People, Purpose, and Pizza – Giovanni Abbadessa

In this deeply human and wide-ranging conversation, Giovanni Abbadessa shares the personal journey that shaped his vocation as a physician, scientist, and leader. Growing up in Naples as the son of a prominent hematologist, Giovanni initially resisted medicine, only to discover his calling through lived experiences that blended science with humanity. A transformative humanitarian trip to India, working alongside communities affected by leprosy, profoundly reshaped his understanding of dignity, service, and impact. This experience, combined with early clinical exposure, led him to choose oncology, not just for the science, but for the deep, often spiritual connection with patients and families at life’s most vulnerable moments.

Giovanni traces his evolution from clinician to translational scientist and biotech leader, moving across Italy and the United States, from hospitals to research labs, and ultimately into biotech and pharma. He reflects on pivotal moments, from enrolling patients in landmark oncology trials, to building basic science programs from scratch during his PhD in Philadelphia, to navigating the realities of startup biotech during financial crises. Across academia, small biotech, and large pharma, Giovanni highlights how resilience, curiosity, and an unwavering focus on patients guided his decisions, including when to leave organizations due to poor leadership and when to stay and rebuild through trust, compassion, and shared purpose.

At the heart of the episode is Giovanni’s philosophy of leadership and collaboration. Drawing from decades of nonprofit volunteering, community building, and formal leadership training at Harvard Business School, he emphasizes that “drugs don’t develop drugs. People develop drugs.” He argues that effective collaboration starts with honesty about needs, mutual respect, and trust, and that innovation requires humility, failure, and resilience. With memorable metaphors, from pizza as a catalyst for breaking silos, to leadership as a team sport rather than a solo game, Giovanni offers powerful insights for healthcare leaders on how to spread love in organizations by putting people, connection, and purpose first.

"Drugs do not develop drugs. People develop drugs."

MEET OUR GUEST Dr. Giovanni Abadessa, Chief Medical Officer at ModeX Therapeutics.

Giovanni Abbadessa is a Medical Oncologist and PhD with 23 years drug development experience across academia, small biotech, and pharma. He is a passionate, hands-on, and entrepreneurial leader specializing in oncology, hematology, and rare disease pre-clinical and clinical (Phase 1-3) development. Giovanni has worked on the development of nearly 30 clinical and as many preclinical experimental drugs across eight classes of agents. He is known for a collaborative leadership style, growing and uniting people and science through transparent, results-driven teams. Giovanni has strong strategic, operations, business development and board management experience in both corporate and nonprofit sectors, and has led investor relations, medical affairs, and commercial assessments, enjoying a vast network of academic and industry collaborators.

Presently, as Chief Medical Officer at ModeX Therapeutics, a small biotechnology firm in Weston, MA, Giovanni guides strategy and execution of a variety of clinical programs in oncology and infectious diseases. Additionally, he shapes preclinical oncology research, is responsible for business development and defines corporate strategy with the rest of the company C-Suite, aligning scientific innovation with business objectives while inspiring cross-functional teams.

From 2017 to 2024, Giovanni held a series of senior leadership roles at Sanofi. As Vice President of Oncology Early Development, he was a member of the company’s executive leadership team, oversaw Phase 3 and commercial strategy, built and led an oncology team of 25 who led cross-functional work performed by ~300 people on ~20 early clinical and as many preclinical assets for solid and hematological malignancies and kidney transplant. His portfolio included small molecules, checkpoint inhibitors, ADCs, cytokines, T and NK cell engagers, intratumoral RNA, and cell therapy. He spearheaded strategy and execution for interactions with global Health Authorities, and represented Sanofi with investors, governments, and academic institutions.

Prior to joining Sanofi, Giovanni spent nearly a decade at ArQule, a small biotech company where he advanced to Vice President of Clinical Development, Preclinical Research and Medical Affairs, responsible for development from basic lab research to Phase 3. He worked on MET, AKT, FGFR, Eg5, BRAF, and BTK small molecule inhibitors for cancer and rare pediatric diseases and supported business development, investor relations, people and company strategy alongside the C-Suite and the Board.

Earlier, as Senior Medical Director, Clinical Development at Ziopharm Oncology, a small biotechnology company engaged in research and clinical development of novel chemo-derivatives, Giovanni spearheaded global Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials in solid and hematologic malignancies of three molecules.

Giovanni spent his post-doctoral fellowship at Temple Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, PA, leading and mentoring a small team of scientists on in vitro/in vivo gene therapy projects in cancer models and contributing to patient treatment strategy as a Visiting Oncologist. Giovanni began his Oncology career in 2001 in Milan, Italy, at the Istituto Clinico Humanitas as an Oncology Fellow and Sub-Investigator, where he led four Phase 1-3 clinical trials with small molecules and biologics.

Giovanni serves as a Scientific Board member at Biond Biologics, HiFiBiO, as Scientific Committee member at the ESMO-TAT oncology conference, and as nonprofit Board Member at the Comitato Italiani all’Estero, the Scuola Piccoli Italiani di Boston, and the Professionisti Italiani a Boston.

Govanni earned a PhD in Genetic Oncology from Temple University and the University of Siena, Italy, a Clinical Oncology Fellowship from the Istituto Clinico Humanitas in Milan and the University of Genoa, Italy, and an MD summa cum laude et plausum from Federico II Medical School in Naples, Italy. He speaks native Italian, fluent English and Spanish, proficient French. He published over 60 peer-reviewed articles, 120 conference abstracts (20+ presented orally), and gave ~40 conference talks.