Prof. Paul Parren has been contributing to understanding antibody biology and developing biotechnology for almost 30 years. He holds a PhD in molecular immunology from the University of Amsterdam (1992). Prof. Parren was an Associate Professor at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, where he studied the role of human antibodies in protection against viral infections. From 2002-2017, he served in the positions of Vice President, Senior Vice President and Scientific Director at the biotechnology company Genmab in Utrecht, where he headed preclinical R&D. In 2015, he became a Professor of Molecular Immunology at the Leiden University Medical Center in Leiden. In 2018, he accepted the role of head of R&D at the start-up biotech Lava Therapeutics to develop novel bispecific T-cell engagers for cancer therapy. He also provides drug development, patent and investment advice as an independent biotech consultant.
Dr. Parren is dedicated to translating antibody biology and immunotherapy knowledge into innovative antibody therapeutics and technologies. Currently his studies focus on antibody structure-function relationships, antibody effector functions and drug development of bispecific antibodies. He is an inventor of the approved therapeutic antibodies ofatumumab (Arzerra) and daratumumab (DARZALEX) and the clinically translated technologies DuoBody and HexaBody. His work has thus far directly led to two registered therapeutic antibodies and 10 further therapeutic antibodies currently in (phase I to III) clinical development for the treatment of several cancers, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
