Klein Hersh Recruits Chief Medical Officer for Zag Bio
February 24, 2026 – Horsham, PA-based Klein Hersh, a search firm focused on the life sciences and healthcare industries, has recruited Jan Hillson as chief medical officer of Zag Bio, Inc., a biotechnology company pioneering thymus-targeted medicines in Cambridge, MA. “Jan joins Zag at a pivotal moment as we transition from research into clinical development,” said Jason Cole, CEO of Zag Bio. “She brings extensive expertise in immunology and rheumatology, along with firsthand experience advancing disease-modifying therapies for Type 1 diabetes. Jan’s deep understanding of autoimmune disease biology will be critical as we prepare ZAG-101 for the clinic and build a broader pipeline of thymus-targeted therapies.”
Dr. Hillson is a physician-scientist and rheumatologist with over 20 years of clinical development experience in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases across early and late stages. She previously served as senior vice president of clinical development at Provention Bio, a Sanofi Company, where she helped lead the clinical development of teplizumab for Type 1 diabetes and oversaw clinical projects in other autoimmune diseases.
Dr. Hillson has held senior leadership roles at Climb Bio, GlycoEra, Alpine Immune Sciences, ChemoCentryx, and Momenta Pharmaceuticals, and earlier served in senior roles at ZymoGenetics/Bristol Myers Squibb and Xcyte Therapies. Before entering the biotechnology industry, she was a member of the clinical faculty at Harvard Medical School (Cambridge Health Alliance), Assistant Professor at the University of Washington, and Division Head at Virginia Mason Medical Center. Dr. Hillson received her MD from the Stanford School of Medicine, an M.S. in environmental engineering from the California Institute of Technology, an MS in marine chemistry from Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and a BS from Michigan State University. She completed her training in immunology and rheumatology at the University of Washington.
Dr. Hillson will oversee Zag’s clinical development strategy and execution and guide pipeline advancement. She will lead Zag’s clinical team as the company prepares to advance its lead program, ZAG-101 for Type 1 diabetes, into the clinic, with a first-in-human study anticipated in late 2026.
“Zag is advancing a fundamentally different approach to treating autoimmune disease by targeting the thymus to restore immune tolerance,” said Dr. Hillson. “This strategy has the potential to address the underlying drivers of autoimmunity rather than simply managing the metabolic outcomes for Type 1 diabetes, a disease with significant unmet need where durable disease-modifying treatments remain limited. I’m excited to join the team as Zag moves toward the clinic and works to build a pipeline designed to retrain the immune system and change the course of autoimmune disease.”
Zag Bio has discovered a novel approach to create thymus-targeted medicines to treat and prevent autoimmune diseases by restoring central immune tolerance. The company is supported by a broad syndicate of investors, including Polaris Partners, Mission BioCapital, AbbVie Ventures, the T1D Fund, Lightspeed Ventures, Sanofi Ventures, KdT Ventures, Regeneron Ventures, Boxer Capital, Pear VC, Codon Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments and Gaingels.
Related: Klein Hersh Recruits CEO for Newleos Therapeutics
Established in 1998, Klein Hersh is an executive search firm that partners with clients to deliver executive leaders for global pharmaceutical, biotech, and healthcare companies as well as operating businesses of PE and VC-backed investments. Noteworthy clients include Akero, Aktis Oncology, Apogee Therapeutics, ArchWell Health, Atlas Venture, Bain Capital Life Sciences, Biogen, Capital Rx, ConcertAI, CytoReason, Dispatch, Fairmount, Forbion, Foresite Capital, Frazier Healthcare Partners, Iambic, ITM, Koa Health, LifeMine, LongueVue Capital, Lyric, MacroHealth, McKesson, Moderna, Morningside, Odyssey Therapeutics, Oruka Therapeutics, Pacira Biosciences, Inc., Paragon Therapeutics, Posterity Health, Revolution Medicines, TPG, Transformation Capital, Treeline Biosciences, and Unlearn.
Disc Medicine Search
Klein Hersh also placed Lisa Amaya Price as the new chief human resources officer of Disc Medicine, Inc. in Watertown, MA. “As we move towards commercialization, we have meaningfully increased hiring to support these efforts and Lisa will play a central role in building a strong, scalable organization by attracting, developing, and retaining exceptional talent across the business,” said John Quisel, president and CEO of Disc Medicine. “Her leadership will be instrumental as we continue to strengthen our capabilities and prepare the company for long-term success.”
Ms. Amaya Price brings more than 25 years of experience in human resources and organizational leadership, including at multiple commercial-stage companies. She joins Disc Medicine from Deciphera where she served as SVP and CHRO, helping lead the company’s integration into ONO Pharmaceuticals. Prior to this, Ms. Amaya Price was the chief people officer at LGC Group, a private-equity global life science tools company with over 4,000 employees worldwide.
Disc Medicine is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing, and commercializing novel treatments for patients who suffer from serious hematologic diseases. They are building a portfolio of innovative, potentially first-in-class therapeutic candidates that aim to address a wide spectrum of hematologic diseases by targeting fundamental biological pathways of red blood cell biology, specifically heme biosynthesis and iron homeostasis.
Related: Klein Hersh Assists Artios Pharma with CEO Search
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
