hillson was Senior Vice President of Drug Development for ChemoCentryx, and, before that, served as Vice President of Clinical and Translational Research at Momenta Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in her career, she served in senior roles at ZymoGenetics/Bristol Myers Squibb and Xcyte Therapies. Dr, Hillson also served as a member of the Clinical Faculty at Harvard Medical School (Cambridge Health Alliance), Assistant Professor at the University of Washington, and Division Head at Virginia Mason Medical Center. Dr. Hillson is a licensed rheumatologist and continues to care for patients. She received her MD from Stanford School of Medicine, an MS from the California Institute of Technology, an MS in Marine Chemistry from Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and a BS from Michigan State University.

John S. McBride | Director

Mr. McBride has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly Novus Therapeutics, Inc.) since May 2017.  Mr. McBride previously served as Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and interim Chief Financial Officer of Tokai Pharmaceuticals from 2014 until 2017.  Prior to Tokai, Mr. McBride founded and served as President of Alliance Life Science Advisors, Inc., a consulting firm focused on assisting life science companies with strategic planning, business development and financing projects from 2012 to 2014.  Prior to founding Alliance Life Science Advisors, Inc., Mr. McBride was an independent consultant from 2009 to 2012.  In addition, Mr. McBride previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Gloucester Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Global Head of Oncology Licensing at Pharmacia Corporation, Executive Vice President, Business Operations and Chief Financial Officer at CytoTherapeutics, Inc., Vice President, Business Development and Treasurer at Phytera, Inc., Vice President, Commercial Development at Sparta Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Vice President, Business Development at U.S. Bioscience, Inc.  Mr. McBride holds a B.S. in Biochemistry and an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

June Lee, MD | Director

Dr. Lee has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly Novus Therapeutics, Inc.) since December 2020. From February 2021 to November 2021, Dr. Lee was founder and Chief Executive Officer at Esker Therapeutics, Inc. From January 2017 until June 2020, Dr. Lee was Chief Development Officer and Chief Operating Officer of MyoKardia, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company with a focus on precision cardiovascular medicines. At MyoKardia she built and led a world class development organization culminating in the company’s $13.1 billion acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb in November 2020. Prior to MyoKardia, Dr. Lee was Professor of Medicine at UCSF School of Medicine, where she served as Director of Translational Research and built the Catalyst Program, an internal accelerator at UCSF for early-stage technologies in therapeutics, devices, diagnostics, and digital health. She is also the founding chair of the University of California Drug, Device, Discovery and Development Group. Previously, she was therapeutic area head in early clinical development in cardiovascular, metabolism, respiratory, and infectious diseases at Genentech. Dr. Lee is a member of the Board of Directors of the Council of Korean Americans, of which she previously served as Chair. She is a founding member of the Translational Research Advisory Council of South Korea’s MOGAM Research Institute, and the MTRAC for Life Sciences Innovation Hub Therapeutic/Diagnostic Oversight Committee, a unit associated with the University of Michigan Medical School. She is a Board Director for Abivax, CinCor Pharma, GenEdit and Tenaya Therapeutics, serves on Johns Hopkins University Center for Therapeutic Translation’s Advisory Board, and on the Scientific Advisory Board for Foresite Labs. Dr. Lee completed a Bachelor of Science in chemistry at the Johns Hopkins University, an M.D. at the School of Medicine at University of California, Davis, and her clinical training in internal medicine and pulmonary & critical care at UCLA and UCSF.

Steven Perrin, PhD | Director

Dr. Perrin has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly Novus Therapeutics, Inc.) since September 2020. He was the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Anelixis Therapeutics, Inc. before joining Eledon Pharmaceuticals as President and Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Perrin has 20 years of drug development experience, having held R&D positions at the Hoechst-Ariad Genomics Center, Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Biogen Idec, Inc. Over the past decade, Dr. Perrin has worked with the ALS Therapy Development Institute to develop the world’s largest ALS drug development program, bridging preclinical and clinical programs. Dr. Perrin earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Boston University Medical Center, where he also started his career as Associate Professor of Medicine, and a Bachelor of Science from Boston College.

Walter Ogier | Director
Mr. Ogier has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly Novus Therapeutics, Inc.) since September 2020. He has more than 30 years of experience developing therapeutic medical products ranging from pharmaceuticals to medical devices, stem and immune cell therapies and gene therapies. He has served in multiple CEO roles including Genetix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (now bluebird bio, Inc.) and Acetylon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which Celgene Corporation acquired in 2016. In addition to Novus, he serves as a director of Biothera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Thetis Pharmaceuticals, LLC, and Nemucore Medical Innovations, Inc., and as Board advisor to Kodikaz Therapeutic Solutions, Inc., and ME Therapeutics, Inc. Walter earned a Master of Business Administration from Yale School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from Williams College.
James Robinson | Director

Mr. Robinson has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since October 2023. Mr. Robinson previously served as Chief Executive Officer and Director of Urovant Sciences from March 2020 to July 2023, guiding the company through its first product launch, and subsequent acquisition by Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma. From April 2019 to March 2020, Mr. Robinson was President and Chief Operating Officer of Paragon Biosciences. From March 2018 to April 2019, Mr. Robinson served as President and COO of Alkermes, leading operations that generated more than $1 billion in annual revenue. Prior to Alkermes, Mr. Robinson spent over 12 years at Astellas Pharma, one of the leaders in the field of solid organ transplant, where he served as President of the Americas and was responsible for $4 billion in revenue generation. Mr. Robinson currently serves on the Board of Directors of UroGen Pharma (Nasdaq: URGN). He previously served on the Board of Directors for Neos Therapeutics and for AGTC before the company was sold to Syncona. Mr. Robinson also previously served on the Board of Directors of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), where he served as Chairman of PhRMA’s State Committee. He earned a Bachelor of Science in marketing from DePaul University.