Vaxgen

James P. Panek
Senior Vice President, Manufacturing Operations

Mr. Panek has more than 20 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Prior to joining VaxGen, Mr. Panek was senior vice president of Product Operations at Genentech, where he led the development of the world’s largest biotechnology manufacturing facility and was responsible for all operations involved in supplying products for pre-clinical, clinical, and commercial use.
During his 18 year tenure at Genentech, Mr. Panek was responsible for the design, construction and maintenance of all facilities. He led the development of manufacturing facilities that enabled FDA approval and launch of recombinanat products to treat pediatric growth hormone deficiency (Nutropin Depot® and Protropin®), heart attack (TNKase™), non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (Rituxan®) and breast cancer (Herceptin®). He was also responsible for the purification of all human pharmaceuticals for clinical and market use, and led the successful start-up and licensure of operations for purification of Activase®, the first large-scale cell culture product approved by the FDA.
Prior to joining Genentech, Panek spent six years with Eli Lilly in a variety of engineering and development positions.
Panek holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan.