Executive Leadership

As ImmuneWorks’ president and chief executive officer, Wade Lange is responsible for the company’s business strategy, operational effectiveness, strategic partnerships and financial viability. He has 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical, healthcare and contract clinical research industry. Throughout his career, Mr. Lange has held a variety of executive leadership positions including president and CEO for Indiana Health Industry Forum, general manager for West Pharmaceutical Services, executive vice president for Walker Information and marketing professional for Eli Lilly and Company. As a seasoned life science and pharmaceutical industry expert, Mr. Lange has participated in and led strategic planning, market research, product development and clinical trial initiatives that have resulted in successfully commercialized drug products and company acquisitions. He received a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Purdue University and a master’s degree in industrial administration from the Krannert Graduate School of Management at Purdue.

As ImmuneWorks’ founder and chief scientific officer, Dr. David Wilkes is the visionary behind the company’s groundbreaking discovery. In addition to his role with ImmuneWorks, he also is the Dr. August M. Watanabe Professor of Medical Research and Executive Associate Dean for Research Affairs at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Wilkes is a board-certified pulmonary and critical care physician who has been investigating the immunopathogenesis of lung transplant rejections and other diseases with a focus on alloimmune-induced autoimmunity in lung transplant recipients since 1993. His laboratory is supported currently by two RO1 grants focused on transplant immunology. In 2006, Dr. Wilkes was appointed to serve on the National Advisory Council of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Wilkes earned his medical degree from the Temple University School of Medicine and completed his residency in pulmonary and critical care medicine from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

In his role as ImmuneWorks’ founder and vice president of research, Dr. Michael Klemsz is responsible for leading the organization’s research initiatives. In addition to his position with the company, Dr. Klemsz also is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. His 15 years of research at IU have included NIH-funded studies on the critical blood cell transcription factor PU.1, which Dr. Klemsz discovered and is a co-patent holder. Additional studies in his laboratory at IU have focused on cytokine signaling pathways and their activation of cellular immune responses, especially related to the development of autoimmune diseases. At IU, Dr. Klemsz has also been actively involved in the discovery and cloning of novel chemokines and has used molecular techniques to engineer recombinant fusion cytokines. Dr. Klemsz received his PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and National Jewish Center for Immunology and completed his fellowship at La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation in California.

Dr. Katia Rothhaar brings more than 10 years of research, product development and commercialization experience in the pharmaceutical, diagnostics and life sciences industries. Before joining ImmuneWorks, she led a variety of organizations and projects focused on novel life science biosensing technologies. This includes her work at SpheroSense Technologies, where she secured a strategic development partnership with a leading molecular diagnostics company. In addition, Dr. Rothhaar was a Postdoctoral Fellow, Discovery Chemistry Research at Eli Lilly and Company. A native of France, she earned her doctorate in medicinal chemistry, as well as an undergraduate degree in biology and biochemistry, from the University of Louis Pasteur. Dr. Rothhaar also earned a master’s degree in business administration from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business.

Dr. Terrence Chew is an experienced pharmaceutical executive who has led multiple product approvals, clinical trial submissions and worldwide clinical trial operations worldwide in several therapeutic areas, including dermatology, ophthalmology, oncology, analgesics, HIV, anti-infectives and rheumatology. Prior to joining ImmuneWorks, he served as a consultant for numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies supporting their clinical trial and/or regulatory processes. Dr. Chew’s experience also includes senior management positions overseeing clinical trials at Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Depotech Corporation, Agouron Pharmaceuticals and Johnson and Johnson. Dr. Chew earned his undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley and his medical degree from the University of California in Los Angeles. He also holds a Regulatory Affairs Certification.