Anna Protopapas

Biography

Ms. Protopapas joined Mersana in March 2015, bringing a substantial track record of executive leadership and business experience in the biotech industry. Prior to Mersana, Ms. Protopapas was President of Millennium, where she led Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.’s $1.3 billion oncology business. Ms. Protopapas also served as the Executive Vice President of Global Business Development for Takeda Pharmaceuticals where she was responsible for global acquisitions, partnering, licensing and venture investing. In this role, she led Takeda’s $12 billion acquisition of Nycomed, a critical step in the company’s globalization. Ms. Protopapas was a member of Takeda’s executive committee and was elected a corporate officer in 2011. Earlier, Ms. Protopapas was an executive officer at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and served in various senior leadership positions, playing an integral role in the company’s transformation from a genomics start-up to a fully integrated oncology leader. She was instrumental in the sale of Millennium to Takeda for $8.8 billion. She earned her bachelor’s degree in science and engineering from Princeton University, a master’s in chemical engineering practice from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Research Interest

Ms. Protopapas joined Mersana in March 2015, bringing a substantial track record of executive leadership and business experience in the biotech industry. Prior to Mersana, Ms. Protopapas was President of Millennium, where she led Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.’s $1.3 billion oncology business. Ms. Protopapas also served as the Executive Vice President of Global Business Development for Takeda Pharmaceuticals where she was responsible for global acquisitions, partnering, licensing and venture investing. In this role, she led Takeda’s $12 billion acquisition of Nycomed, a critical step in the company’s globalization. Ms. Protopapas was a member of Takeda’s executive committee and was elected a corporate officer in 2011. Earlier, Ms. Protopapas was an executive officer at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and served in various senior leadership positions, playing an integral role in the company’s transformation from a genomics start-up to a fully integrated oncology leader. She was instrumental in the sale of Millennium to Takeda for $8.8 billion. She earned her bachelor’s degree in science and engineering from Princeton University, a master’s in chemical engineering practice from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business.