Osivax Appoints Dr. Michael Watson, Former President of Moderna Vaccine Division, to Its Board of Directors

Osivax, a biopharmaceutical company developing vaccines to protect against highly mutating infectious diseases, has appointed Dr. Michael Watson to its Board of Directors.

Dr. Watson joins Osivax as it advances its lead program, OVX836, an influenza vaccine candidate designed to activate both B cell and T cell immune responses against a highly conserved internal antigen, through Phase 2 clinical studies and prepares to enter the clinic with its universal coronavirus vaccine candidate, OVX033, Osivax said.

“Michael’s expertise in the discovery and launch of highly effective vaccines worldwide and his knowledge of the vaccine technology landscape will be invaluable to us as we continue to expand the potential of our technology and pipeline,” said Alexandre Le Vert, CEO and Co-founder of Osivax.

Dr. Watson is currently the Executive Chairman of VaxEquity and the Chief Executive Officer of MEVOX, two companies specialized in vaccine development. In his prior role as President of Valera Pharmaceuticals, Moderna’s infectious diseases and vaccines venture, he oversaw novel vaccine and antibody projects against viral and bacterial targets. Under his leadership, the company advanced six vaccine candidates into clinical trials and secured $135 M in non-dilutive funding from BARDA, NIAID, and other renowned institutions. Dr. Watson has held multiple leadership positions in large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies including Sanofi Pasteur, SPMSD and Acambis.