Location Los Angeles, California, United States Regions Greater Los Angeles Area, West Coast, Western US Gender Female
Website www.leenkawas.com/ Facebook View on Facebook LinkedIn View on LinkedIn X (Twitter) View on X
Leen Kawas, Ph.D., is a biotechnology executive, investor, and scientist dedicated to advancing therapies that help people live healthier lives.
She serves as CEO of EIT Pharma, where she leads a team developing treatments for infectious diseases with significant unmet needs, including Hepatitis D and Acute Respiratory Infections. The
company's patient-centric approach reflects her belief that no patient should be left behind.
Kawas is also co-founder and Managing General Partner of Propel Bio Partners, a Los Angeles-based venture capital firm specializing in life sciences investments. She co-founded the firm in 2022 to provide financial, operational, and technical support to early-stage and small-cap public biotechnology companies. The firm focuses on supporting entrepreneurs building technologies that can make a meaningful difference in human health, with particular emphasis on diverse and underrepresented founders. At Propel Bio Partners, Kawas leads investment strategy development, due diligence processes, and portfolio company selection. The firm evaluates potential investments based on scientific innovation, management team strength, corporate development strategy, and growth potential.
Prior to these roles, Kawas co-founded what is now LeonaBio, serving as CEO from 2014 to 2021. During her tenure, she co-invented several drug candidates, including a lead compound for Alzheimer's disease treatment, and oversaw drug discovery, clinical development, regulatory strategy, and business operations. She led the company through multiple late-stage clinical programs and an initial public offering in 2020 that raised over $400 million. According to Business Insider and GeekWire, she was one of only 22 female founders and CEOs to lead their company to an IPO as of February 2021, and the first woman in Washington State to do so in over 20 years.
Kawas currently serves on the boards of Inherent Biosciences and Persephone Biosciences. Her past board service includes the Life Science Washington Board, the Scientific Review Board for the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation, the Alzheimer's Association's Washington Chapter Board, and the Washington Governor's Life Science Advisory Board. She also served as co-chair of the International Alzheimer's Association Business Consortium.
Her professional recognitions include the Life Science Entrepreneurial Achievement Award (2020), French-American Foundation Leader (2019), GeekWire Startup CEO of the Year (2019), and Association of Washington Business Entrepreneur of the Year.
Kawas holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Washington State University and a Pharmacy degree from the University of Jordan. She also completed executive education at Wharton and the University of Washington Foster School of Business.
