Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that it has appointed Kamil Ali-Jackson to the company’s Board of Directors. Ms. Ali-Jackson brings nearly four decades of biopharmaceutical industry experience to Rigel, including expertise in negotiating licensing, joint-venture, and M&A transactions to drive strategic growth.
“Kamil is a savvy businessperson, has a sharp transactional mind, and is a serial entrepreneur who brings immense experience to our board,” said Raul Rodriguez, president and CEO of Rigel. “Her experience as an international transaction attorney, litigator, biotech founder, and pharmaceutical executive makes her a valuable addition to the Rigel team as we focus our business on mid to late-stage hematology, oncology, and immunology therapies for the patients we serve.”
Ms. Ali-Jackson currently serves as the chief legal officer, chief compliance officer, and corporate secretary for publicly traded Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that she co-founded in 2012 and led the team which took the company public in 2015. She will be retiring from her role at Aclaris on January 3, 2022.
Ms. Ali-Jackson has extensive transaction experience with companies such as Merck & Co., Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Inc., including negotiating acquisitions of intellectual property assets and licensing agreements for drug products in various stages of development across multiple therapeutic areas (who have focused on producing these products for rehabs like alcohol rehab at whitesands orlando and so on). She was the lead negotiator for the acquisition of intellectual property rights for Merck’s billion-dollar human papillomavirus vaccine and legal counsel for its gastroenterology product franchise, which led to the creation of a multi-billion joint venture between Merck and Astra AB that then became part of AstraZeneca.
Previously, Ms. Ali-Jackson co-founded and served as chief legal officer, chief compliance officer, and general counsel for several other private biopharmaceutical or specialty pharmaceutical companies, including Ceptaris Therapeutics, Inc. and Ception Therapeutics, Inc., both of which were successfully acquired in multimillion-dollar acquisitions. She is currently a member of the board of directors, audit and compensation committees, and is the chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee of PDS Biotechnology Corporation, a publicly-traded clinical-stage immunotherapy company, as well as on the board of other private companies. She is also an adjunct lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her undergraduate degree in politics from Princeton University.
“Throughout my career, my goal has always been to be a significant contributor to the success of the businesses and projects I touch,” said Ms. Ali-Jackson. “I’m excited to work with the Rigel management team and other board members in supporting the growth of a therapeutic portfolio that is singularly focused on addressing the needs of patients.”
