BOSTON, Mass. — MindWalk Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: HYFT), a biotechnology company specializing in AI-driven drug discovery, has announced three senior leadership appointments as it prepares to advance its development pipeline toward preclinical efficacy studies.
Zachary Maben, PhD, has joined as director of antigen discovery and protein engineering, while Joanne Lim, PhD, has been named director of preclinical development. Shuji Sato, PhD, the company’s vice president of innovative solutions, will expand his responsibilities to include oversight of its development pipeline.
The appointments bring experience from major biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, Novartis, Arbor Biotechnologies and Orum Therapeutics.
“Preclinical efficacy is where a program’s value starts to be defined, and it is the stage our pipeline is now approaching,” said Jennifer Bath, PhD, president and CEO of MindWalk.
Bath said the new leadership team will strengthen the company’s ability to validate drug candidates, conduct preclinical studies and determine which programs warrant additional investment.
Maben joins MindWalk from Arbor Biotechnologies, where he served as principal scientist, focusing on molecular design and machine-learning-based protein engineering. Previously, he held scientific positions at Pfizer, contributing to 12 biologics development teams.
With more than 13 years of experience in structural biology and protein engineering, Maben will lead antigen discovery and candidate characterization. His expertise in X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy will help the company evaluate molecular structures before advancing candidates into animal studies.
He holds a doctorate in biomedical sciences from the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School.
Lim brings more than 11 years of drug discovery experience spanning oncology, immunology and autoimmune diseases. She most recently worked at Orum Therapeutics, where she led immuno-oncology programs and helped develop the company’s immunology and inflammation portfolio strategy.
She previously held scientific leadership positions at Codiak Biosciences and the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research.
At MindWalk, Lim will oversee preclinical development, including animal study design, program evaluation and candidate advancement. She will also contribute to potential licensing opportunities and partnership discussions.
Lim earned her doctorate in immunology from the University of Rochester.
Sato, who already serves as MindWalk’s vice president of innovative solutions, will assume additional responsibilities for pipeline strategy and development priorities.
He has more than 20 years of experience in antibody discovery and biologics development, including previous positions at Dragonfly Therapeutics, Pfizer, Bluefin Biomedicine and Cell Signaling Technology.
Sato holds a doctorate in molecular microbiology from Tufts University and completed postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School.
MindWalk said the appointments will strengthen its ability to assess drug candidates using scientific and commercial criteria as preclinical data become available.
The company’s AI-powered platforms, including ReefIQ and LensAI, support its discovery activities. MindWalk said insights generated through its development programs could also improve the platforms over time.
The company said concentrating these leadership positions in Greater Boston reflects its strategy of building development capabilities within a major biotechnology research and investment hub.
