Maria Nichol is Chief Business Officer at Artax Biopharma, a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to the development of safe and effective treatments for autoimmune diseases. Maria is a qualified European and UK patent attorney with more than 20 years in the biotechnology industry providing commercially focused, strategic advice on IP and corporate development. From 2006-2022 Maria was VP, Corporate Development at Galapagos, leading the IP team and a key member of the corporate development department, where she was integral to the business development strategy and was involved in many of the major transactions. Maria graduated with an MA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge (Girton College) and a DPhil from the University of Oxford (Linacre College).