ABCURO - Key Persons
Alex Martin brings over 30 years of experience building companies and closing transactions in the biopharmaceutical industry. He was most recently Chief Executive Officer of Palladio Biosciences, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company which was acquired by Centessa Pharmaceuticals (CNTA), and previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Realm Therapeutics (RLM) which was acquired by ESSA Pharma (EPIX). He was also Chief Operating Officer of Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT), and Chief Finance Officer of BioXell (BXLN) which was acquired by Cosmo Pharmaceuticals (COPN). He began his career at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals where he held roles of increasing responsibility in marketing and business development and later joined Novartis as Vice President, Global Business Development & Licensing. Alex is an active coach and mentor to other senior executives, and a guest lecturer at Wharton and Columbia Business School on biotech, entrepreneurship, and raising capital. He holds a BA from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard
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- Director, Quality Control
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- Associate
- Clinical Director
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- Vice President, Information Technology
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- Director, Analytical Development
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- Head of Corporate Development
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- Board of Directors & Audit Committee Chair
Darlene Deptula-Hicks has served on the board of directors and as audit committee chair of Abcuro since July 2021. Darlene joined Aerami Therapeutics as Chief Financial Officer in October 2023, where she has been on the board of directors and chair of the audit committee since October 2021. Prior to Aerami, Darlene most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of F-star Therapeutics (FSTX) since 2019, which she took public in 2020 and through to the successful sale of the Company in March 2023. In addition, since early 2018 Darlene has operated Crimson Consulting, LLC, a strategic, financial and CFO consulting services company, and has also served as acting Chief Financial Officer for Northern Biologics from 2018 and to the successful sale of its preclinical and clinical programs to Boehringer Ingelheim and Astra Zeneca in 2020. Prior, she was the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of T2 Biosystems (TTOO). Previously she was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Pieris Pharmaceuticals (PIRS) which she also took public and Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Microline Surgical. Darlene currently serves on the board of directors of Aerami Therapeutics and previously served on the board of directors and as audit committee chair of Giner Life Sciences, Xentic Biosciences, and IMCOR Pharmaceuticals. Darlene received her M.B.A. from Rivier University and a B.S in Accounting from Southern New Hampshire University.
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- Research VP, Head of Data Management
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- Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Development at Sanofi
Dietmar Berger is currently the Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Development at Sanofi, where he oversees the clinical portfolio of Sanofi across all therapeutic areas. With over 20 years of experience in leadership positions across both large pharmaceutical companies as well as innovative biotech companies, Dr. Berger brings extensive expertise in clinical development and advancing programs all the way to market approval to Abcuro. As a trained hematologist and oncologist, Dr. Berger has extensive experience in therapeutic areas of high relevance to Abcuro's programs. Prior to Sanofi, he was Global Head of R&D at Atara Biotherapeutics, an off-the-shelf cell therapy company. Previously he held senior positions in clinical development at Amgen, Bayer and Genentech where he served as the Senior Vice President of Global Clinical Development, Hematology/Oncology. Dr. Berger holds an M.D. and Ph.D. from the Albert-Ludwigs University School of Medicine in Freiburg, Germany, where he still maintains an adjunct faculty position.
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- Director, Clinical Operations
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- Associate Director, FP & a
Jeffrey Wilkins is the Chief Medical Officer of Abcuro. He is a highly experienced clinician, having advanced clinical programs from IND to regulatory approval. Jeff has deep expertise in the areas of immunology, rare diseases, and immuno-oncology. He has served in senior clinical leadership positions, including as Chief Medical Officer for over 20 years. Among others, Jeff led clinical development programs at Avalo Therapeutics, Lycera, Ceptaris Therapeutics, Cephalon, and Ception Therapeutics. He entered the pharmaceutical industry with GlaxoSmithKline, where he rose to become Vice President of Discovery Medicine for GSK's Center of Excellence in External Drug Discovery. Jeff received his M.D. from Temple University School of Medicine and his B.S. from Bucknell University.
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- Vice President, Head of Regulatory Affairs
Janaki (Jana) Subramanyam is Vice President, Head of Regulatory Affairs at Abcuro. Jana is an experienced regulatory affairs professional having worked on small molecule and biologic development programs across rheumatology, nephrology, neurology, and psychiatry for more than twenty years. Her regulatory drug development expertise spans clinical, nonclinical, manufacturing, quality, post marketing advertising, and promotional activities.
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- VP, Head of Regulatory Affairs
Prior to joining Abcuro, Jana was the Head of Regulatory Affairs at Allena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where she helped develop two assets for rare metabolic diseases. Jana also held leadership roles in regulatory affairs at FORUM Pharmaceuticals, Lantheus Medical Imaging, and AMAG Pharmaceuticals. She received her M.S. in microbiology from Ohio University and her B.S. in microbiology and biochemistry from Bombay Universit
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- Managing Director of Sanofi Ventures
Jason P. Hafler is the Managing Director of Sanofi Ventures. Prior to joining Sanofi in 2014, Jason was the Director of Corporate Development at RaNA Therapeutics, a company co-founded by his previous firm Atlas Venture. While at Atlas, Jason was an Associate in the Life Sciences group. Previously, he was a Flagship Ventures Entrepreneurial Fellow, and consulted for the technology transfer company at the University of Cambridge while performing his doctoral research. Before his time at Cambridge, Jason was an analyst at JSB Partners LP, an investment banking firm. Jason's active investments include Abcuro, Amathus Therapeutics, Escient Pharmaceuticals, Expansion Therapeutics, Glycomine, Q32 Bio, ReCode Therapeutics, Rome Therapeutics and Navitor Pharmaceuticals. Jason graduated with honors from Bowdoin College and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge.
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- Director, Head of Manufacturing
Jonah Cashdan joined Bain Capital Life Sciences in 2018. Prior to joining Bain Capital, he worked at J.P. Morgan in their healthcare investment banking group, evaluating and executing strategic alternatives including M&A and debt/equity financings for clients across the pharmaceutical, biotech and medtech sectors. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Jonah studied synaptic physiology and sensory system development in various labs at Georgetown University. He graduated summa cum laude from Georgetown University receiving a B.S. in Neurobiology.
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- Partner, Mass General Brigham Ventures
Jay Knowles joined Mass General Brigham Ventures in 2014 as a Partner. Previously, Jay was Chief Executive Officer of X-BODY Biosciences, which was acquired by Juno Therapeutics. Prior to X-BODY, he was at Novartis in charge of the Platforms team for Strategic Alliances, responsible for global technology and drug discovery collaborations. Jay was also President of Novalar Pharmaceuticals, Vice President of Business Development at Novacea, and Director, R&D Planning at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. He represents Mass General Brigham Ventures on the boards of Apres Therapeutics, Keros Therapeutics, SwanBio Therapeutics, and Triplet Therapeutics. Jay earned his M.B.A in Finance from Wharton Business School, an M.Sc. in Chemistry from UC Berkeley, and a B.A. with Distinction in Chemistry from Carleton College.
Karen Tubridy is the Chief Operating Officer of Abcuro. She brings more than 30 years of experience in drug development strategy and operations supporting novel and first-in-class therapeutics. Previously, Karen served as a Chief Development Officer at Verseau Therapeutics, Akebia Therapeutics, and Eleven Bio. She has had responsibility for driving global program strategies to IND, NDA and J-NDA filings. In addition, she has had responsibility for oversight of drug development operations including the build out of core R&D infrastructure and quality systems. Previously, she held senior positions in clinical and regulatory operations at Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals, Taligen Therapeutics (acquired by Alexion) and Syntonix Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Biogen). She held a senior position at AVANT Immunotherapeutics directing several vaccine programs and held positions of increasing responsibility in clinical research and medical affairs at Genetics Institute/Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, where she directed hematology and oncology programs. Karen holds a B.S. in pharmacy and a PharmD from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences.
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- Chairman of the Board
- Physician
Mark Pruzanski is a physician and entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience in the life sciences. Most recently he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Versanis Bio where he spearheaded the development of novel therapies for obesity and other cardiometabolic diseases until the company's acquisition in 2023 by Eli Lilly and Company. Prior to joining Versanis, he founded and was the longstanding Chief Executive Officer of Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT). At Intercept, he pioneered a novel regulatory and development strategy in chronic nonviral liver diseases that resulted in the successful global commercialization of the first-in-class FXR agonist obeticholic acid for the treatment of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), marketed in more than 40 countries under the brand name OCALIVA™. He also led the effort to establish the regulatory, development and commercial basis for therapies targeting nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which has become a leading reason for liver failure due to the global obesity epidemic. Mark is currently a member of the Board of Directors of several biotechnology companies, the Emerging Company Section of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Mark received his M.D. from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, a M.A. degree in International Affairs from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy and Washington, D.C., and a B.A. degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
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- Associate Director, Clinical Operations
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- Partner, Samsara BioCapital
Mike is currently a partner at Samsara BioCapital, where he has worked since March 2017. Prior to joining Samsara, Mike was a partner at New Leaf Venture Partners. Before New Leaf Venture Partners Mike was a principal at the Boston Consulting Group, where he consulted for biotech and pharma clients. Mike currently serves on the boards of directors of Nkarta (NKTX), Sutro (STRO), and several private companies, including EnaraBio, Fluent Biosciences, Respira Therapeutics and Ionpath. Mike received an A.B. in biochemical sciences from Harvard College and a Ph.D. in molecular biology from University of California, Berkeley, where he was awarded a Howard Hughes Medical Institute fellowship.
Ming Fang - Managing Director
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- Managing Director
- Managing Director at Redmile Group, LLC
Ming Fang is a Managing Director at Redmile Group, LLC, a healthcare-focused investment firm. Prior to joining Redmile in 2016, Ming worked in the healthcare space as an investor at Safeguard Scientifics, a consultant at McKinsey & Company and ZS Associates, and an operator at Gilead Sciences. He received a B.A. in Computer Science from UC Berkeley and an MBA in Finance and Healthcare Management from the Wharton School of Business.
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- Managing Partner at RA Capital Management
Rajeev Shah has been a Managing Partner at RA Capital Management since 2004. Raj is active in both public and private investments in companies developing drugs, medical devices, diagnostics, and research tools. He is also active in the firm's outreach efforts, speaking frequently both at industry events and in classrooms. He previously worked as a Senior Project Leader at Altus Pharmaceuticals, a spin-off company of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, where he assessed business processes and implemented system solutions across all areas of science. Rajeev is currently a member of the board of directors of the public companies Solid Biosciences, Black Diamond Therapeutics and Satsuma Pharmaceuticals, as well as of a number of private biotechnology companies. He holds a B.A. from Cornell University, where he majored in Chemistry.
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- Executive Assistant
- Operations Manager
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- Founder
- Chief Scientific Advisor & Co - Founder
Steven A Greenberg, M.D., M.S. is a founder of Abcuro and the Chief Scientific Advisor. Steve is a clinical neurologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. His clinical and laboratory research focus involves translational medicine, inventing diagnostics including blood tests for dermatomyositis and inclusion body myositis, and therapeutics, including co-inventing a therapeutic monoclonal antibody for dermatomyositis currently in late-stage clinical trials. He has authored over 100 publications and served as Principal Investigator for multiple clinical trials. Steve received an A.B. degree in Mathematics from Princeton University, an M.S. degree in Medical Informatics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School through the Harvard-MIT Health Science and Technology Program.
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- Co - Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Pontifax
Tomer is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Pontifax. He serves as an active board member of many of the funds' portfolio companies, assuming a special responsibility for strategic planning. Among other positions, Tomer serves as the chairman at Eloxx Pharmaceuticals, board member in Cathworks, Keros Therapeutics, Ocon Healthcare, ARMGO and V-Wave. During the 10 years prior to establishing Pontifax, he held senior management positions at top Israeli financial institutions, playing a key role in investing in, nurturing and managing technology-driven startups. Tomer holds a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
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- President of Hongsen Investment Group
Yajun Xu is currently president of Hongsen Investment Group. She also serves as Senior Advisor for Shangbay Capital, co-founder of Epimab, and board member and advisor on numerous biotech companies in U.S. and China. Previously, she was Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Shangpharma, Executive Vice President of Biology and Pre-Clinical Service at Chempartner in Shanghai, China. Prior to Joining Shangpharma, Yajun was Director of Inflammation at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Senior Scientist at BASF Bioresearch (now AbbVie Bioresearch). She received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry at Brandeis University and postdoctoral training at Harvard School of Public Health.
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- Director, Quality Systems