Paul Laikind

Paul K. Laikind, Ph.D. has over 25 years of leadership experience in the biotechnology and life sciences industry in San Diego. A serial entrepreneur, Dr. Laikind co-founded and held top executive positions at three San Diego companies that each went public before ultimately being acquired. These include Gensia Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Viagene, Inc., which, like Gensia, was founded upon technology Dr. Laikind helped to create, and, most recently, Metabasis Therapeutics, Inc. where he served as President and Chief Executive Officer. Just prior to joining ViaCyte, Dr. Laikind served as Chief Business Officer and Senior Vice President of Business Development at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute where he established a number of licensing and strategic partnerships with large pharmaceutical organizations, including collaborations with Pfizer’s Centers for Therapeutic Innovation, Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Takeda Pharmaceutical. Dr. Laikind holds a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of California, Davis, and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California, San Diego.