Who We Are

Dr. Moore joined Zymeworks in July 2022 and currently serves as our Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Moore brings over 25 years of US-based experience in biologics drug discovery and development in biotechnology research. His career efforts have led to the discovery and development of a range of FDA-approved and clinical-stage biologics for patients with difficult-to-treat cancers and autoimmune conditions. Prior to joining Zymeworks, Paul served as Vice President, Cell Biology, and Immunology at MacroGenics, where he worked on the development of numerous clinical stage compounds and scientific collaborations with a range of pharmaceutical partners, including Pfizer, Servier, Gilead, Takeda, Janssen, Roche and Zai Labs. Prior to joining MacroGenics, he was Director of Cell Biology at Celera where he oversaw research efforts to develop novel antibody-based therapeutics. Dr. Moore received a Ph.D. in molecular genetics from the University of Glasgow. He has an extensive research record co-authoring over 75 peer-reviewed manuscripts and is a named co-inventor on over 50 issued US patents.

Mr. Dex joined Zymeworks in September 2017, and currently serves as our Senior Vice President, Corporate Secretary and General Counsel. Mr. Dex brings over 25 years of diverse legal experience to Zymeworks, having worked in private practice at prominent law firms in both the U.S. and Canada, in-house with Avigilon Corporation (a Motorola Solutions company) and the New York Public Library, and with the U.S. federal district court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Mr. Dex received a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a B.A. from Brown University. He is a member of the bars of both New York and British Columbia.

Dr. Smith joined Zymeworks in January 2023 and currently serves as our Senior Vice President of Early-Stage Development based at our European hub in Dublin, Ireland . Dr. Smith has held many senior positions within the pharmaceutical industry, most recently, Managing Director of Alder Biopharmaceuticals Inc. Dublin, Ireland and before that Senior Vice President, Translational Medicine at Alder Biopharmaceuticals Inc, Seattle. Dr. Smith was responsible for the clinical development (phase I – III) of eptinezumab (anti-CGRP antibody for migraine) and clazakizumab (anti -IL-6 antibody for rheumatoid arthritis and cancer cachexia). Dr. Smith was also a founder of Alder Biopharmaceutcials Inc (founded 2004). Dr. Smith received his MB BS and MD from the University of London, UK.

Dr. Astle joined Zymeworks in April 2021 and currently serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Zymeworks, Dr. Astle worked as a Chief Financial Officer at the CFO Centre in British Columbia, Canada from March 2020 to March 2021, and as Vice President, Finance at Alder BioPharmaceuticals Inc. in Seattle, Washington from April 2019 to February 2020. From August 2017 to January 2020, he served as Chief Executive Officer and founder of Think Forwards, a boutique financial consulting firm in London, UK. Dr. Astle worked at Allergan from 2011 to 2017, including as the Associate Vice President Finance, International Division from July 2016 to July 2017, managing multiple product launches, M&A transactions and restructurings, with a team of 170 across 60 countries. He is a UK Chartered Accountant (ICAS), qualifying at PwC London, UK in Audit & Pharmaceutical Performance Improvement Consulting with audit clients including GSK. Dr. Astle serves as a member of the board of directors of two private biotechnology companies, Oak Bay Biosciences (2020-present) and Healome Therapeutics (2021-present). During his time in the UK, he was the Chair of the 2018 CFO Agenda conference, guest lecturer at the Henley Business School, and judge at the British Accountancy Awards. Dr. Astle holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Bristol (UK) and a MChem in Chemistry from the University of Liverpool (UK) and is also a certified ski instructor.

Mr. Hollywood joined Zymeworks in 2019 and currently serves as our Executive Vice President and Head of Technical and Manufacturing Operations. Mr. Hollywood brings over 25 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, most recently as Vice President and Head of ZymoGenetics (a Bristol-Myers Squibb company), where he oversaw biologics development, manufacturing, quality, and supply chain operations. He joined ZymoGenetics in 2010 and led technical operations for a portfolio of clinical and commercial products, and was responsible for building and managing a multi-host drug substance manufacturing facility. Mr. Hollywood brings a wealth of experience in operations management, having held positions of increasing responsibility in process science, manufacturing, quality, and regulatory compliance at organizations including Amgen, Dendreon and Centeon (a Rhone-Poulenc Rorer and Hoescht company). Mr. Hollywood has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences from Western Illinois University.

Dr. Fann joins Zymeworks with over 20 years of experience in bioprocess development and biologics manufacturing and controls. Dr. Fann started his postdoctoral career with StemCell Technologies in Vancouver, then joined Seattle Genetics in its early years. After establishing the upstream function and accomplishing the first technology transfer and clinical manufacturing for Seagen, Dr. Fann joined AbbVie Bioresearch Center. He held several leadership positions in Process Sciences and MS&T. At AbbVie, Dr. Fann experienced many clinical projects and helped to launch and scale up several commercial biotherapeutics, including the blockbuster drug Humira. Dr. Fann joined Bristol Myers Squib after returning to Seattle, as the head of M&ST and Bioprocess Development. He was leading microbial process development at BMS and accomplished several early and late-stage clinical projects. Prior to Zymeworks, Dr. Fann was VP of Bioprocess R&D at AGC Biologics, leading the global new technology development at AGC. Dr. Fann holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of British Columbia.

Ms. Brown joined Zymeworks in September 2022 and serves as our Executive Director, Quality. Ms. Brown brings over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Prior to joining Zymeworks, Ms. Brown served as Senior Director/Head of Quality Sio Gene Therapies. She has held roles of increasing leadership responsibility in Research and Development, Quality Control, GMP Quality, Compliance, Clinical and Nonclinical QA working across multiple dosage forms, therapeutic areas, and lifecycle phases at organizations including Merck, Novartis, Schering-Plough, and Endo Pharmaceuticals.  Ms. Brown received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences from Rutgers University.

Ms. Desai joined Zymeworks in May 2020 and currently serves as the Executive Director of Corporate Finance, FP&A and Procurement. Ms. Desai brings 17 years of experience providing oversight of operational and strategic finance support in the customer service, technology, and life sciences industries. Prior to joining Zymeworks, Ms. Desai held a variety of R&D and Commercial FP&A and Corporate Strategy positions, starting with CTI BioPharma, Juno Therapeutics, and Alder BioPharmaceutical Inc. Ms. Desai holds her MBA with a concentration in Finance from Texas A&M University, and is an active member of Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) Seattle Chapter holding the position of Mentoring Chair.

Dr. Dini joined Zymeworks in May 2023, and currently serves as our Executive Director, Intellectual Property. Dr. Dini has over 20 years of experience in biotechnology and biopharma industry. Prior to joining Zymeworks, Dr. Dini was at the boutique law firm of Farber LLC, where he was involved in antibody patenting initiatives for Regeneron. Prior to that, Dr. Dini was Chief IP Counsel at Sorrento Therapeutics and Senior Patent Counsel at AbbVie, where he was involved in the patenting of Humira. Dr. Dini received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology at SUNY Stony Brook Medical School and was a post-doctoral fellow at Stanford Medical School and Harvard Medical School, before entering law. Peter is a member of the Massachusetts Bar, a registered patent attorney with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and has been admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Donigian joined the Business Development group at Zymeworks in March 2020 and has been serving as Executive Director of Business Development since February 2023. Mr. Donigian has over 15 years in the biotechnology and biopharma industry across drug development and diagnostics. Prior to joining Zymeworks, Mr. Donigian was the Director of Business Development and BioPharma collaborations at NanoString Technologies, where he lead diagnostics business development efforts. Prior to that, Mr. Donigian was a Corporate Development consultant with Dendreon where he facilitated buy and sell side M&A analysis for late-stage opportunities. Mr. Donigian started his career developing novel cancer stem cell therapeutics at OncoMed Pharmaceuticals helping to bring multiple therapeutic candidates into first in human trials. Mr. Donigian received his Molecular Biology and Organic Chemistry from San Jose State University and an MBA from the University of Washington.

Ms. Graham joined Zymeworks in September 2018, and currently serves as our Executive Director, Legal. Ms. Graham brings over 17 years of diverse legal experience to Zymeworks, having previously worked in private practice for over a decade at one of Canada’s largest law firms, and in-house with Avigilon Corporation (a Motorola Solutions company). Ms. Graham received a LL.B/J.D. from Queen’s University and a Bachelor of Arts from Concordia University. She is a member of the bar in British Columbia.

Ms. O’Connor joined Zymeworks in 2020 and currently serves as our Executive Director and Head of Global Human Resources. Ms. O’Connor brings over 20 years of experience within Human Resources, specializing in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry for over 13 years. Prior to joining Zymeworks, Ms. O’Connor held a variety of Human Resources leadership positions, starting with PointClickCare, Takeda Canada, Ferring Pharmaceuticals and most recently Merz Pharma. Ms. O’Connor holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Waterloo and a certificate in Strategic Human Resources Management from the Rotman School of Business.

Dr. Woolery joined Zymeworks in September 2019 and currently serves as our Executive Director of Early-Stage Development in the Americas and Global Lead for zanidatamab zovodotin (ZW49). Dr. Woolery previously held positions at Seagen working on registrational studies with Adcetris in Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma and Tukysa in HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer. Prior to transitioning to the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Woolery practiced as a Clinical Oncology Pharmacist at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson and Banner M.D. Anderson Cancer Centers. Dr. Woolery received a PharmD from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He also completed residency’s in clinical pharmacy practice at The University of Arizona and oncology fellowship at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. Dr. Woolery is a board certified oncology pharmacist and a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the European Society of Medical Oncology.