John Babcook

John Babcook is Zymeworks’ Senior Vice President Discovery Research responsible for target, antibody, and drug conjugate discovery and associated partnerships. For over 20 years, Mr. Babcook has made significant contributions to the international biotechnology industry. Based on a novel antibody generation platform, he co-founded ImmGenics Pharmaceuticals which was acquired by Abgenix and subsequently by Amgen, where he led its Canadian research team. Mr. Babcook also established the Biologics Division at the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) where served as VP Biologics in addition to becoming the founding President and Chief Scientific Officer of Kairos Therapeutics.

While at Kairos, he was responsible for the development of its ADC therapeutics pipeline and formed multiple collaborations, including the strategic partnership and the merger with Zymeworks. Mr. Babcook has participated in the development of more than 100 therapeutic antibody-based programs, 11 of which are now in the clinic, including three antibody-drug conjugates.

Mr. Babcook is an Adjunct Professor in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at Simon Fraser University, an Honorary Doctorate recipient from the British Columbia Institute of Technology and the recipient of the LifeSciences British Columbia’s “Innovation and Achievement” Award.