Helix Acquisition Corp. II
MANAGEMENT & BOARD
Executive Officers
Bihua Chen, 55
Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer
Bihua Chen serves as the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Chen is the founder and managing member of Cormorant. Ms. Chen was the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Helix I from its inception until April 2022, when Helix I completed its business combination with Moonlake. Since 2020, Ms. Chen has served as a director of Biomea Fusion, Inc. (Nasdaq: BMEA). Ms. Chen is the founder and managing member of Cormorant. Prior to founding Cormorant in 2013, Ms. Chen managed a separately managed account focused on the healthcare sector as a sub-adviser to a large, multi-strategy hedge fund based in New York. Prior to that, Ms. Chen was a healthcare analyst and sector portfolio manager for American Express Asset Management, Boston. Ms. Chen has also served as a portfolio manager for the Asterion Life Science Fund from 2001 through 2002, an equity analyst and portfolio manager for Bellevue Research from 2000 through 2001 and an equity analyst for Putnam Investments from 1998 through 2001. Ms. Chen obtained a Master of Business Administration degree from the Wharton School of Business in 1998 and graduated with a Master of Science degree in Molecular Biology from the Graduate School of Biomedical Science at Cornell Medical College in 1994. Ms. Chen also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Genetics and Genetic Engineering from Fudan University, Shanghai, China, which she received in 1990.
Caleb Tripp, 38
Chief Financial Officer
Caleb Tripp serves as our Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Tripp is also the Chief Financial Officer of Cormorant Asset Management. He joined Cormorant in August 2020 as the firm’s Controller. Prior to joining Cormorant, he was the Controller for DW Partners, LP, formerly Brevan Howard Credit, from March 2015 until August 2020. From May 2011 until December 2014, Mr. Tripp was the Controller for Saiers Capital, LLC. He started his career in fund accounting at GlobeOp Financial Services. Mr. Tripp received a Bachelor’s of Arts in Economics from the University of Connecticut in 2007 and a Master’s of Science in Accounting from Pace University in 2020.
Nebojsa Obradovic, 53
Chief Legal Officer
Nebojsa Obradovic serves as our Chief Legal Officer. Mr. Obradovic is also the Chief Legal and Compliance Officer of Cormorant Asset Management. He joined Cormorant in 2016. Prior to Cormorant, he was the Director of Compliance at MAST Capital Management in 2015. From 2012-2015, he was a Compliance Professional at HedgeOp Compliance. From 2011-2012 He was an attorney at Heritage House Management. Mr. Obradovic received his Bachelor’s of Science from Belgrade University and his JD from Suffolk University.
Board of Directors
John Schmid, 60
Director
John Schmid is a Director Nominee. Mr. Schmid served on the board of directors of Helix I until the completion of its business combination with Moonlake Target. Mr. Schmid currently serves as a member of the board of directors of AnaptysBio, Inc., Design Therapeutics, Poseida Therapeutics, Inc., Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Blacksmith Medicines, Inc. (f/k/a Forge Therapeutics, Inc.), all pharmaceutical companies, and as the chairman of the board of directors of Speak, Inc., a speakers bureau, which he helped found in 1989. Mr. Schmid served as Chief Financial Officer of Auspex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 2013 until its sale to Teva Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in 2015. Prior to Auspex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., he co-founded Trius Therapeutics, Inc., where he served as Chief Financial Officer from 2004 until its merger with Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in 2013. Mr. Schmid also served as Chief Financial Officer at GeneFormatics, Inc. from 1998 to 2003 and as Chief Financial Officer at Endonetics, Inc. from 1995 to 1998. Mr. Schmid holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Wesleyan University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of San Diego.
Mark McKenna, 44
Director
Mark C. McKenna is a Director Nominee. Mr. McKenna served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Prometheus Biosciences (Nasdaq: RXDX) from 2019-2023. Prometheus Biosciences was a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company which created the first precision therapeutics for immune-mediated diseases which was the largest M&A takeout of pre-phase 3 company. Mr. McKenna currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Apogee Therapeutics (NASDAQ: APGE) and Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director of McKenna Capital Partners, a family office dedicated to investing in breakthrough treatments for debilitating diseases. Prior to Prometheus, Mr. McKenna was a corporate officer of Bausch Health and served as President of the subsidiary Salix Pharmaceuticals from 2016 to 2019. Earlier, Mr.McKenna served at Bausch + Lomb from 2006 to 2016. He began his career at Johnson & Johnson from 2002 to 2006. Mr. McKenna holds a degree in Marketing from Arizona State University and a MBA from Azusa Pacific University. Mr.McKenna also completed the Wharton’s Fellows program at the Wharton School of Business.
Albert A. Holman, III [Appointed on 2/8/2025]
Director
Mr. Holman is the Founder and Co-Managing Partner of Chestnut Partners, Inc., a boutique investment bank that provides advice to public and private clients in the life science industry. Mr. Holman sits on the board of directors of Ratio Therapeutics Inc., a private radiopharmaceuticals company, chairs its Audit Committee and Compliance Committee, and is a member of its Compensation and Talent Committee. Mr. Holman has extensive investment banking experience, providing financial advice relating to private debt and equity capital formation, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, valuations and joint ventures. Prior to founding Chestnut Partners, Inc. in 1995, Mr. Holman was Managing Director and Head of Kidder, Peabody & Co.’s New England Investment Banking Department, responsible for all public and private company coverage in New England. Before moving to Boston in 1993, he was based in New York since 1980 and served as the Head of several groups including Kidder’s Life Science Group. Mr. Holman is a graduate of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business Administration and, he holds a B.A. from University of Michigan. He is a Trustee of Mass General Brigham Incorporated and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc.