SYNBAL - Key Persons
Clyde's corporate business development, marketing and commercialization expertise spans over 30 years in more than ten biotechnology (e.g. Cytori, DeCode Genetics, Prometheus Laboratories) and pharmaceutical companies at all stages of development, from start-up to established multinational organizations (e.g. Baxter, Amgen, Abbott). He has successfully implemented the global strategic vision and robust business plans for advanced healthcare products. He has demonstrated strength in forging solid collaborations and aligning objectives across scientific and international commercial organizations and for building, launching and expanding product portfolios.
Job Titles:
- Corporate and Securities Partner
Dan Koeppen is a corporate and securities partner in the firm's San Diego office. Dan specializes in corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, and venture capital financings. He has extensive experience representing public and private life science and technology companies in a wide range of sectors, including biotechnology, consumer products, data security, medical device, pharmaceutical, semiconductor, software, and social media, through all stages of their growth from start-up to mature public companies. In addition, Dan represents leading investment banks in their underwriting transactions, and regularly advises numerous venture capital firms and corporate strategic investors in connection with their investments in emerging growth companies.
David has a successful track record in leading Drug Discovery, Research and Development programs at mid sized and emerging Biotech companies which led to numerous late stage clinical development candidates and product launches.
While VP of Research and site head at Celgene, San Diego, he led the initial project team that developed Otezla. At Syrrx (now Takeda) as VP Drug Discovery, he founded and led the team that discovered and developed Nesina (alogliptin) for type II diabetes; at OSI Pharmaceuticals as Corporate VP of Discovery he was associated with thel acquisition and development of Tarceva. During his years at Syntex (now Roche) as Distinguished Scientist and Director, Institute of Immunology and Biological Science, he was part of the development team for CelCept, a drug that treats transplant rejection.
David has published more than 200 papers and abstracts and has been a member of numerous editorial boards and study sections in Immunology. David obtained his Ph.D. in Microbiology from Rutgers University.
The unifying theme of Dr. Kim Cooper's research program centers on identifying the developmental and genetic mechanisms that reshaped the vertebrate limb during evolution. Soon after Dr. Cooper established a laboratory, as an Assistant Professor, colleagues at UCSD (Drs. Bier and Gantz) demonstrated the first CRISPR-Cas9 mediated gene drives in insects. Their findings nucleated a group of laboratories at UCSD, including that of Dr. Cooper, these groups are now working synergistically to adapt CRISPR-Cas9 gene drives in a variety of vertebrate species. Cooper's lab is spearheading efforts to identify the conditions for efficient CRISPR-Cas9 mediated gene drive in mice. Work in Cooper's lab, on mice, is about one year more advanced than that planned in the rat, the promoters Cooper's lab identifies will have a direct translation to the Rat. The unique environment at UCSD and the consultation available will allow us to complete the stated objectives in the time frame of these grants.
Job Titles:
- Distinguished Professor, UC San Diego
Dr. Steve Hedrick's career has focused on the immunobiology of T cells, and for many years this has entailed extensive use of mouse genetics. At the inception of transgenic mouse technology, Hendrick set up a free-standing transgenic/knockout facility for my laboratory, which became the UCSD Knockout core. Hendrick helped create some of the first T cell clones, and characterized some antigen-specific T cell clones that were used to clone the beta-chain of the T cell antigen receptor. In Hendrick lab, he analyzed an extensive set of T cell clones to unravel the basis of antigen and MHC specificity in the TCR-showing that the 3rd CDRs were important for peptide specificity. His lab has studied the development of T cells, signaling in T cells, and the conceptual basis for T cell differentiation. More recently, Hendrick has become interested in reprogramming T cells for use in immunotherapy, and this was recognized by the recent award of a Director's Transformative Grant to study the use of Active Genetics in somatic cells.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Member of the Board
- Professor in the Section of Cell
Ethan Bier is a professor in the section of Cell and Developmental Biology at UC San Diego. He has been engaged in analysis of developmental pathways that establish the primary axes of the fruit fly embryo and larva in Drosophila for more than 30 years. His group at UCSD also pioneered analysis of human disease using Drosophila as model system. A major focus of this work was the identification of a cellular trafficking pathway as a key target of toxins produced by bacterial pathogens causing anthrax and cholera. Most recently, Dr. Bier's lab invented the CRISPR-based Active Genetics (e.g., gene drive) technology which is key to the team's ability to create the humanized 9-in-9-out CYP450 rat quickly and efficiently.
Ethan received his Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School on regulation of immune genes in Dr. Allan Maxam's laboratory. He did his postdoctoral studies on development of the nervous system at UCSD with Drs. Lily and Yuh Nung Jan (1985-90) and then assumed a faculty position at UCSD in 1990. He is an Alfred P. Sloan and Basil O'Connor Scholar.
Kurt's expertise and track record is in leading research programs, preclinical studies from concept to commercial launch including writing sections for IND and NDA for companies like Anacor Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Pfizer), Pfizer, Iconix Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Entelos) and earlier in his career at Roche Biosciences as Deputy Therapeutic Head, Inflammation/Immunomodulation. Roche acquired Syntex where he conducted drug discovery research. His expertise in writing and recruiting partners for non-dilutive grants has already resulted in a successful SBIR application for Synbal.
Kurt has a PhD degree in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a B.S.-Biochemistry (with Honors) from North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Dr. Kurt Jarnagin has 58 publications and 11 granted patents and was awarded the: E.K. Frey-E. Werle, International Kinin Chemistry Prize of the Henning-Voight Foundation of Germany, 1993.
Job Titles:
- President Biotech Development
Rick has been actively involved in drug discovery, metabolism, toxicology and preclinical development for more than 30 years for companies like Celgene, Schering Plough and Merck. He has more than 60 peer-reviewed publications in areas of toxicology, pathology, drug metabolism, and nonclinical drug development. Prior to that he also worked with the National Toxicology Program, and the Agricultural Research Unit of the US Dept of Agriculture. He has served as President of the American Board of Toxicology and was active in PhRMA, the Innovation & Quality Board of Directors and the Preclinical Safety Leadership Group. Rick has been responsible for over 200 IND's and six registered drugs, both in the US and globally. His experience spans small molecules, biologics, gene therapy, and compounds intended for livestock and aquatic species. He has experience with health authorities that has spanned pre-IND to Advisory Committee meetings.
Job Titles:
- Fundraising & Corporate Business Development
Sibylle's international professional career spans over 20 years in global Pharma, emerging Biotech and biologic contract manufacturing with a successful track record in corporate business development, licensing, fundraising, strategic planning and international marketing including a US biopharmaceutical product launch. During her 9 years at Boehringer Mannheim, she held a variety of global management positions until they were acquired by Hoffman-La-Roche. Her diverse technology experience includes innovative technology projects such as stem cell therapy, gene therapy, diagnostic assays in a wide variety of disease areas including cardiology, oncology, autoimmune diseases, Hepatitis C, antibiotic resistance and progressive neurodegenerative diseases. In the past 3 years she has been actively involved in fundraising and corporate business development for biotech & diagnostic start-ups. Sibylle holds a graduate degree in business administration from Friedrich-Alexander-University in Erlangen-Nuernberg, Germany.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Founder
Dr. Goldenberg is a San Diego, CA based serial entrepreneur and executive. He has over 20 years of experience launching and managing successful start-up companies. Among them, is AIS/Spectranetics, medical device company he co-founded that was later acquired by Philips for $2.1 billion in June 2017. He co-founded the Purchasing Group, which became BICOM, the largest, most experienced advocate for California's life science sector, working on behalf of more than 900 companies. He has raised about $175 million for several companies, including medical devices, biotech, and IT/cyber security companies.
Dr. Goldenberg work is published in numerous articles in scientific journals and book chapters. He has over 30 patents registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He is a frequently invited speaker at several academic and corporate events including Harvard Business School and the United States Congressional House of Representatives. He was inducted into NASA's Hall of Fame for his work in 1994.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Member of the Board
Valentino's research at UCSD has been focused on understanding the link between morphological structure and DNA. During the process of obtaining functional data for this project he came to the invention of the Mutagenic Chain Reaction (MCR), a CRISPR/Cas9-based technology that alters mendelian inheritance and has tremendous promise in combating diseases spread by mosquitos (malaria, dengue fever, chikungunya) and pests and invasive species.
Valentino Gantz's work resulted in the first peer-reviewed publication of a gene drive based on the CRISPR/Cas9 technology Gene drive elements. A subsequent publication then described the first proof-of-principle application in a disease-relevant species - the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles stephensib. Gene drives offer a potential solution to numerous problems affecting human health (Malaria, Dengue, Zika, Chikungunya, Chagas), agricultural pests (spotted wing fruit fly, olive fly, Mediterranean fruit fly). The type of inheritance obtained by this kind of genetic element bypasses the rules of Mendelian genetics that we all know.
Valentino obtained his PhD in biology at UCSD and has over 10 publications.