Karen Hong

Biography

Prior to Takeda Ventures, Dr. Hong was a Partner at ProQuest Investments, a healthcare dedicated venture fund, where she worked for fifteen years, deploying three funds and supporting all fund operations. She and her team at ProQuest guided over thirty investments to a successful exit. Dr. Hong currently serves on the Board of Directors of Palleon Pharmaceuticals, BiomX, and Emendo Biotherapeutics and is a Board Observer to Ribon Therapeutics, Encycle Therapeutics, and Arcellx. Previously, she represented ProQuest as a Director of Agile Therapeutics (Nasdaq: AGRX) and Clarus Therapeutics, and as a Board Observer to Mevion Medical Systems, Mersana Therapeutics (Nasdaq:MRSN), BioRexis Pharmaceutical Corp. (acquired by Pfizer), Gloucester Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Celgene) and LEAD Therapeutics (acquired by BioMarin), among others. She brings over twenty years of experience in life science investing and biomedical research. Prior to joining ProQuest, Dr. Hong led multiple research projects in mammalian cancer genetics in the laboratory of Dr. Eric Lander at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, identifying one of the first genetic modifier genes. Dr. Hong received a B.S. in chemistry and a B.A. in molecular biology from the University of California at Berkeley, where she graduated with honors and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She received a Ph.D. in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Personal interests include skiing and biking with her husband and two children.    

Research Interest

Pharmaceutical science