Martin Huber, MD
President and Chief Executive Officer
Marty was named President and CEO of Mersana in 2023, bringing to the company extensive drug development experience and demonstrated leadership capabilities across both small and large biopharmaceutical organizations. He also has been a member of Mersana’s Board of Directors since 2020.
Prior to his CEO role at Mersana, Marty most recently served as President, Head of R&D and, prior to that, as Chief Medical Officer, at Xilio Therapeutics, Inc. Before joining Xilio, he served as Chief Medical Officer at TESARO, Inc., and after TESARO’s acquisition by GlaxoSmithKline plc, as Senior Vice President, Clinical. Earlier, Marty served as Vice President, Oncology Clinical Research at Merck Research Laboratories and in roles of increasing responsibility in the areas of oncology clinical development, drug safety and pharmacovigilance at Schering-Plough, Hoffmann-La Roche and Rhone-Poulenc Rorer. His work has contributed to the approval of such oncology medicines as docetaxel, dostarlimab, niraparib, pembrolizumab and trastuzumab.
Marty began his career as an Assistant Professor of Oncology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. He received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine.
Fun fact about Marty: While many biotech executives have had to dust themselves off and get back in the saddle following a setback, Marty literally once did so after getting tossed off his horse during a cattle round-up.
Mohan Bala, PhD
Senior Vice President, Chief Development Officer
Mohan joined Mersana in October 2021, bringing a deep expertise in asset strategy and program management to the Mersana team. He has overseen the advancement of products through early-, mid- and late-stage clinical development, been involved in multiple successful Biologics License Applications (BLAs) and Marketing Authorization Applications (MAAs) submissions, and has helped launch seven oncology products globally.
Prior to joining Mersana, he was most recently Chief Operating Officer at Constellation Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for overall asset strategy and program management. Prior to joining Constellation, Mohan served as VP, Development Program Lead at TESARO, where he oversaw cross-functional teams advancing multiple product candidates. Earlier in his career, Mohan held senior leadership roles at Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline and Centocor, where he gained deep experience in market access, health economics and launch planning.
Mohan earned his B.Tech from IIT Madras and his M.B.A and Ph.D. in management science from the University of Chicago. He has co-authored over 50 peer reviewed articles published in medical and economics journals.
Fun fact about Mohan: Mohan enjoys cooking and spending time with his family and his dog Josie in his spare time.
Alejandra Carvajal
Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer
Alejandra joined Mersana in April 2021, bringing with her 20 years of legal leadership and transformational business development experience.
Before joining Mersana, Alejandra was the Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where she led the company’s legal operations through both business restructuring and the company’s successful acquisition by Johnson & Johnson. She also served as a key strategic legal partner in the company’s financing, business development, and contractual decision-making efforts. Prior to joining Momenta, Alejandra served as the Vice President, General Counsel at Cerulean Pharma Inc. Previously, she served in several positions of increasing seniority at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, contributing to the company’s R&D, business development, manufacturing and commercial efforts. She also held positions earlier in her career at the law firms of Day, Berry & Howard LLP and Hill & Barlow.
Alejandra received her B.A. cum laude from Harvard University and her J.D. cum laudefrom the Georgetown University Law Center. She is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Fun fact about Alejandra: In her spare time, Alejandra is a member of the Board of Directors for the Science Club for Girls, Inc., a Massachusetts-based non-profit organization that fosters excitement, confidence, and literacy in STEM for girls and young women from underrepresented communities.
Brian C. DeSchuytner
Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer
Brian joined Mersana in June 2019, bringing significant biopharmaceutical business strategy, operational, finance, product development and commercialization experience from leading oncology companies. He became our Chief Financial Officer in October 2021.
Prior to Mersana, he served as Vice President, ZEJULA Commercial at TESARO, Inc. with responsibility for the commercialization of niraparib, a PARP inhibitor developed to treat ovarian cancer. From 2009 to 2017, Brian held increasingly senior roles at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda, including serving as a Vice President, Global Marketing and Global Brand Head, where he was responsible for the global launch of ixazomib, a drug developed to treat multiple myeloma. At Millennium and earlier in his career at Novartis, Brian held corporate development and strategy roles, and he was a leader in the life sciences practice of L.E.K. Consulting.
Brian holds a B.A. in biophysical chemistry from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Fun fact about Brian: In his free time, Brian enjoys hiking, rock climbing, and Star Wars. In fact, many people have said that Brian reminds them of Han Solo.
Timothy B. Lowinger, PhD
Senior Vice President, Chief Science and Technology Officer
Tim joined Mersana as Chief Scientific Officer in its start-up days in February 2008, and in August 2019, he was named our Chief Science and Technology Officer. Tim has led all of Mersana’s discovery efforts and is a co-inventor of all of our innovative ADC platforms and product candidates.
Prior to joining Mersana, Tim acquired nearly 15 years of international scientific leadership and drug discovery experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Over the course of his career at Bayer Pharmaceuticals in the U.S., Japan, and Germany, he led a department of 150 scientists and contributed to the discovery of more than 15 product candidates in the areas of oncology, asthma, inflammation, virology, obesity, and diabetes, including anti-angiogenic kinase inhibitors, PI3K inhibitors, and anti-viral drugs.
Tim has published and presented widely in the fields of synthetic and medicinal chemistry, polymer-drug conjugates and ADCs, and he is a co-inventor on more than 50 patents. He earned a B.Sc. (Hons.) in chemistry, and a Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry from the University of British Columbia and was a Merck Postdoctoral Fellow at the Ohio State University in the labs of Professor Leo A. Paquette.
Fun fact about Tim: Tim is a fan of all things Japanese. He has scaled Mt. Fuji to see the sunrise on his birthday, found the best places to eat okonomiyaki, and named his beloved labradoodle Yoshi (Japanese for lucky).
Chuck Miller
Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs
Chuck joined Mersana in August 2020, bringing over 25 years of regulatory affairs, program leadership, and product development experience to the company.
Prior to Mersana, he served as Vice President of Regulatory Strategy and Labeling at TESARO, Inc. before its acquisition by GlaxoSmithKline plc. While at TESARO, he was part of the research and development leadership team responsible for the strategic direction and management of the company’s entire portfolio. He was instrumental in the approval of niraparib in multiple indications and geographies. Previously, he worked as Executive Director of Regulatory Affairs at Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. before its acquisition by Merck & Co. Inc. He has also served in regulatory strategy and affairs roles at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Acambis Inc.
Chuck holds a B.A. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Boston University.
Fun fact about Chuck: Chuck enjoys traveling with his family (including their dog, Nando), watching movies of all kinds and finding new hobbies (past hobbies have included mid-century folding cameras, renovating vintage lava lamps, and building a retro arcade game machine).