Senior Director, Head of External Innovation, US West Coast, CSL
Lavanya Anandan is a strategic leader with over 15 years of experience at the intersection of science, product, and market. As Senior Director and Head of External Innovation for the US West Coast at CSL, she drives regional partnering to source therapeutic assets across immunology, hematology, and CVR. Previously, Lavanya led business development and scaled venture platforms at Merck KGaA. As Senior Director of New Business Ventures, she managed a $40M portfolio, driving the commercialization of transformative technologies, ranging from AI in drug discovery to next-generation mRNA therapies, contributing to over $1B in enterprise value. An active ecosystem builder, she previously served as an Executive-in-Residence at UCSF Innovation Ventures and as an angel investor in TechBio and women’s health. She currently serves on the boards of multiple biotech companies. Lavanya earned her PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.