# Aron Knickerbocker

> Aron Knickerbocker is the president and CEO of Aulos Bioscience, a biotechnology executive whose career joins bench science, oncology dealmaking and company building. After research work at Washington University and Bristol Myers Squibb, he earned an MBA, moved through Amgen, ALZA and Genentech, spent a decade helping build Five Prime Therapeutics, and co-founded RayzeBio before joining Aulos as its first full-time employee. His operating method is consistent: look for differentiated science, ask where he can add value, and let evidence outrank fashion.

- **Role:** President and Chief Executive Officer at Aulos Bioscience
- **Organizations:** Aulos Bioscience, RayzeBio, Five Prime Therapeutics, Genentech, ALZA, Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, KAHR Medical, Phenomic AI
- **Education:** A.B. with honors in Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, MBA with distinction, University of Michigan
- **Known for:** Co-founded RayzeBio, a targeted radiopharmaceutical company later acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb., Helped take Five Prime Therapeutics public in 2013., In-licensed and prioritized bemarituzumab at Five Prime and advanced the program into randomized clinical development.

## Career timeline

- **1991-1995** — Worked in research at Washington University in St. Louis and Bristol Myers Squibb, including malaria research and cardiovascular drug discovery.
- **1996** — Completed an MBA with distinction at the University of Michigan and joined Amgen, initially in a commercial rotational program.
- **Before 2001** — Worked in corporate development at Amgen and commercial development at ALZA.
- **2001-2009** — Held increasingly senior business development roles at Genentech, ultimately leading oncology business development.
- **2009-2019** — Joined Five Prime Therapeutics as vice president of business development and advanced through chief business officer, chief operating officer, president and CEO.
- **2013** — Helped take Five Prime Therapeutics public.
- **2019-2020** — Co-founded RayzeBio and served as founding CEO and chairman.
- **2020-present** — Serves as chairman of KAHR Medical.
- **2021-present** — Serves as a board member of Phenomic AI.
- **2021-present** — Joined Aulos Bioscience as CEO and board member; now serves as president and CEO.

## Achievements

- Co-founded RayzeBio, a targeted radiopharmaceutical company later acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb.
- Helped take Five Prime Therapeutics public in 2013.
- In-licensed and prioritized bemarituzumab at Five Prime and advanced the program into randomized clinical development.
- Expanded Five Prime's clinical pipeline and established multiple strategic alliances.
- Led oncology business development at Genentech and worked on collaborations connected to Venclexta, Cotellic and Erivedge.
- Built Aulos from its first full-time hire into a clinical-stage company advancing imneskibart in Phase 2 development.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Aulos reported Phase 2 imneskibart data at the ASCO Annual Meeting, including a 33% objective response rate and 67% disease control rate in the evaluable triplet cohort described by the company.
- **2026-05** — Knickerbocker discussed the ASCO data with BiotechTV and said Aulos planned to engage the FDA about a potential accelerated approval pathway.
- **2026-04** — Aulos announced that new Phase 1/2 imneskibart data would be presented at ASCO 2026.
- **2025-11** — Aulos presented updated Phase 2 imneskibart data in melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer annual meeting.
- **2025-08** — Knickerbocker appeared on the Empowered Patient Podcast to discuss AI-assisted antibody design and Aulos' clinical program.

## Links

- Website: https://aulosbio.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aron-knickerbocker-8411191
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aulosbioscience

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/aron-knickerbocker
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-17