ORYZON - Key Persons
Carlos Buesa - CEO, Chairman, Founder, President
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board of Directors
- Chief Executive Officer
- Executive Director
- Founder
- Member of the Board
- President
D. Carlos Buesa holds a PhD in Biology from the University of Barcelona, was a postdoctoral researcher with a European Union grant and Senior Researcher at the Flemish Institute of Biotechnology (VIB). He has completed several advanced programs in finance, business development, international trade, and negotiation. In addition, in 2005 he completed Senior Management Studies (PADE) at IESE Business School.
He has obtained the IC-A Diploma in Good Corporate Governance from the Instituto de Consejeros Administradores de España.
In recent years he has been a director of various biotechnology companies and is a founding partner of MENDELION LIFESCIENCES, S.L. He was the first President of the Catalan Association of Biocompanies (CataloniaBio) and has been a member and Vice-President representing ORYZON on the Board of Directors of the Spanish Association of Biocompanies (ASEBIO), in several mandates and is currently First Vice-President.
Finally, he has been a member of the Board of Directors of INVEREADY SEED CAPITAL and INVEREADY BIOTECH since 7 September 2008 and 10 October 2012, respectively, until June 2021.
Founder of the Company in 2000, he has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of ORYZON since then.
D. Carlos Buesa holds a PhD in Biology from the University of Barcelona, was a postdoctoral researcher with a European Union grant and Senior Researcher at the Flemish Institute of Biotechnology (VIB). He has completed several advanced programs in finance, business development, international trade, and negotiation. In addition, in 2005 he completed Senior Management Studies (PADE) at IESE Business School.
Dr Alan F. Schatzberg is one of the most renowned American psychiatrist. Since 1991, he has been the Kenneth T. Norris Jr . Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. He was chair of the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford from 1991 to 2010 and is the current Director of the Stanford Mood Disorders Center. He is also the co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Psychiatric Research. A past President of the American Psychiatric Association (2009-2010), he is a leading expert in mood disorders, particularly the neurobiology and treatment of depression.
Dr. Ana Limon holds a PhD in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from the University of Barcelona. She was a post-doctoral fellow at The Fels Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Biology (Temple University, Philadelphia, US) and at Dana Farber Cancer Institute (Harvard Medical School, Boston, US) in the fields of cell cycle regulation and cancer Immunology and AIDS, respectively. She was a Research Associate at the Department of Medical Oncology at Dana Farber Cancer Institute working on the characterization of leukemic stem cells, before moving to industry. She was Senior Medical Scientific Liaison for all Oncology assets at Amgen, before moving to Millennium/Takeda where she held increasing responsibility positions to become Head of Oncology Pipeline, Global Medical Affairs at Takeda. In 2021 she moved to Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, where she was Product Leader, responsible for commercial and pipeline assets. Dr. Limón has more than 15 years' experience in drug development, managing multifunctional teams, conducting research from preclinical to registration-enabling clinical studies in hematologic and solid tumors, as well as Medical Affairs activities for the launch and support of commercial products. Before joining Oryzon's SAB, Dr. Limón was Senior Vice President of Clinical Development and Global Medical Affairs at Oryzon.
Dr. Faller holds an M.D. from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in Cancer Molecular Biology and a B.S. in Biochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has been a professor at Harvard Medical School/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Brigham and Women's Hospital and Boston Children's Hospital. He held the Grunebaum Chair for Cancer Research at Boston University and was professor of Medicine, Biochemistry, Pediatrics, Microbiology, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. He founded the Cancer Center at Boston University, and served as the Director of the Center, and also as Vice-Chairman of the Department of Medicine. He is the scientific founder of multiple biotech companies. He has served as CMO and CSO of a number of companies, including, most recently, at Viracta Therapeutics. He has served as Executive Medical Director and Global Clinical Leader at Takeda for more than 5 years. Dr Faller has over 30 years of clinical hematology/oncology expertise and broad drug development experience in the design and execution of early to registrational clinical programs across oncology and rare diseases. Before joining Oryzon's SAB, Dr. Faller was Global Chief Medical Officer at Oryzon.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Dr. Eric Hollander is a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Director of the Autism and Obsessive -Compulsive Spectrum Program at the Psychiatric Research Institute of Montefiore Einstein (PRIME). His research focusses on translational new drug development in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), body dysmorphic disorder, pathological gambling, Prader Willi Syndrome, autism spectrum disorder and borderline personality disorder. He has served as PI and received federal funding from NIMH, NINDS, NIDA, Department of Defense (DOD) and Orphan Products Division of the FDA. He chaired the DSM-V Research Planning Agenda for Obsessive Compulsive Behavior Spectrum Disorders; published over 500 articles; and edited 20 books, including the Textbook of Autism Spectrum Disorders (2nd Edition) and the Textbook of Anxiety, Trauma and OCD Related Disorders (3rd Edition). Dr. Hollander has investigated the neurobiology and treatment of impulsive-aggression across borderline personality disorder, intermittent explosive disorder, Prader Willi Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Job Titles:
- Head of the Cellular Therapy Unit
Head of the Cellular Therapy Unit, Co-director of the Haematology and Haemotherapy Unit and Haematology and Oncology Specialist of the Clinica Universidad de Navarra (Spain). Doctor of Medicine from the University of Navarra. He completed his training with a fellowship in Haematology and Oncology at the University of Minnesota (US).
His research is focused on two main areas: the epigenetic regulation of malignancies (leukemias and myeloma) and cell therapy with adult stem cells and its application to human diseases such as cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases.
Moreover he is also member of the Medical Advisory Board in the clinical trial of ORY-1001.
Job Titles:
- Chief Medical Officer at Polyphor AG
Dr. Hooftman has occupied medical management positions in some of the most relevant pharmaceutical companies including F. Hoffmann-la Roche, Celltech Group Plc, Syntex or Synthon BV besides several others. In the last decade, Dr. Hooftman has completed more than 10 clinical Phase I/II trials involving drugs products targeting immunology, haematology and oncology research fields.
Besides his role as Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Hooftman has participated as medical expert and advisor for several private companies and research committees.
Dr. Kunkel has more than two decades of experience in oncology and immunology drug development and commercialization. Dr. Kunkel presently serves on the Boards of Directors of Loxo Oncology, Curis, Inc, Tocagen and Maverick Therapeutics. She was previously the acting Chief Medical Officer at Loxo and she served as Chief Medical Officer at Pharmacyclics (acquired by AbbVie) and Proteolix, Inc (acquired by Onyx Pharmaceuticals), contributed to the approvals of cancer therapeutics IMBRUVICA® and KYPROLIS®, respectively. She has advised multiple clients including Chiron (acquired by Novartis), Genentech/Roche, Salmedics (acquired by Celgene), Stemcentrx, Inc (acquired by Abbvie), Amphivena Therapeutics, Atreca, Inc and Verastem, Inc.
Dr. Kunkel served as a faculty member in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Kunkel obtained a medical degree from University of Southern California and a bachelor's degree in biology from University of California, San Diego. She is board-certified in internal medicine and held board certifications in hematology and oncology.
Job Titles:
- Chief Medical Officer for
- President of a San Francisco Based Consultancy
Dr. Michael Ropacki is the President of a San Francisco based consultancy firm, Strategic Global Research & Development (SGR&D) that collaborates with sponsors developing and executing Clinical Development Plans to optimize regulatory interactions. Prior to his role at SGR&D, Dr. Ropacki was most recently Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at MedAvante-ProPhase. Before that, Dr. Ropacki held roles of increasing responsibility at Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), his last as Director of Clinical Development, Neuroscience, Research and Development, for Janssen Research & Development, serving as the Clinical Lead responsible for developing and leading the Cognitive Health in Aging Registry. Prior to that role, Dr. Ropacki served as Global Medical Affairs Leader, Head of Late-Stage Development at Janssen Alzheimer's Immunotherapy, LLC. Dr. Ropacki is also Co-Chair of a Scientific Advisory Group for the Innovative Medicines Initiative-European Prevention of Alzheimer's Dementia (IMI-EPAD) program and as a National Institute of Health (NIH) advisor. He holds a doctorate from Texas Tech University. He completed his internship/residency at University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Psychiatry and two post-doctoral fellowships at Brown University School of Medicine and UCLA School of Medicine, Neuropsychiatric Institute.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Yale University
Dr. Sarah Fineberg is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Yale University investigating the neurobiological mechanisms behind borderline personality disorder (BPD) and related mental health conditions. She is also interested in testing the efficacy of novel and emerging treatments. Her research explores social cognition and decision-making using computational psychiatry and neuroimaging. She has led clinical trials testing novel interventions for BPD, including sub-anesthetic ketamine for BPD and real-time fMRI neurofeedback.
Job Titles:
- Chief Business Development Officer ( CBDO )
Bachelor's degree in Veterinary Sciences from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain. PDG from IESE and MBA from ESADE. He also earned a Master in Patent Documentation from the University of Barcelona.
He began his business development career in 1990 as License Manager at Prodesfarma. Later on, he broadened his professional experience in the field of international marketing as International Product Manager at Prodesfarma and, after that, as International Marketing Manager at Almirall. In 2004, he joined Laboratorios Dr. Esteve as Senior Licensing Manager, and in February 2007 he joined Oryzon as Director of Business Development.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer ( COO ), Chief Financial Officer ( CFO )
Job Titles:
- Professor of Psychiatry at the Ohio State University
Emil F. Coccaro, M.D. is currently the George T. Harding, M.D., III Endowed Professor of Psychiatry at The Ohio State University in its College of Medicine. He received his M.D. from the New York University School of Medicine and his training in Psychiatry from the Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City. Dr Coccaro had academic appointments at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine (1983-1989), the Medical College of Pennsylvania/Hanemann College of Medicine (1989-1999), and The University of Chicago (1999-2021), where he was also the Chair of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience (2004-2016). He is a leading expert in the neurobiology of aggression and impulsivity. His seminal contributions to the field include studies into the roles of serotonin (as well as the role of chronic inflammation) in impulsive aggression. In addition, he developed the methodology to test the efficacy of anti-aggressive compounds in clinical trials starting with his positive clinical trial of fluoxetine in impulsive aggressive individuals. He also developed the DSM-5 criteria for Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) as well as several rating measures currently used in human studies of aggression, including the Life History of Aggression (LHA) and the Overt Aggression Scale Modified for Outpatient Use (OAS-M), among others.
Dr. Xaus holds a degree in Biology (1995) and a master's degree in Immunology (1997) both from the University of Barcelona. He received his doctorate in Biology from the University of Barcelona (1999) in the field of the immune response control. He has completed his scientific training with pre and postdoctoral stays at La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation / The Burnham Institute (San Diego, USA, 1996) and at Genentech Inc (San Francisco, USA, 1999-2000). Author of almost a hundred of scientific publications and ten patents. Director of six doctoral theses.
He was Associate Professor of Immunology at the University of Barcelona until 2001, before joining the biotechnology industry. Initially, at Puleva Biotech SA as head of the Immunology Department where, among other projects, he led the discovery and development of the Hereditum® probiotic product line, and years later he became Director of Biomedicine and member of the Board of Directors. In 2007 he joined the biopharmaceutical Palau Pharma SA and in 2012 was nominated CSO. During this period, he participated in the licensing and sale of four Company' compounds to third party' pharmaceutical companies.
In 2014, he joined Oryzon Genomics where he held various management positions and contributed to the clinical transition of the epigenetic molecules iadademstat and vafidemstat, both currently in Phase II in oncology and CNS disorders respectively.
In January 2020, he was appointed Director of the Clinical Portfolio and Innovation of the company.
Since July 2021 he is Chief Scientific Officer of Oryzon Genomics.
His training is complemented by the completion of the Executive Master in Operations and Innovation (EMOI) at ESADE Business School (2019).
Job Titles:
- Independent Director
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
Dr. Alataris is an entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in the medical technology industry in the U.S. He has been a founder, CEO, investor and board member in several medical device companies. Among other positions, he has been CEO and co-founder of Nēsos, President and CEO of Zosano Pharma, and founder of Nevro Corp. He has also served as Vice President at Bay City Capital.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee
- Independent Director
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Advisor to the San Francisco Investment Fund
- Chairman of Remuneration and Nomination Committee
- Chief Operating Officer of IMIDomics Inc
- Independent Director, Coordinating Director and Chairman of the Appointments and Remuneration Committee
- Member of Board Committees
- Member of the Board of Directors of Cantero Therapeutics ( a Subsidiary
- Scientific Coordinator of the Pritzker Consortium for Research
Dr. López-Figueroa is the Chief Operating Officer of IMIDomics Inc. IMIDomics focuses on the discovery and development of new drugs for the treatment of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.
In addition, Dr. Lopez-Figueroa is the Scientific Coordinator of the Pritzker Consortium for Research in Neuropsychiatric Disorders, a collaborative research consortium comprised of a group of leaders in psychiatry, neuroscience and genetics from Stanford University, the University of Michigan, Cornell University, the University of California at Irvine, and the HudsonAlpha Biotechnology Institute.
Dr. Lopez-Figueroa is also an Advisor to the San Francisco investment fund Bay City Capital, which he joined in 2001 and has been a Managing Director. Bay City Capital is one of the world's leading life sciences investment firms, having invested in over 100 companies and with over $1.6 billion of capital under management.
Dr. López-Figueroa has over 25 years of experience in the field of neuroscience, has won numerous awards during his academic research career and has published extensively. Dr. López-Figueroa holds a PhD in medicine and surgery, and a master's degree in molecular and cellular biology. He completed his postdoctoral work at the University of Michigan and the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Dr. López-Figueroa is a member of the board of directors of Cantero Therapeutics (a subsidiary of BridgeBio Pharma), and Zulia. He is also a director of Nina Capital.
Job Titles:
- Independent Director
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of Board Committees
- Partner at Alta Life Sciences
Dr. Vendrell is a partner at Alta Life Sciences, a venture capital fund based in Barcelona. Previously, she was CEO of Biocat, the Barcelona Science Park and the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST). She holds a PhD in biology, a master's degree in science communication and has completed the General Management Program at IESE.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Audit and Compliance Committee
- Independent Director
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Independent Director and Chairman of the Audit and Compliance Committee
- Member of Board Committees
Mr. Sánchez Quintana is a former partner of PwC with more than 33 years of professional experience, including 17 years as a partner. He has held the position of Global Head of the Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Sector at PwC and has worked as an audit partner for several pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, both national and multinational.
Job Titles:
- Chief Intellectual Property Officer
- Chief Intellectual Property Officer ( CIPO )
Job Titles:
- Independent Director
- Member of the Audit and Compliance Committee
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Strategy and Business Development Advisor
Dr. Beaurang has over 25 years of experience in biotechnology focusing on corporate strategy, business development, oncology, immunology and neurology. Dr. Beaurang was most recently CEO and member of the board for Nitrase Therapeutics, a private biotechnology company focused on a novel class of enzymes involved in neurodegenerative disorders and cancer. Previously, Dr. Beaurang served as Chief Business Officer of Nurix Therapeutics (NSDQ: NRIX), where he helped grow the company into a publicly traded, clinical-stage company. During his tenure at Nurix, he established several transformational partnerships with global pharmaceutical companies and was part of the leadership team for the company's IPO. Dr. Beaurang was part of the founding team of Five Prime Therapeutics (NSDQ: FPRX acquired by Amgen), an oncology and immunology biologics company. While at Five Prime, he established several major platform and product collaborations with pharmaceutical companies and licensed the lead asset that drove the eventual acquisition of the company for $1.9 billion in 2021.
Dr. Beaurang holds a B.A. in Biology and an M.A. in Biotechnology from Boston University, and a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California at Berkeley.
Dr. Beaurang is a former CEO of Nitrase Therapeutics and an expert in oncology and immunology. He has been Chief Business Officer at Nurix Therapeutics and a founding member and Executive Director of Business Development at Five Prime Therapeutics. He holds a PhD in molecular and cell biology.
Job Titles:
- Chief of Clinical Operations
BA (Hons) Degree in Pharmacy and Master in Sciences, she completed her training with a postgraduate executive development program.
More than 20 years of experience in the clinical research and operations area at international pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies such as Synthelabo, Pharmacia-Upjohn, Sanofi, Lundbeck and Regeneron, both in local positions in Spain and in international allocations in Paris and Dublin. Throughout her professional career she has been appointed to different technical and management positions in the clinical research and operations field, contributing to the clinical development of new drugs in psychiatry, neurology, pain and oncology.