Lawrence spent 30 years in pharmaceutical research and development with a specific focus on the biology of the immune system, antiviral therapies and relevant therapeutic interventions. Before forming Alios, he was Chief Scientific Officer of InterMune, Inc. where he led the discovery and development of an HCV protease inhibitor partnered with Roche. From 1998 to 2002, Lawrence was Vice President of Research at SIRNA. From 1996 to 1998, he served as Vice President, Product Development at National Genetics Institute where he pioneered the use of molecular diagnostics to drive therapeutic treatment decisions for viral infections. He began his career at Amgen where he was ultimately Head of Interferon Research and also Development Team Leader for a consensus interferon product leading to approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Lawrence earned his B.S. in Microbiology from Indiana University, a Master's in Business Administration at the California State University, Northridge, and a Doctorate in Public Health Administration at the University of La Verne, California.    

 Lawrence Blatt, Ph.D. is responsible for co-leading the Infectious Diseases & Vaccines (IDV) Therapeutic Area at Janssen Research & Development. Prior to joining the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies, Lawrence founded and was President and Chief Executive Officer of Alios BioPharma, Inc., the clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for viral diseases that was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2014. He was named as key inventor on several Alios patents and won the 2012 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Life Sciences.