Mineralys Therapeutics, Inc. has welcomed Jessica Wagner Keliher, SPHR, as Vice President, Talent Management. Keliher joins the Radnor, Pennsylvania-based biopharmaceutical company as it builds toward the commercialization of Lorundrostat, its lead treatment for hypertension.
About Jessica Wagner Keliher
Keliher brings more than two decades of human resources leadership across biotech and life sciences to the role. Most recently, she served as Chief People Officer of Cartesian Therapeutics, a public mRNA cell therapy company, where she sat on the executive leadership team and advised the board through a critical post-merger integration year following the company’s acquisition by Selecta Biosciences. Alongside that role, she has run her own fractional CHRO practice, Leading with Kindness, advising founders and executive teams on people strategy, organizational design, and culture, and currently serves as fractional Chief Human Resources Officer for the fintech company FinCleanse.
Before Cartesian, Keliher spent nearly four years at Novavax, rising from Vice President, Global People Partners to Senior Vice President, Global Talent Strategy. In that role, she built legal entities and HR capabilities across nine countries to support the global commercialization of the company’s vaccine technology, and partnered with the board on succession planning for executive talent. She joined Novavax in 2020 after a brief stint as Director, Human Resources Business Partner at Kite Pharma, a Gilead Sciences subsidiary, where she helped build the company’s commercial manufacturing presence in Urbana, Maryland.
Earlier in her career, Keliher spent nearly eight years as Head of People & Culture at Leadiant Biosciences, a rare disease company, where she served as the organization’s chief HR leader and helped scale the business as it grew its revenue and workforce significantly. She began her HR career in manufacturing and industrial settings in upstate New York, including roles at Klein Steel Service, Coach and Equipment, and Magnus Precision and Printer Components.
Keliher reflected on the move: “Excited to share that I’ve joined Mineralys Therapeutics as Vice President, Talent Management! Mineralys is on the cusp of an important milestone and joining at this stage, as the company builds toward commercialization, is exactly the kind of opportunity I LOVE – helping shape the people and culture engine behind a mission that truly matters,” she shared.
Keliher holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from Keuka College, a Master’s in Human Resource Development from the Rochester Institute of Technology, and a Graduate Certificate in Executive Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University. She is a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and also holds PHR certification and an Advanced Certificate in Strategic HR Management.
About Mineralys Therapeutics
Mineralys Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on addressing cardio-renal-metabolic syndrome (CRMS) diseases, particularly in patients with dysregulated aldosterone. Its lead candidate, Lorundrostat, is an aldosterone synthase inhibitor designed to bring a targeted approach to treating hypertension, a condition the company notes affects tens of millions of people and, in roughly 30% of cases, involves dysregulated aldosterone that current treatments don’t specifically address.
