Perry Karsen

Perry Karsen, Chairman of Pliant’s Board of Directors, served most recently as the Chief Executive Officer of Celgene Cellular Therapeutics from May 2013 until his retirement at the end of 2015. While at Celgene Cellular Therapeutics, Karsen served in a variety of executive roles, including Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, Senior Vice President and Head of Worldwide Business Development, and President of Asia/Pacific Region. Prior to Celgene Cellular Therapeutics, he was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Pearl Therapeutics, a privately held biotechnology company subsequently acquired by Astra-Zeneca, from February 2009 until July 2010. He was also a General Partner at Pequot Ventures from 2000 to 2003, focusing on investments in biotechnology and medical devices. Karsen currently serves on the Board of Directors of several privately and publicly held biotechnology companies, including Jounce Therapeutics, Voyager Therapeutics, Agios Pharmaceuticals, OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Alliqua BioMedical, The Gladstone Foundation and The Sonoma Land Trust. He is a past member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM). Karsen holds a B.S. in biological sciences from the University of Illinois, Urbana, an M.A. in teaching biology from Duke University, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.