TechImmune, Inc. today announced the appointment of James F. Young, PhD, as Executive Chairman. A vaccine scientist with more than four decades of experience, Young joins the company as it advances a first-in-class T-cell immunotherapy designed to target the root cause of Long COVID by clearing persistent SARS-CoV-2 reservoirs.
Four decades at the frontier of vaccine science
Young served as Chairman of the Board of Novavax from 2011 until March 2025, a tenure that spanned the development and global authorization of Nuvaxovid, the only protein-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine marketed worldwide. He was a scientific leader within Operation Warp Speed, the national effort that compressed COVID-19 vaccine development from years into months.
Earlier in his career, Young was President of Research and Development at MedImmune, where he helped bring to market FluMist, the first intranasal influenza vaccine, and Synagis, a monoclonal antibody that remains a standard of care for preventing respiratory syncytial virus in high-risk infants. His earlier appointments included roles at SmithKline and French and at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
"I looked at the data and thought, this is remarkable. This could be an important opportunity for a disease that affects millions of people."
James F. Young, PhD, Executive ChairmanRecognized for global health impact
In 2005, Young received the Albert B. Sabin Humanitarian Award in recognition of his contributions to global public health. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Villanova University and a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from Baylor College of Medicine.
Why TechImmune
Founded in 2021, TechImmune is built around a T-cell antigen platform exclusively licensed from the University of California, where it was invented by Professor Lbachir BenMohamed, PhD, of UC Irvine. The platform is designed to clear persistent SARS-CoV-2 reservoirs and restore functional anti-viral immunity, an approach with the potential to become the first disease-modifying treatment for Long COVID.
"The pandemic is done, but the virus is not gone," Young said. "There are still more hospitalizations from COVID than from flu, and millions of people are living with the long-term consequences. The science here gives us a real chance to change that."
About TechImmune, Inc.
TechImmune, Inc. is a preclinical-stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class T-cell immunotherapies that target the root cause of Long COVID and related coronavirus diseases. Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Irvine, California, the company is advancing a platform exclusively licensed from the University of California toward IND-enabling studies and first-in-human trials.