CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Zag Bio, Inc. announced the appointment of Jan Hillson, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer as the company advances its lead program in Type 1 diabetes toward clinical development.
Hillson, a physician-scientist and rheumatologist, brings more than 20 years of clinical development experience across early- and late-stage programs in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. In her new role, she will oversee Zag Bio’s clinical development strategy and execution, guide pipeline advancement, and lead the clinical team as the company prepares to move its lead candidate, ZAG-101 for Type 1 diabetes, into the clinic. A first-in-human study is anticipated in late 2026.
“Jan joins Zag at a pivotal moment as we transition from research into clinical development,” said Jason Cole, Chief Executive Officer of Zag Bio. “She brings extensive expertise in immunology and rheumatology, along with firsthand experience advancing disease-modifying therapies for Type 1 diabetes. Jan’s deep understanding of autoimmune disease biology will be critical as we prepare ZAG-101 for the clinic and build a broader pipeline of thymus-targeted therapies.”
“Zag is advancing a fundamentally different approach to treating autoimmune disease by targeting the thymus to restore immune tolerance,” said Hillson. “This strategy has the potential to address the underlying drivers of autoimmunity rather than simply managing the metabolic outcomes for Type 1 diabetes, a disease with significant unmet need where durable disease-modifying treatments remain limited. I’m excited to join the team as Zag moves toward the clinic and works to build a pipeline designed to retrain the immune system and change the course of autoimmune disease.”
Prior to joining Zag Bio, Hillson served as Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at Provention Bio, where she helped lead the clinical development of teplizumab for Type 1 diabetes and oversaw clinical programs in other autoimmune diseases. Her previous leadership roles include positions at Climb Bio, GlycoEra, Alpine Immune Sciences, ChemoCentryx, and Momenta Pharmaceuticals, as well as earlier senior roles at ZymoGenetics/Bristol Myers Squibb and Xcyte Therapies.
Before her career in biotechnology, Hillson held academic and clinical appointments including membership on the clinical faculty at Harvard Medical School through Cambridge Health Alliance, Assistant Professor at the University of Washington, and Division Head at Virginia Mason Medical Center. She earned her M.D. from Stanford School of Medicine and holds graduate degrees from the California Institute of Technology and Scripps Institute of Oceanography, along with a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University. She completed her training in immunology and rheumatology at the University of Washington.
