Who we are
We are a clinical stage oncology focused company developing novel gene therapies focused on dermatological and visceral cancers.
Board
Dr. Clement Leong, PhD, MBA
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Dr. Leong has a pharma/biotech and venture capital background in Australia and the United States (Schering Plough Biopharma/DNAX, Entelos, SciVentures Investments), and over 20 years of experience and in leading financings and therapeutic/device development programs.
Dr. Leong received his PhD (Medicine) from the University of Western Australia and his MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management.
Michael Lamprecht, PhD
Director
Michael Lamprecht is an Investment Manager at Tenmile, based in Sydney, specializing in biotechnology, startups, and early-stage investments. With over 15 years in the field, he has a unique background in developing regulatory and clinical strategies for novel cell-based therapies.
His previous roles include Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Xora Innovation, Singapore, and Director of Regulatory Affairs at EpiBone, a U.S. biotech firm pioneering adult stem cell-based bone and cartilage grafts. Mike holds a PhD in biomedical engineering from Columbia University, along with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Boston University.
Dr. Edward McKenna, PharmD
Non-Executive Director
Dr. McKenna recently retired from Genentech, Inc. after 18 years of service. He was formerly Principal Medical Science Director in US Medical Affairs and Medical Partner/Lead for the Skin Cancer Franchise. He has held positions at Roche and Genentech, Inc, where he led medical teams for colorectal cancer, gastric cancer and breast cancer as well as serving as a Medical Science Liaison for gastrointestinal and breast cancer.
Dr. McKenna received his PhD from the University of Kentucky.
Michael Derby, MS, MBA
Non-Executive Director
Mr. Derby is the Founder and Managing Partner at TardiMed Sciences, a company creation and investment firm in the life sciences space. He is a successful entrepreneur, investor and operating executive, having founded, led and exited a number of startup companies developing important biopharmaceutical products. He previously held commercial roles at Merck & Co. and Forest Laboratories, and served as a venture capitalist for several years investing in biopharmaceutical and medical technology companies.
Mr. Derby received an MS from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Management
Dr. Geoffrey Pietersz, PhD
Vice President, Technology Development
Dr. Pietersz has over 30 years of experience in the development of immunotherapies, gene therapies, engineered biologics and small molecule inhibitors at Prima Biomed, 4G Vaccines, IgaVax, Avipep, Ascend Biopharma, and EnVision Sciences. He is Professor at the Baker Institute.
Dr. Pietersz received his PhD from the University of Melbourne.
Dr. Jacqui Waterkeyn, PhD
Vice President, Clinical Operations and Regulatory Affairs
Dr. Waterkyn has more than 25 years of regulatory affairs, clinical operations, and product development experience in the biotech and pharma sectors, including as the sponsor for a phase 1 unit (10 years at Nucleus Network), in contract research organisations and investigator-initiated trials. She has held operational and project oversight of more than 100 commercial and academic trials across multiple therapeutic areas.
Dr. Waterkyn received her PhD from the University of Melbourne.
Dr. Satish Menon, PhD
Vice President, Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC)
Dr. Menon has over 30 years of experience in process development and manufacture, including in roles as Technology Officer at Object Pharma and Allergan, Senior Consultant at PVP Biologicals and Senior Technology Consultant at Seq-Biomarque LLC. He has led and advised GMP development and manufacture of 10 biologics/gene therapies, from preclinical to Phase 3.
Dr. Menon received his PhD in Biochemistry from the Indian Institute of Science and undertook his postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School.
Jacques Banchereau, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Jacques Banchereau, PhD, has studied the human Immune system for more than four decades both in academic and Pharma/Biotech research centers. At the Schering-Plough/ DNAX Laboratory for Immunological Research in Lyon, Jacques focused on the discovery and characterization of numerous human cytokines and the biology of human B-cells and dendritic cells (DCs). At the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research in Dallas, which he founded, Jacques pursued human DC biology and the therapeutic use of DCs in cancer and infectious diseases. In the field of inflammation, Jacques contributed to studies on the role of type I interferon in systemic lupus erythematosus and IL-1 in systemic onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis, which led to the treatment of this unmet medical need. As CSO at Roche in New Jersey, Jacques oversaw the discovery and development unit in the areas of virology and inflammation. At the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine in Connecticut, Jacques built a human immunology research program and ran a laboratory studying autoimmune diseases, responses to vaccination and the role of alternative splicing in cancer. Most recently Jacques served as the Chief Science Officer (CSO) at Immunai (New York). During his career, Jacques authored and co-authored >500 papers with >138,000 citations (h-index of 166).
Jacques completed his Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of Paris in 1980.