# Julia Owens

> Julia C. Owens is a biopharmaceutical executive who in October 2025 became CEO of Basking Biosciences, a clinical-stage company building the first reversible thrombolytic therapy for acute ischemic stroke. With a UCSF Ph.D. and more than 25 years in the industry, she co-founded and ran Millendo Therapeutics for nearly a decade through its NASDAQ debut, later led Ananke Therapeutics, advises GV (Google Ventures) on women's health, chairs Sena Therapeutics, and co-founded the Biotech CEO Sisterhood to put more women in the corner office.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer at Basking Biosciences
- **Organizations:** Basking Biosciences, Biotech CEO Sisterhood, Sena Therapeutics, GV (Google Ventures), EVOQ Therapeutics, Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), Verto Therapeutics, Millendo Therapeutics, Ananke Therapeutics
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Ph.D. in Biochemistry, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), B.S. in Chemistry and in Molecular & Cellular Biology, University of California, Berkeley
- **Known for:** Raised $200 million for Millendo Therapeutics from private and public markets, Advanced four distinct product candidates into clinical studies, including a pivotal study, at Millendo, Took Millendo Therapeutics public on NASDAQ (MLND)

## Career timeline

- **2012** — Co-founded Millendo Therapeutics and became President & CEO
- **2019** — Led Millendo Therapeutics onto NASDAQ (MLND)
- **2021** — Concluded roughly nine-year tenure as Millendo CEO
- **2022** — Co-founded the Biotech CEO Sisterhood (formalized as a 501(c)3 by late 2024)
- **2024** — Basking Biosciences raised $55M round led by ARCH Venture Partners (January)
- **2025** — Appointed CEO of Basking Biosciences on October 22

## Achievements

- Raised $200 million for Millendo Therapeutics from private and public markets
- Advanced four distinct product candidates into clinical studies, including a pivotal study, at Millendo
- Took Millendo Therapeutics public on NASDAQ (MLND)
- Co-founded the Biotech CEO Sisterhood, a 501(c)3 nonprofit advancing women in biotech
- Serves on the board of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
- Advises GV (Google Ventures) with a focus on women's health investments

## Latest updates

- **2025-10** — Named CEO of Basking Biosciences as founding CEO Richard Shea moved to President & COO; company dosed first patients in Part B of its Phase 2 RAISE stroke trial and unlocked a $27.5M financing tranche.

## Links

- Website: https://baskingbiosciences.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-owens-111a847/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/julia-owens
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-11