Irene Lau currently serves as Chief Business Officer at a stealth-mode biotech company backed by a blue-chip investor, where she leads strategy, business development, and company operations. With over 15 years of experience across the biopharma industry and biotech equity research, Irene has established herself as a strategic leader in biotechnology business development and corporate strategy.
Most recently, Irene served as Vice President of Business Development at Intellia Therapeutics, where she spearheaded the company’s cell therapy business development strategy. During her tenure, she successfully closed multiple strategic transactions, including the establishment of AvenCell, a new universal CAR-T company with $250M committed capital from Blackstone Life Sciences. She led complex negotiations across oncology and autoimmune disease programs, securing global co-development and co-commercialization rights for innovative CRISPR-edited cell therapies.
Prior to Intellia, Irene held progressive strategy and business development roles at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, where she supported the landmark $800M Regeneron collaboration and led portfolio strategy initiatives that informed board-level strategic decisions. She began her career in biotech equity research at leading investment firms including Goldman Sachs, Leerink Partners, and Oppenheimer & Co. Irene earned her Bachelor of Science in Microbial Biology with High Distinction from the University of California, Berkeley.