Speaker Profile
M.D., Ph.D., Partner, Orbimed
Biography
Tal joined OrbiMed in 2021 and is a Partner for the Private Equity team. Tal was recently the Chief Medical Officer at Moderna, where he led the development of the companys COVID-19 vaccine and other key programs. Previously, Tal held senior leadership positions in drug development at major pharmaceutical companies, including Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline. Tal received his M.D. and Ph.D. from the Ben Gurion University and conducted post-doctoral research at the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2026 Silicon Valley
Track Chair:
Ira Mellman, Medici Therapeutics
PMWC Award Ceremony
• Jedd D. Wolchok, Weill Cornell Medicine
• Suzanne Topalian, Johns Hopkins
• Levi Garraway, Roche
Targeting the Tumor Microenvironment (TME) in Practice: Biomarkers & Combos
• Chair: Ira Mellman, Medici Therapeutics
• Dmitry Gabrilovich, AstraZeneca
• Shannon Turley, Amgen
Immunotherapy with Personalized Cancer Vaccines: Who, When, How Fast?
• Chair: Suzanne Topalian, Johns Hopkins
• Tal Zaks, Orbimed
• Lelia Delamarre, Genentech
Fireside Chat: Immune Tolerance to Cure
• Mary E. Brunkow, ISB - 2025 Nobel Laureate
• Lee Hood, Phenome Health
ADCs in the Checkpoint Era: Who Benefits, What to Combine, What to Avoid
• Chair: Shreya Badhrinarayanan, Pfizer
• S. Peter Kang, Daiichi Sankyo
• Vadim Koshkin, UC San Francisco
Radiopharmaceutical Therapy: New Targets, Isotopes, and Challenges
• Chair: William Oh, Yale
• Munir Ghesanim, United Theranostics
Strategic IP Management in Cell and Gene Therapy: Navigating Legal and Practical Challenges
• Janet Xiao, Morrison & Foerster LLP
Checkpoint 2.0 in Practice: PD-1+VEGF Wins, Resistance Salvage & Biomarker Gates
• Chair: Anne Kasmar, Parexel
• Jedd D. Wolchok, Weill Cornell Medicine
• Roy S. Herbst, Yale
Future Breakthroughs in Immuno-Oncology: New Targets, Modalities & Combinations
• Chair: Levi Garraway, Roche
