MEDICAGO
7.12.2020 13:32:51 CET | Business Wire | Press release
Medicago, a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Quebec City, Canada, today announced Takashi Nagao as the company’s new President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to becoming President and CEO, Mr. Nagao served as the Chairman of the Board of Medicago, where for the last four years, he has guided Medicago executives to get the company to where it is today.
Medicago, a research and development company for the last 20 years, is embarking on a transformative year, one that will see the company build on its R&D roots to become a company that also produces and commercializes vaccines and other immunotherapies. Mr. Nagao has extensive experience leading pharmaceutical companies through the pre-commercial and commercial process and is well positioned to ensure the successful launch of Medicago’s COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, subject to regulatory approvals. Mr. Nagao will continue Medicago’s evolution towards its goal of being a fully operational commercial entity, able to respond to the needs of the global public health community and medical authorities and professionals.
“Taking on this new role with Medicago during this exciting time is a great honour for me,” said Mr. Nagao, President and Chief Executive Officer, Medicago. “I want our employees, investors, and stakeholders such as the Government of Canada to know that I will put all my efforts into seeing our COVID-19 and influenza vaccines through to a successful launch to protect as many people as possible.”
From 2007 to 2017, Mr. Nagao oversaw the establishment of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation’s U.S. presence and led the team that successfully achieved NDA of RADICAVA®, the first FDA-approved drug in over 20 years for the patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Prior to that, Mr. Nagao was a Managing Director in investment banking at J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank where he was responsible for global clients and leading equity and cross-border M&A transactions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector in North America, Japan and Europe. He has an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Mr. Nagao succeeds Dr. Bruce D. Clark, who held the position of President and CEO of Medicago since 2017 and was instrumental in the development of Medicago’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
Medicago recently announced the start of Phase 2/3 clinical trial of its plant-derived VLP vaccine candidate for COVID-19 to evaluate its efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity, based on the positive Phase 1 results and subsequent allowance to advance to Phase 2/3 by the Canadian regulatory authorities. The company is also building a new facility in Quebec to increase Canada’s domestic capacity for manufacturing vaccines, producing up to a billion doses annually.
“Medicago is at an inflection point. We are moving from a research and development focused organization to become a commercial entity supplying vaccines to Canadians and people around the world,” said Mr. Nagao.
About Medicago
Medicago is a biopharmaceutical company and pioneer in plant-derived therapeutics. Founded in 1999 with the belief that innovative approaches and rigorous research would bring new solutions in healthcare.
Our mission is to improve global health outcomes by leveraging innovative plant-based technologies for rapid responses to emerging global healthcare challenges. Medicago is committed to advancing therapeutics against life-threatening diseases worldwide. Our team includes over 450 scientific experts and employees in Canada and the United States and academic affiliations in Europe and South Africa.
Medicago has previously demonstrated its capability to be a first responder in a flu pandemic. In 2009, the company produced a research-grade vaccine candidate against H1N1 in just 19 days. In 2012, Medicago manufactured 10 million doses of a monovalent influenza vaccine candidate within one month for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), part of the U.S. Department of Defense. In 2015, Medicago also demonstrated in principle that it could rapidly produce an anti-Ebola monoclonal antibody cocktail for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
For more information: www.medicago.com
To learn more about our plant-based technology: Video / Website
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201204005409/en/
Link:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
The Jury Has Been Announced for the Third Edition of the Reply AI Film Festival, Dedicated to the Best Short Films Generated With Artificial Intelligence29.4.2026 10:00:00 CEST | Press release
Gabriele Salvatores, together with Rob Minkoff, Catherine Hardwicke, Jed Weintrob, Christina Lee Storm, Nils Hartmann, Guillem Martinez Roura, Filippo Rizzante, Giacomo Mineo, Brian Welk and Denise Negri, will judge the short films in competition based on creativity, production quality and the use of Artificial Intelligence. Reply [EXM, STAR: REY], an international group specialized in creating new business models enabled by AI and long committed to guiding younger generations in exploring emerging technologies, presents the jury of the third edition of the Reply AI Film Festival, the international competition aimed at creatives, directors, and filmmakers who want to challenge themselves in producing short films created using Artificial Intelligence tools. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260429288361/en/ “Imaginatio Nova” is the theme of the 2026 edition, an invitation to explore a new phase of imagination, wh
Bregal Milestone Announces Majority Growth Investment in CoreGo, a Leading European Open-Loop Payment and Event Technology Company29.4.2026 10:00:00 CEST | Press release
Investment follows over 98% annual growth and supports CoreGo’s continued market expansion Bregal Milestone, a leading European software growth private equity firm, today announced a majority strategic growth investment in CoreGo Oy ("CoreGo" or the "Company"), a leading provider of open-loop payments and integrated technology solutions for festivals, sports events, and venues across Europe. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260427991105/en/ Founded in Helsinki in 2015 by Hannu Elomaa and CTO Nikoteemu Väänänen, CoreGo has built one of Europe's most differentiated open-loop payment infrastructure and event technology businesses. Serving approximately 250 customers across the Nordics and DACH region, the Company delivers an integrated showtime-critical suite of solutions through CoreGo Cloud, unifying payments, access, networks, and data into a single real-time operating system. CoreGo’s in-house private network
Vonage Named a Leader in the 2026 IDC MarketScape for Worldwide Communications Engagement Platforms29.4.2026 09:30:00 CEST | Press release
Vonage, a part of Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), today announced that it has been positioned in the Leaders Category in the 2026 IDC MarketScape for the Worldwide Communications Engagement Platforms (CEP) sector. Vonage believes this recognition reflects Vonage's comprehensive communications platform that enables enterprises to reimagine customer and employee engagement at global scale. The IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Communications Engagement Platforms 2026 Vendor Assessment (Doc #US53542326, April 2026) provides a comprehensive assessment of select communications engagement platform (CEP) vendors, highlighting their strengths, challenges, and strategic direction to guide technology buyers in making informed decisions. Vonage believes its placement in the Leaders Category underscores the breadth and depth of its portfolio, underpinned by advanced AI capabilities. Built with enterprise businesses and developers in mind, Vonage provides the tools and flexibility to quickly build and customize
OpenGate Capital Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Total Safety’s Europe and Middle East Division29.4.2026 09:00:00 CEST | Press release
OpenGate Capital (“OpenGate”), a global private equity firm, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the European and the Middle Eastern (“EMEA”) division of Total Safety, a Littlejohn & Co. portfolio company. Total Safety EMEA is a leading provider of mission-critical safety and compliance solutions serving petrochemical and oil & gas customers across EMEA. The company focuses on workforce protection and regulatory compliance in complex, safety critical environments. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Headquartered in Diepenbeek, Belgium, Total Safety EMEA offers a fully integrated, one-stop platform spanning safety services, rental equipment and product sales. Services include the deployment of highly trained personnel for critical safety operations, short- and long-term rental of essential equipment and the supply of personal protective equipment. As a trusted partner embedded in highly regulated environments, Total Safety EMEA supports clients
AI-driven Bot Attacks Surged 12.5x According to Thales Bad Bot Report29.4.2026 09:00:00 CEST | Press release
AI-driven automation is accelerating machine activity online as bots outpace humans and redefine how the internet operates Bots now dominate the internet, accounting for over half of all traffic, with 40% classified as malicious. AI is erasing the line between legitimate and malicious activity, making intent - not identity - the new security challenge. APIs and identity systems are primary targets, with attackers bypassing front-end defenses to exploit core business logic at scale. Thales today released the 2026 Bad Bot Report: Bad Bots in the Agentic Age, revealing a fundamental shift in how the internet operates, as AI-accelerated automation becomes a defining feature of modern digital infrastructure. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260428783532/en/ ©Thales The findings highlight three major structural changes: the emergence of AI agents as a new category of internet traffic, the dominance of automated activ
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom