Domann in the News

We are pleased to share that the Domann Organization is celebrating 35 years in the retained executive search business serving the Life Sciences.

Thank you to all who have been part of our history improving the lives of many.

We look forward to continuing to build Life Science companies, creating value to our clients, their investors and the candidates we place who excel in their professions.

“the greatest achievement of the human spirit is to live up to one’s opportunities and make the most of one’s resources” Vauvenargues

Mary Jane Geiger, M.D., Ph.D. Chief Medical Officer

Rita Shaw, PharmD Global Vice President, Regulatory Affairs

Ora Pescovitz, M.D. Independent Board Member

Angela Hecyk, B.S. Senior Clinical Project Manager

Kristi Schneider, MSN, RN, ANP-BC Senior Clinical Research Scientist

In the past several years, 67% of our placements are diverse, sought after talent.

Founded in San Francisco. Domann, in June 2023 we will be celebrating 35 years in the retained search business exclusively representing Life Science companies.

Our hires create immediate and long-term value for the client, investors and candidate.

Over the past 24 months we successfully completed key searches for the following private companies:

MBX Biosciences, (Independent Board Member, Chief Medical Officer, Global Vice President Regulatory)

Medikine, (President/Chief Medical Officer/Board Member)

Lengo Therapeutics, (Chief Medical Officer)

Estrigenix Therapeutics, (Executive Chair)

OnLume Surgical, (Chief Executive Officer)

ShouTi, (Senior Vice President, Biology)

Sardocor/Medera Bio (Vice President, Quality Operations, Vice President, Technical Operations)

Recent IPO public companies:

Inozyme Pharma (Senior Vice President, Technical Operations, Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer)

Oncolytics Biotech, (Chief Medical Officer, Executive Director, Clinical Operations, 

Executive Director, Translational Sciences, Medical Director, Clinical Development-Oncology)

Why Domann stands apart: Value creation for client, candidate, and investor. Name recognition, experience, knowledge of the Life Sciences community. Transparency, track record, network and trust.

It has been an active 24 months and we are looking forward to continuing building winning Life Science companies which make a major impact on people’s lives.

When considering search…consider Domann, Life Science leadership.

Bill Domann Email: bill@domann.net Jovanna Bost Email: jbost@domann.net 

Financing led by Wellington Management with participation from other leading healthcare funds.

CARMEL, Ind., Nov. 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MBX Biosciences, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing Precision Endocrine Peptide™ (PEP™) therapeutics to treat an array of endocrine disorders, today announced the closing of a $115 million Series B financing. The Series B financing was led by Wellington Management with participation from RA Capital Management and Norwest Venture Partners along with existing investors Frazier Life Sciences, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and OrbiMed. In addition, Tiba Aynechi, Ph. D., general partner at Norwest Venture Partners, will join the MBX board.“MBX has grown tremendously as a company since closing our Series A two years ago, including bringing our lead program MBX 2109 into the clinic, achieving proof of mechanism and now starting the multiple ascending dose portion of our Phase 1 trial,” said Kent Hawryluk, President and Chief Executive Officer of MBX Biosciences. “With the support of these leading healthcare investors, we look forward to further advancing our Precision Endocrine Peptides as part of our goal to improve outcomes and quality of life for patients with endocrine disorders.”Proceeds of the financing will support MBX into early 2025 as it develops transformative therapeutics known as Precision Endocrine Peptides (PEPs™) designed to overcome limitations of traditional peptide therapeutics. This includes continued clinical advancement of its lead product candidate, MBX 2109, which is in development for the treatment of hypoparathyroidism and currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial. In addition, proceeds will support the company’s preclinical pipeline, led by MBX 1416, and discovery programs in endocrine diseases.“We are encouraged by the progress that MBX has made to date, including advancing its PEP therapeutic candidates and building a strong team to lead the organization into the future,” said Nilesh Kumar, Ph.D., Co-Head, Biotech Private Investment at Wellington Management. “We believe the company is well positioned to bring significant benefit to patients with endocrine disorders, and we are pleased to join a great investor syndicate in supporting the company.”About MBX BiosciencesMBX Biosciences, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering Precision Endocrine Peptide™ (PEP™) therapeutic candidates to help people with endocrine disorders live fuller and healthier lives. MBX is advancing a pipeline of PEPs for clinically validated targets designed to deliver superior pharmaceutical properties and overcome key limitations of native peptide therapeutics. MBX 2109, its lead product candidate in development for the treatment of hypoparathyroidism (HP), is currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial. The company is supported by leading life science investors including Frazier Life Sciences, NEA, OrbiMed, Wellington Management, RA Capital Management and Norwest Venture Partners. MBX is based in Carmel, Indiana.

The company yesterday announced it’s getting a one-year grant through the National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovation Research program. The funding will be used for pre-clinical studies of a drug that aims to reduce the negative symptoms of menopause while lowering the risk for dementia later in life.

According to a release from the business, when women experience declining estrogen production as they age, menopausal symptoms such as anxiety, depression, memory problems, sleep disruption and hot flashes can occur.

While existing hormone replacement therapies can help address these symptoms, Estrigenix says they can also lead to higher risk for breast cancer and strokes due to blood clots. The company is developing therapies that target specific estrogen receptors in the body in hopes of creating a “safer alternative” to traditional HRT.

Prior research conducted by Estrigenix has also shown reducing hot flashes can also lower the risk of developing dementia later on, per the release.

CEO and co-founder William Donaldson says the NIH funding represents “an important milestone” in the company’s drug development process.

“It’s exciting to see our research acknowledged and validated by such a renowned national organization that is committed to our efforts in helping women as they age,” he said in the release.

See more on the company: https://www.estrigenix.com

See the release: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2022/estrigenix-therapeutics-awarded-300000-grant-from-the-national-institutes-of-health

Patricia Scheller has over 30 years of executive experience in various healthcare industries. In addition to her role as Executive Chair of Estrigenix, she is the Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors at Intellectual Holdings, LLC, along with a member of the Board of Directors at the non-profit Cardiovascular Institute of Philadelphia. Before this, she was the Chief Executive Officer and Board Director of Viveve, Inc. In this role, Ms. Scheller took the company from a shelved VC-backed shell to a Nasdaq-listed (VIVE) company over three years and oversaw a $100M market capitalization with nine consecutive quarters of growth. Ms. Scheller has served as a senior advisor to the Swiss government on the exportation of medical products to the United States and was the co-founder of and served as CEO and Director at Prescient Medical. Ms. Scheller received her B.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University and completed executive business education programs at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University and Northwestern University. In 2016, she received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering, the first female recipient of the award in the school’s history.

Sardocor is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel therapies for patients with heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases. Sardocor is engaged in gene therapy, with a proven novel viral vector system based on Adeno-Associated Vector.

BOSTON, June 07, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Inozyme Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: INZY), a clinical-stage rare disease biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of abnormal mineralization, today announced the appointment of Kurt Gunter, M.D., as chief medical officer. Dr. Gunter, who most recently served as chief medical officer, cell therapy, and head of regulatory affairs at Athenex, brings to Inozyme over 30 years of expertise in regulatory affairs, clinical development, and government relations.

“It is a pleasure to welcome Kurt to the Inozyme team to lead Inozyme’s clinical development and regulatory strategy,” said Axel Bolte, MSc, MBA, Inozyme’s co-founder, president, and chief executive officer. “Kurt’s experience across the entirety of the drug development process will be invaluable as we advance INZ-701 in our ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trials in patients with ENPP1 Deficiency and ABCC6 Deficiency and prepare for our later-stage studies.”

“ENPP1 Deficiency and ABCC6 Deficiency represent two devastating rare diseases for which there are currently no approved therapies,” said Dr. Gunter. “I firmly believe that INZ-701 could serve as a much-needed intervention for patients suffering from these highly underserved areas, and I look forward to contributing to Inozyme’s mission of addressing these urgent unmet needs.”

Prior to Athenex, Dr. Gunter served as chief medical officer at Kuur Therapeutics (formerly Cell Medica), where he headed the medical affairs, clinical operations, and regulatory affairs departments. He also previously held positions of increasing responsibility at Hospira, Inc., including vice president, clinical development, and global medical director for hematology-oncology. Before Hospira, Dr. Gunter held positions at Zymequest, ViaCell, and Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc. While at Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc., he played an integral role in the global regulatory strategy for Replagal, an enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) approved for Fabry disease. He also previously served as president of the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT), where he played a worldwide leadership role in promoting understanding of the clinical, regulatory, manufacturing, and marketing requirements for the successful development of cell and gene therapies.

Prior to his biotech career, Dr. Gunter worked at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a medical officer in the Center for Biologics and was appointed acting deputy director of the Division of Cell and Gene Therapy within the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. He also served for five years on the FDA’s Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee.

Dr. Gunter earned his M.D. from the University of Kansas School of Medicine, and also has a B.S. in Biological Sciences, with Distinction, from Stanford University. His postdoctoral training included Johns Hopkins University and the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

About Inozyme Pharma

Inozyme Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: INZY) is a clinical-stage rare disease biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of diseases of abnormal mineralization impacting the vasculature, soft tissue, and skeleton. Through our in-depth understanding of the biological pathways involved in mineralization, we are pursuing the development of therapeutics to address the underlying causes of these debilitating diseases. It is well established that two genes, ENPP1 and ABCC6, play key roles in a critical mineralization pathway and that defects in these genes lead to abnormal mineralization. We are initially focused on developing a novel therapy, INZ-701, to treat the rare genetic diseases of ENPP1 and ABCC6 Deficiencies. INZ-701 is currently in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for the treatment of ENPP1 Deficiency and ABCC6 Deficiency.

Inozyme Pharma was founded in 2017 by Joseph Schlessinger, Ph.D., Demetrios Braddock, M.D., Ph.D., and Axel Bolte, MSc, MBA, with technology developed by Dr. Braddock and licensed from Yale University. For more information, please visit www.inozyme.com.

MBX Biosciences today announced the appointment of Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, M.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Pescovitz currently serves as President of Oakland University, a public university in Michigan with over 17,000 students. She is a renowned academic leader, health care executive, pediatric endocrinologist and researcher, and has published extensively.

Domann recently recruited MBX Biosciences Chief Medical Officer and Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs.

Joe has over a decade’s worth of experience in the development of immune-oncology therapeutics. Most recently, Joe was Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MRTX), where he was responsible for leading the clinical development of their portfolio of selective KRAS inhibitors and other small molecules for cancer therapy. Prior to Mirati, he served as Chief Medical Officer of Synthorx, a company focused on the application of synthetic biology in the discovery and development of cytokines that was acquired by Sanofi in late 2019. Prior to Synthorx, he served as Chief Medical Officer at ARMO Biosciences, a late-stage immuno-oncology company that was acquired by Eli Lilly in May 2018. Prior to these roles, Joe was Chief Medical Officer of EMD Serono, the North American subsidiary of Merck KGaA, and Vice President and Head of US Medical Oncology at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he was part of the team developing and commercializing the first generation of immuno-oncology therapeutics. He has also held key medical leadership positions at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Cephalon Oncology, and Amgen. Joe received a BS in Biology and Mathematics from Santa Clara University, an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and an MD from The University of Texas School of Medicine in Houston, TX. He completed his post-graduate medical training in internal medicine at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a teaching affiliate of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Medikine, Inc. is a preclinical development-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of peptide-based agonists of heterodimeric receptors for clinically relevant cytokines. Medikine’s peptide-based agonists have unique advantages over cytokine modification approaches. The company recently completed a $32M Series A financing led by Samsara Biocapital.

Inozyme Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: INZY) is a clinical-stage rare disease biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of diseases of abnormal mineralization impacting the vasculature, soft tissue, and skeleton. Through our in-depth understanding of the biological pathways involved in mineralization, we are pursuing the development of therapeutics to address the underlying causes of these debilitating diseases. It is well established that two genes, ENPP1 and ABCC6, play key roles in a critical mineralization pathway and that defects in these genes lead to abnormal mineralization. We are initially focused on developing a novel therapy, INZ-701, to treat the rare genetic diseases of ENPP1 and ABCC6 Deficiencies. INZ-701 is currently in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for ENPP1 Deficiency.

Inozyme Pharma was founded in 2017 by Joseph Schlessinger, Ph.D., Demetrios Braddock, M.D., Ph.D., and Axel Bolte, MSc, MBA, with technology developed by Dr. Braddock and licensed from Yale University.

Sardocor is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel therapies for patients with heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases. Sardocor is engaged in gene therapy, with a proven novel viral vector system based on Adeno-Associated Vector.

Blueprint Medicines Completes Acquisition of Lengo Therapeutics…Expands Blueprint Medicines’ lung cancer pipeline with LNG-451, a highly selective brain-penetrant precision therapy targeting EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations. Investigational New Drug application for LNG-451 submitted to U.S. FDA by Lengo Therapeutics in December.

Oncolytics Biotech is a biotechnology company developing pelareorep, an intravenously delivered immuno-oncolytic virus. The compound induces selective tumor lysis and promotes an inflamed tumor phenotype – turning “cold” tumors “hot” – through innate and adaptive immune responses to treat a variety of cancers. Pelareorep has demonstrated synergies with immune checkpoint inhibitors and may also be synergistic with other approved immuno-oncology agents. Oncolytics is currently conducting and planning additional studies in combination with checkpoint inhibitors and targeted therapies in solid and hematological malignancies, as it prepares for a phase 3 registration study in metastatic breast cancer.

Founded in San Francisco in 1988, Domann opened its San Diego office in 2001 and thanks the companies and individuals in the community who we served and supported.

MBX Biosciences is a preclinical-stage biotech company committed to creating therapies to treat rare endocrine diseases where there is inadequate treatment available. MBX’s leadership team has collaborated successfully over several decades to discover, develop, and commercialize first-in-class endocrine therapeutics. A distinguishing strength of MBX is world-class proprietary peptide drug discovery.

MBX’s clinical program for its lead clinical candidate will commence in mid-2021. The company is building a pipeline of additional product candidates targeting rare endocrine disorders that are targeted to enter Phase 1 development by the end of 2021.

MBX recently closed a $34.6 million Series A financing led by Frazier Healthcare Partners, with participation from OrbiMed, New Enterprise Associates, Indiana Philanthropic Venture Fund (IUPhV) Indiana Seed Fund III (managed by BioCrossroads) and Twilight Venture Partners II which will fund MBX’s next stage of development building a world-class drug development company in Indianapolis, Indiana.

SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Lengo Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel precision medicines targeting driver mutations in oncology, today announced the appointment of Diana Hausman, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer. In this role, Dr. Hausman will be responsible for leading clinical development and strategy for the Company.

“Diana brings invaluable experience and expertise to our team, as we advance our pipeline of best-in-class precision therapeutics for treatment-resistant cancers,” said Helen Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer, Lengo Therapeutics. “Her experience leading several clinical programs in oncology from first in human through to registrational studies is incredibly relevant, as we prepare for our next stage of growth.”

“I am excited to join the incredible team at Lengo, and work alongside a world-class team of scientists and leaders in kinase inhibition developing transformative therapeutics in oncology,” said Dr. Hausman. “I look forward to leveraging my extensive clinical experience in the biotechnology industry to lead the continued development of Lengo’s pipeline for cancer patients with unmet medical needs.”

Dr. Diana Hausman is a board-certified medical oncologist with over 20 years of clinical drug development experience. Prior to joining Lengo, she served as Chief Medical Officer for Zymeworks Inc. for 5 years. While at Zymeworks, Dr. Hausman oversaw all aspects of clinical development, including advancement of the HER2-targeted biparatopic antibody zanidatamab from initial IND to ongoing global Phase 2 and pivotal studies, including breakthrough therapy designation for biliary tract cancer.

Dr. Hausman was previously CMO at Oncothyreon Inc where she oversaw the Phase 1b and early Phase 2 clinical program for the HER2-targeted small molecule, tucatinib. She has also held positions of increasing responsibility at ZymoGenetics, Berlex, and Immunex, working across multiple indications, including oncology, hematology, hepatitis C and autoimmune disease. Dr. Hausman received her internal medicine and specialty training in hematology and medical oncology at the University of Washington. She received her M.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, and an A.B. in biology from Princeton University.

About Lengo Therapeutics

Lengo Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company committed to developing novel, precision medicines targeting driver mutations in oncology. Lengo has assembled a team of scientists and industry leaders with extensive expertise in kinase biology, covalent drug-target technology and oncology drug development. The company’s vision is to develop a pipeline of investigational candidates that can offer benefit to patients with cancers harboring driver mutations. Lengo Therapeutics is based in San Diego. For more information, please visit www.lengotx.com.

Funding supports commercial launch of novel fluorescence image-guided surgery system

MADISON, WISCONSIN, April 30, 2021, BusinessWire – OnLume Surgical, a Wisconsin-based medical device company developing novel imaging systems for use during surgery, announced the completion of its Series A funding to assist its plans for commercial launch.

OnLume raised over $7 Million in this financing, adding to a $2 Million Phase II SBIR grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), awarded in late 2020.

“The completion of the Series A financing, plus the Phase II grant from NCI, provides the resources for important milestones ahead during the next 24 months,” stated James A. Bowman, OnLume’s Chief Executive Officer. “These activities include commercial launch into our first market vertical and progress on other market opportunities.”

“This achievement highlights the promise of OnLume’s patented technology in the field of fluorescence-guided surgery, which illuminates critical anatomy in real-time during surgery to optimize precision, helping to improve patient outcomes, reduce morbidity and reduce costs,” added Mr. Bowman.

This Series A financing was led by Cambridge Investment Group (Luzich Partners LLC) and participation included WARF Ventures (Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation) and Wisconsin Investment Partners (WIP).

About OnLume Inc.: OnLume Inc. is a surgical device company which recently received its first FDA regulatory clearance to bring its fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) imaging system to market. The technology is cleared for fluorescence imaging of blood flow and tissue perfusion before, during and after vascular, gastrointestinal, organ transplant, plastic, reconstructive and microsurgeries.

OnLume is developing further applications of its imaging platform, including FGS for cancer surgery in which tumor-specific drugs could deliver fluorescent agents to cancer cells to help surgeons identify residual cancer tissue that are otherwise invisible.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Research referenced in this press release is supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under the award number R44CA206754. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

OnLume Contact Information:
James A. Bowman
Chief Executive Officer
OnLume Surgical
jim.bowman@onlume.com
https://www.onlume.com

ShouTi is a global drug discovery company focused on bridging the affordability and accessibility gap that exists with groundbreaking medicines in the world, many of which are out of reach to most of the patients living in developing countries.

With locations in Shanghai, San Francisco, and San Diego, CA. ShouTi has the benefit of global expertise and innovation and flexible external resources to conduct efficient drug discovery and development activities.

Management Team – ShouTi is led by an experienced team of drug hunter entrepreneurs.
Ray Stevens, CEO, Xichen Lin, President & GM Shanghai, Michael Hansen, CTO and Jun Yoon, COO.

It is our pleasure to you to a webinar that answers the question How do you Operationalize Your HR Diversity Promise for Real Change?

Increasingly company’s have made commitments to hire diverse candidates at all levels of their organizations. But without a talent strategy and an examination of hiring practices, many companies will fail to deliver on that promise even with the best intentions.

Join a panel of HR experts for a discussion on operationalizing a diversity in hiring promise.

SPEAKERS

Danica Elliott
Danica joined the Frazier Life Sciences team as Director of Human Capital in 2019. She focuses on executive-level talent assessments, organizational diligence, development programs, and alignment of talent strategies and resources that accelerate growth for Frazier’s investments. Danica joined Frazier as Director of Human Capital on the Frazier Growth Buyout team in 2018 and since 2019 has led the Human Capital program for the Frazier Life Sciences team.

Bill Domann
Bill Domann founded The Domann Organization in San Francisco in 1988. Combining his previous experience in search and his educational background, Bill started one of the first search firms focused exclusively on leadership for the Life Sciences. Over the course of 25 years, he has transformed his many years of Life Sciences industry knowledge, trusted relationships, and modern market insight into a proven recruitment methodology. The firm has grown from one office to four, located in San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, California. and Madison, Wisconsin.

Scott Ayotte
Scott Ayotte joined the Division of Inclusion and Equity at Grand Valley State University in 2017 as the Director of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity. In this role, Scott partners with university leadership to foster an inclusive environment for faculty, staff, and students. Scott oversees the university’s affirmative action program, consults with university leadership on inclusive talent acquisition and retention, and provides leadership and oversight of the Inclusion Advocates Program. In addition to his leadership role at the University, he is also a lead consultant for the Inclusion and Equity Institute at GVSU where he delivers strategic DEI solutions for local and regional organizations. His primary areas of expertise include inclusive talent acquisition, organizational development, talent management, and strategic planning.

Moderator Diane Bouis, PhD, Innovation Manager, Venture Accelerator, UM Tech Transfer

When: February, 18, 2021 – 12:00 to 1:00 PM
Where: Virtual Event
Cost: Free for members, $19 for nonmembers

Register Now

CARMEL, Indiana, January 5, 2020 — MBX Biosciences, a drug discovery company focused on rare endocrine diseases, today announced the appointment of Mary Jane Geiger, M.D., Ph.D., FACP, FAHA, to the newly created role of Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Geiger will oversee MBX’s global clinical drug development, bringing more than 20 years’ experience in clinical drug development and supporting multiple successful drug registrations. The search firm conducting the search assignment was The Domann Organization www.domann.net

“Mary Jane’s range of experience taking treatments through clinical studies to registration makes her an ideal addition to our team,” said Kent Hawryluk, president and chief executive officer of MBX Biosciences. “Her demonstrated creativity in clinical trial design and strong clinical research background complement our organization’s expertise. She will play a leading role in MBX’s transition into a clinical-stage company.”

Prior to joining MBX, Dr. Geiger served as vice president, drug development services – cardiovascular, at ICON, a global clinical research organization. She provided cardio-metabolic and renal therapeutic area and rare disease consulting and drug development expertise to pharmaceutical and biotech clients, assisting them in the successful development and delivery of their drug development portfolios. Dr. Geiger previously served as senior director, cardiovascular and metabolism at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, a publicly-traded biopharmaceutical company; as vice president, clinical development at Relypsa, a private pharmaceutical company; and as medical fellow I, Lilly Diabetes at Eli Lilly and Company. During her tenure at Lilly, Dr. Geiger was responsible for clinical development of Trulicity® from post-Phase 1 through completion of pivotal clinical studies. She began her biopharmaceutical industry career at Merck in 2000, and before this was in private practice, a clinical trial investigator, IRB member and chairman of the department of internal medicine. She has served as co-chair, scientific oversight committee, of the Cardiac Safety Research Consortium, a public-private partnership focused on the evaluation of cardiac safety of medical products, since 2015. Dr. Geiger earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Marquette University and her medical doctorate and Ph.D. from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She completed her internal medicine internship and residency at Duke University Medical Center with additional research in nephrology and cardiology, and she has authored numerous scientific and clinical publications.

“MBX’s technology offers differentiated solutions to address unmet medical needs in rare endocrine disease,” said Dr. Geiger. “I am excited to join MBX’s proven team and help advance the company’s pipeline through clinical development, registration and commercialization.”

About MBX Biosciences:

MBX Biosciences is a biotechnology company creating therapies for rare endocrine diseases. Members of MBX’s leadership team previously collaborated in the creation of highly successful endocrine drugs (Humalog®, Forteo®) and three Indiana-based companies (Marcadia, Calibrium and MB2). MBX is strengthened by world-class proprietary technology and drug candidates licensed from the DiMarchi Indiana University laboratory. The company is supported by investment from leading life science investors that include Frazier Healthcare Partners, OrbiMed, and New Enterprise Associates. For more information, please visit mbxbio.com.

Industry veteran brings deep experience growing companies, including as chairman and CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb, and as board member and CFO of Eli Lilly

CARMEL, Ind.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– MBX Biosciences, a drug discovery company focused in rare endocrine diseases, today announced the appointment of James Cornelius to its board of directors.

“Jim Cornelius is among the most accomplished global biopharmaceutical executives, and he is recognized for decades of leadership with highly successful organizations,” said Kent Hawryluk, president and chief executive officer of MBX Biosciences. “His insight and perspective as part of our board of directors will be invaluable as we continue to build a leading rare disease company.”

Mr. Cornelius served as chairman of the board of directors of Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) from February 2008 to May 2015, as well as BMY’s chief executive officer from September 2006 to March 2010. Under his leadership, BMY successfully completed a transformation into a leading specialty biopharmaceutical enterprise. He served as chairman of the board of Mead Johnson Nutrition from December 2009 to June 2017 when it was acquired by Reckitt Benckiser for $16 billion. Mr. Cornelius served as board chairman and chief executive officer of Guidant from November 2005 to April 2006 when it was acquired by Boston Scientific for $27 billion. He was executive chairman of the board of Guidant Corporation and its senior executive beginning in September 1994 when the company was formed within Eli Lilly (LLY). Mr. Cornelius was a member of LLY’s board of directors and its chief financial officer from 1983 until 1995. He has served on the board of directors of a dozen private and public companies, including The Chubb Corporation, The DIRECTV Group and Given Imaging. Mr. Cornelius is currently chairman of Cornelius Family Foundation and Cornelius Private Investments. He has served the United Way of Central Indiana in multiple leadership positions, and he has received several honorary doctorate degrees and achievement awards. He earned a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude and an MBA from Michigan State University.

“MBX’s therapeutic programs in rare endocrine diseases address significant unmet need,” said Mr. Cornelius. “I have worked with several MBX team members previously, including Kent Hawryluk and Richard DiMarchi, and I am impressed with the team, investor syndicate and technology they have assembled. I look forward to helping realize the company’s outstanding potential.”

Seventh Annual Event Celebrates Wisconsin’s Most Innovative Products and Services

MADISON, WI (October 14, 2020) – Last night, four winners were honored from ten finalists and almost 400 nominees during the 2020 Wisconsin Innovation Awards which was broadcast live from Milwaukee. The ceremony, emceed by Wisconsin local Denise Thomas, President at The Effective Communication Coach, LLC, recognized the state’s most innovative products and services. The 2020 winners were selected by a panel of 30 expert judges with backgrounds in many business sectors – technology, food, healthcare, agriculture, nonprofits, education, government, and the like – from throughout the state of Wisconsin.

“The Wisconsin Innovation Awards seek to celebrate and inspire innovation, and highlight the creative spirit from the state’s leading public, private and nonprofit sectors,” said Matt Younkle, Co-Founder of the Wisconsin Innovation Awards and Pythonic.AI. “We want to congratulate all finalists and winners from the 2020 Wisconsin Innovation Awards and look forward to encouraging an even greater environment of innovation in the year to come.” New this year, the event featured a live panel discussion with the winners and highlighted specific Wisconsin businesses who have responded to the COVID crisis.

The Wisconsin Innovation Awards Ceremony is presented by Alliant Energy, American Family Insurance, and Wipfli. Additional support provided by Exact Sciences, Green Clock, JP Cullen, Neider & Boucher, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, and the Wisconsin Union. Supporting sponsors include First Business Bank, gener8tor, HealthX Ventures, Endeavor, Madison College, Madison Gas & Electric, and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. Media support provided by Wisconsin Inno.

The 2020 Wisconsin Innovation Awards Winners:

OnLume Surgical
http://www.onlume.com
Madison
OnLume provides real time, surgical fluorescence imaging of blood flow, cancer and nerves.

Pinpoint Software Inc.: Date Check Pro
http://www.datecheckpro.com
Madison
Pinpoint Software helps the grocery and healthcare industry prevent expired inventory and improve
operational consistency.

SafeLi, LLC
http://www.safelimaterials.com
Shorewood
SafeLi is commercializing a patented material that enables higher performing, safer and faster charging
batteries.

People’s Choice: Madison Reading Project
http://madisonreadingproject.com
Madison
Madison Reading Project is putting free, high-quality, diverse books into the hands of underserved
children using their Big Red Reading Bus.

# # #

About the Wisconsin Innovation Awards
Led by a steering committee of business, community and entrepreneurial leaders, the WIA hopes to encourage an even greater environment of innovation by bringing innovators together from various business sectors (e.g. tech, food, healthcare, agriculture, nonprofits, education, government), and from throughout the state of Wisconsin.

For more information, press only:
Molly Walsh
608-698-5890
molly@wisconsininnovationawards.com

For more information:
www.wisconsininnovationawards.com
info@wisconsininnovationawards.com

Cellastra, Inc., a developer of novel cell and gene therapy assets, announced today that the company has appointed Brad Thompson, PhD, as new Chairman of the Board and Vinod Kumar, M.D, as Chief Medical Officer.

Brad Thompson has a long and distinguished career in the North American Biotech industry for more than 40 years, including as Chairman BIOTECanada and is currently chairman and CEO of Avamab Pharma Inc. and CEO of Kickshaw Ventures. He joined the Cellastra board in 2017 and was appointed Chief Technology Officer in 2018.

Vinod Kumar has a long and distinguished career in academic medicine as Professor at the University of Illinois and University of Miami. During his 16 years at Novartis, a leader in cell and gene therapy, he held positions as Section Head and Executive Global Program Medical Director, Development and Medical Affairs.

“We are excited that these appointments happen at this junction as we currently are accelerating the development of our proprietary platform for anti scarring gene therapy and are preparing for entering our clinical development. This puts the company at the frontier of the current gene therapy revolution. This is a first in man program using this new technology for scar prevention, a major unmet need in global health care,􏰀 says Dr. Karl Mettinger, MD, PhD, cofounder, President & CEO of Cellastra.
The Domann Organization is a Shareholder.

The Domann Organization, Domann-The Board Room Inc. established a presence in the Midwest in 2010 and is celebrating 10 years representing the Life Science Community. Bill Domann Founder & CEO was raised and educated in Wisconsin and founded the Domann Organization in San Francisco, 1988.
The platform for the Midwest practice is to recruit tenured leadership who have achieved “C” Suite status in the Life Sciences with roots in the Midwest, either having lived, educated or worked in the region now living on the coasts.

Domann also makes introductions to the Investment Community we have built and worked for over the past 20 plus years. Domann sponsors and supports key Investment Conferences in the region. Wisconsin Technology Council Early Stage Symposium & Wisconsin Entrepreneur’s Conference, Invest Midwest Venture Capital Forum, Michigan Growth Capital Symposium, MidAmerica Healthcare Venture Forum, BioForward-Bioscience Vision Summit, MRUN, Invest Midwest and BioCrossroads Indiana Life Sciences Summit. Domann is a member of BioForward, Bill served a three year term 2013 – 2016, MICHBIO and iBIO. Bill serves an Advisor to the Badger Fund and AmebaGone.

85% of Domann’s Client base is Seed, Series A & B Life Science start-ups.

Domann Midwest Search Activity

For additional information or to discuss search needs please contact Bill Domann @ bill@domann.net or Jovanna Bost @ jbost@domann.net.

MADISON, WI, June 9, 2020 /BusinessWire/ — OnLume Inc., a Madison, Wisconsin-based medical imaging company with unique technology for improving precision in the operating room, has announced the appointment of James A. Bowman as Chief Executive Officer.

OnLume has novel imaging technology for Fluorescence Guided Surgery (FGS). FGS illuminates critical anatomy to optimize surgical precision, leading to improved patient outcomes, reduced morbidity and reduced costs.

OnLume’s Chairman & Co-founder, Thomas “Rock” Mackie, stated, “With the appointment of Jim Bowman, we continue developing our core team in advance of market launch. Jim’s experience in launching innovative medical technologies expands our commitment and capability for a major impact in the surgical imaging market.” Adam Uselmann, OnLume’s President, CTO & Co-founder, added, “Our patented innovations expand the market potential of FGS across a broad range of surgical specialties, with a total available market of $8 Billion in the United States.”

Mr. Bowman has spent his entire career advancing innovative life science technologies. Jim received his Bachelor of Science degree in BioMedical Engineering from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is also a graduate of Harvard Business School’s OPM program, focused on entrepreneurial strategy and operations. Jim has held senior leadership positions in growing MedTech companies including as CEO, President and Director of public and private medical device companies. Jim has driven the business development of disruptive technologies in firms such as, C.R. BARD, Ohmeda (BOC Healthcare), Surgical Laser Technologies, CloudCath, Encision and PharmaJet, where he has been focused on technologies that advance the standard of care and improve patient outcome.

About the Company: OnLume recently received its first FDA clearance to bring its fluorescence-guided surgery system to market. The technology is cleared for fluorescence imaging of blood flow and tissue perfusion before, during, and after vascular, gastrointestinal, organ transplant, plastic, reconstructive and microsurgeries. OnLume is developing further applications of their imaging platform including FGS for cancer surgery, in which drugs such as tumor-specific antibodies could deliver fluorescent dye to cancer cells to help surgeons identify residual cancer tissue that is otherwise invisible.

The Domann Organization, Life Science Leadership conducted the retained search and is an Investor in OnLume.

OnLume Contact information:
James A. Bowman
Chief Executive Officer
jim.bowman@onlume.com
http://www.onlume.com

After 31 years of success, The DOMANN Organization/Board Room Inc. continues to focus on and represent early-stage Life Science clients. DOMANN recruits key executive talent that add and build immediate and long term value while leading our clients to their next level of success

Recent Clients:
Synthorx, Inc. – San Diego
Cortexyme, Inc. – San Francisco Bay Area
ChemioCare, Inc. – New York City
Neurana Pharmaceuticals – San Diego
Crinetics Pharmaceuticals – San Diego
Ankasa Regenerative Therapeutics – San Francisco Bay Area
Aristea Therapeutics, Inc. – San Diego
Gregor Diagnostics, Inc. – Madison
AIQ Solutions, Inc. – Madison
UW Health/Isthmus Project – Madison
Parvus Therapeutics, Inc. – San Francisco Bay Area
Gemphire Therapeutics, Inc. – Ann Arbor
Retrophin, Inc. – San Diego
Amebagone – Madison
Cleave Biosciences, Inc. – San Francisco Bay Area
TAI Diagnostics – Milwaukee
FluGen, Inc. – Madison
ShouTi – San Diego and Shanghai

DOMANN will be in San Francisco from January 12th to the 16th for the upcoming Life Science Investor conferences. If you are considering retained search, we would welcome the opportunity to schedule a visit to learn more about your company’s leadership requirements and share DOMANN’s approach, methodology, and proven track record of securing game-changing leadership.

Have a wonderful Holiday Season. We look forward to continued communications and building a relationship with you as we move into 2020 and beyond!

Sanofi and Synthorx, Inc. (NASDAQ: THOR), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on prolonging and improving the lives of people suffering from cancer and autoimmune disorders, entered into a definitive agreement under which Sanofi will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Synthorx for $68 per share in cash, which represents an aggregate equity value of approximately $2.5 billion (on a fully diluted basis).

The transaction was unanimously approved by both the Sanofi and Synthorx Boards of Directors. “This acquisition fits perfectly with our strategy to build a portfolio of high-quality assets and to lead with innovation, as you will hear at our Capital Markets Day tomorrow, December 10. Additionally, it is aligned with our goal to build our oncology franchise with potentially practice-changing medicines and novel combinations,” says Paul Hudson, Chief Executive Officer, Sanofi. “Synthorx’s exceptionally novel discovery platform has already produced a molecule that has the potential to become a foundation of the next generation of immunooncology combination therapies.

By selectively expanding the numbers of effector T-cells and natural killer cells in the body, THOR-707 can be combined with our current oncology medicines and our emerging pipeline of immuno-modulatory agents for treating cancer. Moreover, Synthorx’s pipeline of engineered lymphokines has great promise not only for oncology but also for addressing many autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.” says John Reed, M.D., Ph.D., Global Head of Research & Development at Sanofi. “We are grateful that Sanofi has acknowledged the value of our Expanded Genetic Alphabet platform and the potential of our pipeline of optimized therapeutics for cancer and autoimmune disorders,” says Laura Shawver, Ph.D., President, and Chief Executive Officer, Synthorx. “Importantly, Sanofi has a portfolio of therapeutics that holds incredible promise for combining with our cytokine Synthorins to benefit patients around the world. I want to thank our employees and the Sanofi organization for their relentless efforts on behalf of patients.”

Enhancing Sanofi’s Immuno-Oncology Franchise Synthorx’s lead immuno-oncology product candidate, THOR-707, a variant of interleukin-2 (IL-2), is in clinical development in multiple solid tumor types as a single agent and in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors. It has the potential to become the best-in-class IL-2 therapeutic for the treatment of solid tumors and demonstrate improved pharmacology, less frequent dosing, and therapeutic superiority when compared to other IL-2 compounds. The addition of THOR-707 and Synthorx’s other earlier-stage cytokine programs to Sanofi’s pipeline will enhance Sanofi’s position in oncology and in immuno-oncology. We expect IL-2 to become a foundation of future IO-IO combinations as well as offering multiple combination opportunities with Sanofi’s clinical and pre-clinical oncology assets, including with PD-1, CD-38, and molecules that modulate effector T-cells and natural killer cells. Synergistic with Sanofi’s existing platforms Synthorx’s Expanded Genetic Alphabet platform is expected to be a source for developing a differentiated therapeutic pipeline. Alone and in combination with other existing Sanofi platforms, including the Nanobody® technology, it will enable the company to develop a wide range of novel biologics, including drug conjugates, protein fusions, and multi-specific biologics, with applications beyond oncology and extending to other therapeutic areas

Madison, Wisconsin – A national biotechnology industry expert, academic-industry liaison and innovation leader has been selected as the first dedicated Isthmus Project executive director.

Elizabeth Hagerman, Ph.D., from Indianapolis, will join Dr. Thomas “Rock” Mackie, UW Health’s chief innovation officer, at the reins of UW Health’s innovation initiative.

Mackie acted as director since Isthmus Project formally launched in early 2019 and led the national search resulting in Hagerman’s hiring.

She was most recently the chief innovation and strategy officer at Conexus Indiana, whose mission is to lead innovative collaborations among industry, academic and public partners.

“From her early days in product development and research to her external and academic partnership experience at Rose-Hulman, and most recently being a chief innovation officer herself, Dr. Hagerman is ideally suited to lead the Isthmus Project,” Mackie said. “Looking at the vision of where we want to be, she is the perfect person to take us there.”

As director, Hagerman will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of Isthmus Project, which includes duties like meeting with potential innovators and partners, identifying projects with potential for growth and seeking funding for projects, as well as helping to develop and manage a long-term vision for growing Isthmus Project.

“Isthmus Project feels like a natural fit because it combines so many of my experiences from academia and industry in the areas of research, prototyping, product development and commercialization,” she said. “Crossing boundaries between science and business, academia and industry, and research and application is critical to innovation, and there isn’t a more exciting place to build those bridges than the healthcare field.”

Hagerman earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 2000, and both master’s and Ph.D. degrees in biomedical engineering from the University of California-Los Angeles.

She started her career with Baxter Healthcare in California, and for a time in Vienna, Austria, in a variety of roles related to product development, and later brand development, product launch and systems integration.

In 2012, Hagerman returned to Rose-Hulman as vice president of Rose-Hulman Ventures, a product design, rapid prototyping and development firm providing experience for student interns as they help external partners develop products and ideas.

Hagerman starts her position at Isthmus Project on Nov. 18.

PR Newswire, San Diego – September 3, 2019 – Aristea Therapeutics (Aristea), a clinical-stage drug development company developing novel therapies to treat serious inflammatory diseases, today announced the appointment of Nihar Bhakta, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer. In his new role, Dr. Bhakta will be responsible for leading and expanding Aristea’s clinical portfolio and will serve as a key member of its executive leadership team.

“Nihar joins Aristea at a critical time in our evolution, as we advance our lead program through Phase 2 and work to expand our portfolio with other valuable assets,” said Dr. James Mackay, President and CEO of Aristea Therapeutics. “His experience is broad and well-balanced, including key medical roles in large commercial organizations and emerging biotechnology companies, in addition to his work and training as a physician. We are confident that Nihar’s demonstrated track record will further our corporate and clinical goals, bringing value to Aristea and the patients that we are working to help.”

“As someone who has dedicated his career to developing important medicines for patients in need, I’m inspired by Aristea’s mission,” commented Dr. Bhakta. “I’m excited to join the Aristea team to help advance novel immuno-modulatory therapeutics, like RIST4721, to treat serious inflammatory diseases.”

Dr. Bhakta brings extensive experience in strategic clinical development, medical affairs, market evaluation, patient advocacy and regulatory oversight to Aristea. This experience includes multiple successful IND and NDA submissions to the U.S. FDA and MAA filings to the EMA. Most recently, Dr. Bhakta was Project Team Leader at Gossamer Bio (Gossamer). Prior to Gossamer, Dr. Bhakta served in several key positions at Ardea Biosciences (acquired by AstraZeneca in 2012) including Global Clinical Lead of the Gout Franchise. Dr. Bhakta has previously served in medical positions of increasing responsibility at Bristol Myers Squibb and Roche. Dr. Bhakta completed his training at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation for his residency and at UCLA Medical Center for his subspecialty training.

Dr. Bhakta received an A.B. in Biology from Brown University, M.D. from Penn State College of Medicine, and Board Certification in Pediatrics and Pediatric Nephrology. Dr. Bhakta is an author or co-author on numerous scientific publications and is a licensed physician in the state of California.

About Aristea Therapeutics

Aristea Therapeutics (Air-iss-tay-uh) is a clinical-stage drug development company developing novel therapies to treat serious inflammatory diseases. The Aristea team is leveraging its broad industry expertise and proven success in drug development to form synergistic partnerships and build a pipeline of novel drugs. Aristea’s lead program, RIST4721, is currently in Phase 2 clinical development. Aristea is headquartered in San Diego, CA. To learn more, please visit www.aristeatx.com.

August 6, 2019

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Cleave Therapeutics, Inc. (formerly Cleave Biosciences), a biopharmaceutical company focused on protein homeostasis and stress pathways in cancer and neurodegeneration, has appointed industry veterans Amy Burroughs as chief executive officer and Scott Harris as chief operating officer. Cleave also announced the closing of a $12 million financing to advance CB-5339, its second-generation, IND-ready, valosin-containing protein (VCP)/p97 inhibitor through early clinical development. The financing was led by 5AM Ventures, Celgene Corporation, Orbimed, U.S. Venture Partners (USVP), Arcus Ventures, Astellas Venture Management, and Osage University Partners (OUP).

Cleave’s lead drug development candidate, CB-5339, is a potent, oral, selective, second-generation inhibitor of VCP/p97, which addresses limitations of earlier compounds, including exposure and selectivity to the target. The company is initiating a Phase 1 clinical study in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), for which there is compelling preclinical data and a significant unmet medical need. In addition, the National Cancer Institute, which has a decades-long interest in VCP/p97 as a target, is planning to sponsor a Phase 1 trial with CB-5339 in solid tumors in collaboration with Cleave.

“There is increasing scientific rationale supporting VCP/p97 as a key regulator of cell processes critical for cancer cell survival, particularly in acute myeloid leukemia (AML),” said Peter Thompson, MD, partner, Orbimed and Cleave co-founder. “The Cleave team has made significant progress in overcoming the challenges of earlier molecules, and generated robust preclinical data from strategic collaborators at the National Cancer Institute and academic institutions.”

In addition to the management appointments, Laura Shawver, PhD, CEO of Synthorx, was named board chair of Cleave.

“We are thrilled that Cleave will be advancing CB-5339 to clinical development and welcome Ms. Burroughs to lead the company,” said Dr. Shawver. “Amy has spent her career helping move novel drug candidates through the drug development process with a focus on understanding market needs, building partnerships and attracting top-notch talent. She will be instrumental as the company prepares for clinical studies in hematologic malignancies and solid tumors and continues to assess the potential in neurodegenerative diseases.”

Ms. Burroughs brings more than 25 years of healthcare and life sciences leadership experience, most recently serving as executive-in-residence (EIR) at 5AM Ventures and as a strategic commercial advisor to Crinetics Pharmaceuticals. She began her biopharmaceutical career at Genentech and was previously founder and managing partner of The Ventral Group, a strategic life sciences consulting and investor advisory firm. Ms. Burroughs’ industry experience also includes consulting with Egon Zehnder and serving as the chief commercial officer and head of business development for APT Pharmaceuticals. She received her BA from Dartmouth College and her MBA from Harvard Business School, where she graduated as a Baker Scholar.

Scott Harris brings more than 20 years of broad cross-functional experience advancing novel products through preclinical and clinical development. Mr. Harris most recently held executive positions at two BridgeBio subsidiaries, including serving as executive vice president, corporate development and operations at Navire Pharma. Previously, he was executive vice president of regulatory affairs and technical operations at Adynxx, where he directed development activities from pre-clinical through Phase 2 studies. Mr. Harris also held positions of increasing responsibility at Corthera, BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Attenuon, Angstrom Pharmaceutical and Biosite. He obtained his BS in biochemistry and cell biology from University of California, San Diego, and his MS in regulatory affairs from San Diego State University.

About VCP/p97

VCP/p97 is a critical enzyme in the AAA (ATPases Associated with diverse cellular Activities) family of ATPases and is a key regulator of various aspects of protein homeostasis and cellular stress pathways that are critical for cancer cell growth and survival. Inhibition of VCP/p97 has been shown to impact multiple stress response pathways — including proteotoxic stress and DNA damage repair where cancer cells are differentially sensitive—and drive cancer cells past the tipping point towards apoptosis. In neurodegenerative diseases, VCP/p97 has been shown to be important for the health and function of mitochondria, and Cleave’s research has demonstrated the potential for therapeutic benefit for patients with these debilitating diseases.

About Cleave Therapeutics

Cleave Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on valosin-containing protein (VCP), also known as p97, as a novel target in protein homeostasis and cellular stress pathways for therapeutic use in cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. The privately held company, based in San Francisco, is advancing CB-5339, its second-generation, small molecule VCP/p97 inhibitor, to clinical studies in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), while the National Cancer Institute (NCI) will sponsor and evaluate CB-5339 in clinical studies of patients with solid tumors.

For additional information, visit www.cleavetherapeutics.com.

SAN DIEGO, July 16, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRNX), a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for rare endocrine diseases and endocrine-related tumors, today announced the appointment of Stephanie S. Okey, M.S. to its board of directors as an independent board member.

“Stephanie’s extensive experience with the regulatory approval process, launch and commercialization of rare and orphan disease products makes her a valuable addition to our board,” said Scott Struthers, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Crinetics. “Her deep knowledge of biotechnology and rare diseases coupled with her enthusiasm for helping to improve the lives of patients will complement our organization as we advance our candidates through clinical trials.”

Ms. Okey has extensive leadership and management experience in the life sciences industry and has contributed to the commercialization of a number of rare disease products. Her professional experience includes roles in field sales and marketing at Bristol Laboratories and Genentech, Inc. Later, she spent 19 years with Genzyme in roles of increasing responsibility in sales, sales leadership and general management before being appointed as Senior Vice President, Head of North America and U.S. General Manager of Rare Diseases. Her significant endocrine experience was gained at both Genentech, Inc. and Genzyme, where she held responsibility for six businesses including Gaucher Disease and MPS1, Fabry Disease, Pompe and neuromuscular diseases, cardiovascular diseases, endocrine diseases, and Leukine and immunologic diseases. She currently serves on the boards of directors of PTC Therapeutics, Inc. and Albireo Pharma, Inc., both publicly traded biopharmaceutical companies. In addition, she was previously a member of the board of directors of the California Life Sciences Association. Ms. Okey holds a B.S. in Zoology from The Ohio State University, a M.S. in Immunology and Medical Microbiology from Wright State University and has completed executive training and education in manufacturing resource planning and organizational leadership.

“It is exciting to be part of a company that is truly patient-focused,” said Ms. Okey. “I look forward to working alongside the Crinetics leadership team and the rest of the board as we continue to make progress in bringing important new therapeutics to patients with rare endocrine diseases and endocrine tumors.”

About Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel therapeutics for rare endocrine diseases and endocrine-related tumors. The company’s lead product candidate, CRN00808, is an oral selective nonpeptide somatostatin receptor type 2 biased agonist undergoing two Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of acromegaly, an orphan disease affecting more than 25,000 people in the United States. Crinetics’ second oral product development candidate, CRN01941, has entered the clinic for the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors. The company is also developing oral nonpeptide somatostatin agonists for hyperinsulinism, as well as oral nonpeptide ACTH antagonists for the treatment of Cushing’s disease. All of the company’s drug candidates are new chemical entities resulting from in-house drug discovery efforts. For more information, please visit www.crinetics.com.

Ankasa is developing strategies to improve tissue healing by exploiting the potential of stem cell re-activation. Our initial product will be a proprietary formulation of WNT protein with demonstrated superiority for bone reformation over existing standards of care.

Dr. Matthews is a C-level executive helping great companies streamline their strategic approaches while rapidly and successfully developing Biologics. Decades of experience in end to end medical therapeutic, drug, device, biologics, and combination products. Excited to be building solid value at Ankasa Regenerative Therapeutics developing wnt3A for a multitude of indications.

Working at MiMedx Gloria lead efforts to transform a high growth public company from a tissue product distributor to a data-driven Biopharma company.

Recently Chief Medical Officer at Histogenics, a pre-revenue public regenerative medicine company directing Clinical, Medical Affairs, R&D, Regulatory, and Pharmacovigilance activities. Actively consulting on launch prep and early commercialization strategies, as well as securing corporate funding. Formerly Senior Director at one of the top 4 largest multinational pharmaceutical companies in the world with strategic responsibility for global R&D organization.
The successful development of this product will compete in a multi-billion dollar, and growing, market. The Company closed a syndicated Series A for $19MM and is lead by Sandy Madigan Chief Executive Officer.

SAN DIEGO, California, July 1, 2019 – Neurana Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of neuromuscular conditions, today announced the appointment of Thomas Yonker, MBA Executive Director, Program Management.

Tom was previously Vice President of Program Management at PaxVax. Neurana is led by Craig Thompson, President & Chief Executive Officer and Kathy Scott, Chief Financial Officer. Neurana is privately held and funded by Soffinova Investment, Longitude Capital, New Leaf Venture Partners and Hale Biopharma Ventures.

SAN DIEGO, March 18, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRNX), a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for rare endocrine diseases and endocrine-related tumors, today announced the appointment of Gina Ford, RPh, MBA, as Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Commercial Planning.

“Crinetics is pleased to welcome Gina to the management team, where she brings 20 years of life sciences and pharmaceuticals experience, including leadership roles in commercial planning and corporate development,” said Scott Struthers, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Crinetics. “Importantly, her endocrinology experience, which included the commercial leadership of a drug to treat acromegaly and neuroendocrine tumors, should prove invaluable as we advance our novel therapeutics for rare endocrine diseases and endocrine-related tumors through development to commercialization.”

Ms. Ford joins Crinetics from One Joule, LLC a commercial and corporate strategy consulting company she founded, where she provided biopharmaceutical clients with strategic advice on corporate, commercial, marketing and global market access strategy. She served as Vice President of Commercial Strategy at AcelRx Pharmaceuticals where she was instrumental in developing the global commercial strategy for AcelRx’s products.

Prior to forming One Joule, Gina served as Head of Endocrinology with Ipsen Pharmaceuticals, where she led the endocrine franchise through management of sales, marketing, medical, market access, finance, analytics, and project management. She also served leadership roles at Solstice Neurosciences and Elan Pharmaceuticals. Ms. Ford earned a B.S. in Pharmacy at Southwestern Oklahoma State University and an MBA from Capella University.

About Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for rare endocrine diseases and endocrine-related tumors. The company’s lead product candidate, CRN00808, is an oral nonpeptide somatostatin agonist for the treatment of acromegaly, an orphan disease affecting more than 25,000 people in the United States. The company is also developing other oral nonpeptide somatostatin agonists for neuroendocrine tumors and hyperinsulinism, as well as an oral nonpeptide ACTH antagonist for the treatment of Cushing’s disease. Crinetics was founded by a team of scientists with a track record of endocrine drug discovery and development. Please visit www.crinetics.com for more information.

January 2019

Cortexyme, a privately held, clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing therapeutics to alter the course of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other degenerative disorders, today announced two key leadership appointments. Veteran clinical development professional Michael Detke, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed Chief Medical Officer and Chris Lowe, a longtime life sciences finance expert, is now the company’s Chief Financial Officer.

“Cortexyme had a very productive 2018, including the successful completion of our Series B financing and presentation of encouraging clinical data for COR388, our lead investigational medicine to treat Alzheimer’s, which will be starting phase 2 testing in 2019. Mike and Chris are seasoned clinical development and finance leaders, and their joining the Cortexyme team gives us additional momentum as we prepare for an impactful year,” said Casey Lynch, Cortexyme’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer.

As Chief Medical Officer, Michael Detke will oversee Cortexyme’s clinical development and regulatory affairs. Detke has extensive experience in CNS drug development, having most recently served as CMO of EmberaNeuroTherapeutics, a clinical-stage company focused on treatment of addiction. Previously, he spent nine years at Eli Lilly, including as the Executive Director for Neuroscience Medical Research, where he oversaw all CNS assets in early development, and as Senior Medical Director for late-stage and post-market development of Cymbalta and Prozac, respectively. He has also served in a variety of roles at a number of CNS companies including CMO of MedAvante, a company focused on improving signal detection in clinical studies for psychiatry and cognition, and CoMentis, a company developing clinical stage therapeutics for cognitive impairment in schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. Detke received his Ph.D., M.D., and M.A. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, and his B.A. and M.S. from Yale University. He is a board-certified psychiatrist who trained in adult psychiatry at Massachusetts General & McLean Hospitals at Harvard University and has published over 70 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals.
“The combination of the early-stage clinical data that speak to COR388’s safety, tolerability, and potential activity in Alzheimer’s disease, as well as the growing body of research supporting the role of infection in AD, is extraordinarily compelling,” said Detke. “I’m excited to be working with the team as we advance this promising investigational medicine into phase 2 testing in 2019.”

As Chief Financial Officer, Chris Lowe will have responsibility for Cortexyme’s finance and investor relations functions, including strategic planning, fundraising, and financial reporting. Lowe’s 15+ years of senior management experience include experience as CFO, CBO, and CEO for private and public life sciences companies such as Asthmatx, Peninsula Pharmaceuticals and Anthera Pharmaceuticals. In January 2014, Lowe became a partner at FLG Partners, a leading CFO services and board advisory firm in Silicon Valley, where he also sits on FLG’s Management Committee. He has driven strategy and execution on initial public offerings, M&A, private and public financings, restructuring, licensing, and Wall Street communications, among other functions. Additionally, he has served as a member of the Board of Directors of both public and private companies, and has chaired their respective Audit Committees and Compensation Committees. He received his M.B.A. from St. Mary’s University and his B.S. from California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo.

“Cortexyme has made impressive clinical and corporate progress since its founding, raising more than $100 million to support a fast-moving drug discovery and development organization,” said Lowe. “The opportunity from both an investor and patient benefit perspective is clear, and I’m looking forward to collaborating on a long-term financial strategy that will serve Cortexyme well as it moves its pipeline through clinical testing.”

About Cortexyme

Cortexyme is a privately held, clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing therapeutics to alter the course of Alzheimer’s and other degenerative disorders. Cortexyme is targeting a specific, infectious pathogen tied to neurodegeneration and chronic inflammation in humans and animal models. The company’s lead compound, COR388, is entering phase 2 development; additional proprietary small molecules are moving forward in preclinical development. Cortexyme’s investors include one of the world’s largest mutual funds, Sequoia Capital, Vulcan Capital, Verily Life Sciences, EPIQ Capital Group, RSL Investments, Lamond Family, Pfizer, Takeda Ventures, Breakout Ventures, Dolby Family Ventures, and Breakout Labs among others. For more information on Cortexyme, visit www.cortexyme.com.

Xconomy San Diego — Synthorx, which is working to develop cancer and autoimmune therapies using technology that allows it to expand the genetic alphabet, raised $131 million in an upsized IPO on Thursday.

The company sold more than 11.9 million shares at $11 apiece. Nearly 1.8 million additional shares are available for its underwriters to purchase.

Synthorx, headed by president and CEO Laura Shawver, had planned to sell 9.1 million shares for between $10 and $12 each. The company’s shares are expected to start trading on the Nasdaq today under the stock symbol “THOR.”

Things are looking up for women—or so they seem. In the era of #MeToo, more and more women are speaking up about workplace harassment and discrimination, and the perpetrators are increasingly held accountable. Industry groups, like the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), and states, such as California, are implementing rules to increase the proportion of women on corporate boards.

That’s encouraging. But in a way, these advances only highlight the hurdles professional women still face, even women at the top of their fields.

Take Donna Strickland, who won this year’s Nobel Prize in physics, and Frances Arnold, who won the Nobel Prize in chemistry. They are two of three female Nobel laureates in this year’s field of 12 prize winners. Yet, until about an hour and a half after Strickland’s award was announced, the optical physicist was not considered important enough to have her own Wikipedia page. She shares the Nobel Prize for physics with two men; her colleague Gérard Mourou has had his own Wikipedia entry since 2005.

Life sciences is little different. Women fill half of the industry’s entry-level positions, but make up only 20% of leadership teams and 10% of boards, according to a study conducted by MassBio and LiftStream (PDF).

Individual companies and industry groups have come up with programs to help move women up the ladder. After LifeSci Advisors threw a model-staffed J.P. Morgan after-party in 2016—prompting widespread outrage—the company rehabbed its image by starting a “Boardroom Ready” program aimed at placing more women on boards.

And in a letter this October, BIO issued new targets for female representation at the highest ranks of its member companies. The letter raises the 2025 target for women at the functional leader and C-suite level to 50% from the current 25%. At the board level, BIO wants to see women in 30% of the industry’s board seats by 2025 rather than the current level of 10%. But that ultimatum came only after its own controversial party—this year’s Party At BIO Not Associated with BIO—where topless women danced, their bodies painted with the logos of investment groups and biotech companies sponsoring the event.

Still, programs can only work if there’s a diverse pool of talent to choose from, and that’s something this year’s fiercest women are working to develop.

Sara Kenkare-Mitra, Genentech’s senior vice president of development sciences, emphasized the importance of “investing in the next generation of female—and male—scientists and leaders.”

“We believe that by investing time, expertise and resources in science education, we can help ensure a talented and diverse pipeline of STEM professionals for the future,” she said.

Many of our honorees came of age when few women occupied high-level positions. While most women at smaller companies didn’t have a chance at formalized mentoring, they did have invaluable mentors and coaches along the way. Now, as their companies grow large enough to support formal programs, many are paying it forward, formally or informally coaching employees earlier in their careers.

Their most common piece of advice for women looking to advance? Be bold. It can seem as if an opportunity comes too soon, before a woman feels qualified. But Synlogic CEO Aoife Brennan and GlaxoSmithKline CMO Kate Knobil, M.D., tell women to try it anyway.

“It seems like women want to be overqualified before they put themselves up for a position, whereas a man might say, ‘Well, I might not have all the experience, but I can do that.’ So I encourage women to think that way, too. Don’t wait to be 100% qualified before putting yourself forward,” Knobil said.

Equally important is asking for the next step, said Marion Dorsch, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Blueprint Medicines.
“Make sure that your supervisor and the people around you know where you want to go and what your ambitions are. Don’t be shy to ask for help and ask for ways to develop in the direction you want to.”
Read on to learn more about this year’s fiercest women in life sciences. They join the women honored in last year’s list, our first to include women from the medtech sector, and those on the 2016 list

2018’s Fiercest Women in Life Sciences

• Hanne Bak—Regeneron
• June Bray—Allergan
• Aoife Brennan—Synlogic
• Jennifer Carver—La Jolla Pharma
• Beth-Ann Coller—Merck
• Marion Dorsch—Blueprint Medicines
• Maria Fardis—Iovance Biotherapeutics
• Susan Galbraith—AstraZeneca
• Vinita Gupta—Lupin
• Kimi Iguchi—Sage Therapeutics
• Sara Kenkare-Mitra—Genentech
• Kate Knobil—GlaxoSmithKline
• Andrea Miller—Mylan
• Melissa Moore—Moderna Therapeutics
• Melanie Nallicheri—Foundation Medicine
• Rebecca Holland New—Thermo Fisher
• Arleen Paulino—Amgen
• Shalini Sharp—Ultragenyx
• Andrea Spezzi—Orchard Therapeutics
• Susan Sweeney—Bristol-Myers Squibb

The MichBio Expo is Michigan’s Premier Bioscience Event!

The MichBio Expo & Conference, sponsored by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) will feature prominent keynote/plenary speakers and panelists who will focus on the latest in technology, business practice innovation and industry growth across the spectrum of sectors over the past 25 years. The Conference promises to be an incredible opportunity for knowledge-sharing, information gathering and networking for Michigan’s bio-industry representatives.

AgTech Day can help meld all three through emerging companies in fields such as precision farming, food packaging, food safety, organics, resource conservation and more. ” Parts of rural Wisconsin and the Midwest look to re-energize their economic foundations and communities, agriculture technology is a natural platform.

“Conference focused on early and established private companies as well as emerging public companies”
BIO Investor Forum will be an all-inclusive forum that shall provide opportunity to the individual researchers, Private equity and public investors, industry executives focusing on investment and business development to share experience and insight on investment possibilities of private and public companies mainly in the domain of life science.BIO Investor Forum will conduct business roundtable and therapeutic workshops, plenary talks, company presentation along with one on one exclusive meeting which will reduce all contentions on evaluating fresh investment opportunities with a special focus on drug development with available tools and technologies. Moreover, the opportunity to network with top-level industry executive will make it an obvious choice for the regional and global attendees.

California will be the first state to require publicly traded companies to have at least one woman on their board of directors.
The law, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday, requires public companies whose principal executive offices are located in California to comply by the end of 2019. The minimum is two female directors if the company has five directors on its board, or three women if it has seven directors by the close of 2021.

Domann supports Teal Woman Celebration, The Clearity Foundation

DOMANN
Celebrating 30 Years
Executive Search That Delivers

Founded in San Francisco during the biopharmaceutical industry’s infancy, DOMANN is proud to be celebrating our 30th Anniversary. We have earned our good reputation by thoughtfully building trusted, valued relationships and our demonstrated track record of consistently delivering game-changing Board and Executive talent.

In today’s competitive environment, it’s paramount to be professionally represented by an established search firm with integrity, a respected market presence, global reach, agility, and leading reputation for results. With offices located in San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, CA., and Madison, WI., DOMANN specializes in Board, CEO, C-Suite and senior leadership hires.

As a retained practice DOMANN is committed to ensuring our clients, private and public life science companies secure accomplished, passionate, in-demand talent. Key Board and Executive leadership focused on adding and creating immediate and long-term value, charting and capitalizing on key growth opportunities for success.

Our proven search process is performance and milestone driven. The average hire is completed within 75 calendar days and remains with our clients five-plus years with many promoted during their tenure. With over 90% of DOMANN’s business repeat or referral, we feel we must be doing something right.

www.domann.net

Synthorx Expands Leadership Team:
07.12.18

SAN DIEGO, July 12, 2018 – Synthorx, Inc., a biotechnology company using synthetic biology to discover and develop novel protein therapeutics, announced today the appointment Charles M. Winter, Vice President, Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC).

“We are pleased to add these talented individuals – each with an impressive track record of leadership and significant accomplishments and experience – to our team,” said Laura Shawver, Ph.D., President, CEO, and Director of Synthorx. “We believe each of them will be important to Synthorx as we advance our pipeline of Synthorin™ cytokines, including Synthorin IL-2, and pursue our goal of demonstrating that our technology can create tailored medicines that offer improvements over current treatments with the ability to help people with serious diseases.”

Mr. Charles M. Winter has deep experience in advancing biologic manufacturing in all phases of the drug development pipeline, as well as important expertise in managing U.S. and ex-U.S. regulatory interactions. Prior to Synthorx, he was Head of Biologics CMC for the Denali Therapeutics pipeline. Before joining Denali, Mr. Winter was Vice President, Manufacturing and Technology at JHL Biotech, where he executed strategic deals for developing and manufacturing biologics in Taiwan and China. Previously at Gilead and at Genentech, Mr. Winter was a core member of a start-up team for a new GMP facility and developed processes for multiple investigational new drug applications. Mr. Winter received a B.S. in chemical engineering from University of Wisconsin-Madison.

About Synthorx

Synthorx, Inc. is a biotechnology company using synthetic biology to discover and develop novel protein therapeutics. Synthorx’s expanded genetic alphabet platform has the ability to drive the site-specific incorporation of multiple synthetic amino acids into proteins, thereby tuning receptor specificity important for improving efficacy and safety. In addition, the company’s engineered organisms provide the ability to manufacture these improved proteins, called Synthorins, with the required fidelity and yield. The Synthorx platform expands the chemical and structural repertoire of protein therapeutics and uncovers new ways to modulate pharmacological properties of biologics. The company was founded based on important discoveries in Dr. Floyd Romesberg’s lab at The Scripps Research Institute in conjunction with Avalon Ventures. The company is headquartered in La Jolla, Calif.

The three: A Fine Arts Scholarship (Music, Art, Literature, Drama) a Life Sciences Scholarship (medical, healthcare) and a Community Services Scholarship (church, scouting, social and business organizations)

Burlingame, CA – (BUSINESS WIRE) – Parvus Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing disease-modifying nanomedicines to halt or reverse autoimmune disease without causing general immune suppression, announced today the appointment of Curtis Ruegg, Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Company’s Board of Directors. Dr. Ruegg brings to Parvus over 25 years of leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Domann- Life Science Leadership conducted the successful search and recruitment of Dr. Ruegg.

ChemioCare, Inc. New York City, announces Julien Howell, M.D. as their Chief Medical Advisor.

Gregor Diagnostics is a molecular diagnostics company developing a revolutionary new screening test for prostate cancer. Gregor’s patient-friendly test will be the first diagnostic to detect prostate cancer at the earliest stages of the disease and differentiate between indolent and aggressive cancer upon detection. This will result in decreased overdiagnosis and overtreatment of indolent prostate cancer, and more effective detection of aggressive prostate cancer.

Please reach out to Jovanna Bost, Chief Business Officer/Partner at jbost@domann.net.

Parvus is pioneering a breakthrough class of disease-specific biological therapeutics called NavacimsTM that are designed to halt and potentially cure autoimmune disease by restoring immune tolerance. The Company’s robust therapeutic platform is capable of generating a rich pipeline of therapeutic candidates for a wide range of autoimmune diseases. Parvus has validated two lead drug candidates to take into clinical development for Type 1 diabetes (T1D) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and is scaling up drug product manufacture for GLP toxicology studies.

Avexegen Therapeutics Inc., is an early stage development company, launched from a collaboration with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Their lead drug candidate, Neuregulin-4, is a naturally occurring peptide present in GI tissue as well as human breast milk, and exhibits novel protective and restorative effects on mucosal intestinal tissue. Avexegen is focusing on IND-enabling and clinical proof-of-concept studies for GI disorders, including inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis) and an orphan neonate condition, necrotizing enterocolitis. Avexegen has partnered with Takeda Pharmaceuticals (non-exclusive option) and is seeking additional financing to support the next stage of development.

Alcobra, Ltd. with offices in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, pursues creative, unbeaten paths for the identification, development and commercialization of therapeutics for impairing CNS disorders. The company plans to develop and commercialize proprietary pharmaceutical products for the treatment of central nervous system disorders, and cognitive dysfunctions in particular.

Mr. Clarke’s original training in the pharmaceutical and vaccine industry was received at Merck and Company, where he held a number of positions, including Vice President of the Merck Vaccine Division and the founding President of Pasteur-Merieux MSD, a European joint venture that commercialized vaccines in the European Union. Since leaving Merck in 1996, his career has focused on leading and advising smaller developmental biotechnology and vaccine companies. Mr. Clarke was previously President and Chief Executive Officer of three biotechnology companies: Neose Technologies, a protein therapeutics company; Aviron, a vaccine company; and U.S. Bioscience, an oncology company. MedImmune acquired both Aviron (in 2001) and U.S. Bioscience (in 1999) for a combined value of $2 billion. Mr. Clarke has served as Chairman of the Board of QLT (an ocular company) and Mersana Therapeutics (an oncology company), and as Executive Chairman of LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals (a vaccine company), in which he oversaw the sale of the company to Takeda Pharamceuticals in 2012. He has also served as a board member or advisor to OraVax (a vaccine company) and Rib-X (an antibiotic company). In these capacities, he has developed significant expertise in the challenges of small company leadership, strategic management, business development, and mergers and acquisitions.

FluGen was founded in 2007 in Madison, Wisconsin by Dr. Yoshihiro Kawaoka, Dr. Gabriele Neumann and Mr. Paul Radspinner in response to the need for significant improvement in existing methods of preventing and treating influenza infections. Kawaoka, Neumann and Radspinner recognized an extraordinary opportunity to parlay Kawaoka’s virology work and Neumann’s reverse genetics breakthrough into a successful biotech business. Within just a few months, FluGen secured seed funding, a healthy valuation and experienced board members and supporters. The new Board Member will be announced at the next financing expected July 2015.

Synthorx Inc. is a biotechnology company using synthetic biology to discover and develop novel protein therapeutics. The company was founded based on important discoveries in Dr. Floyd Romesberg’s lab at The Scripps Research Institute.

Synthorx’s expanded genetic alphabet platform has the unique ability to drive the site-specific incorporation of multiple synthetic amino acids into proteins of any size, from small peptides to large biologics, and to manufacture these improved proteins at scale.

Synthorx’s unique platform expands the chemical and structural repertoire of protein therapeutics and uncovers new ways to modulate pharmacological properties of biologics, not possible with other technologies.

Synthorx is working internally and in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies toward the design and discovery of first-in- class drugs for a variety of therapeutic areas.
Synthorx’s investors include RA Capital Management, Avalon Ventures, and Correlation Ventures.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 7, 2015-Domann, Life Science Leadership- Executive Search That Delivers today announced their firm, The Domann Organization, Inc, as the exclusive search sponsor at The Biotech Showcase to be held in San Francisco January 11-13, 2016. “We are excited to continue Domann’s long standing tradition of sponsoring premier Industry events focused on promoting the entrepreneurial spirit of the Life Sciences” stated Bill Domann, Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “The Biotech Showcase provides a compelling vehicle for us to support a conference platform focused on emerging life science companies that drives innovation and deals, we are honored to participate and look forward to an outstanding and productive conference”. Domann has entered into an exclusive multi-year agreement with EBD Group.

The Biotech Showcase™ is an investor and networking conference devoted to providing private and public biotechnology and life sciences companies with an opportunity to present to, and meet with, investors and pharmaceutical executives in one place during the course of one of the industry’s largest annual healthcare investor conferences. Now in its eighth year, Biotech Showcase 2016 is expected to attract upwards of 2,100 attendees representing over 1250 companies. The program includes lunch plenary sessions featuring top industry leaders and innovators speaking on industry- and time-relevant topics, as well as presentations from both private and public companies.

EBD Group’s overriding mission is to help collaborations get started across the life science value chain. To achieve our mission, we created a variety of partnering conferences that today have grown to become the largest and most productive conference platform in the industry. Each one of our eight landmark events held in key life science markets around the world is powered by our state-of-the-art partnering software that enables delegates to efficiently identify and engage with new opportunities via one-to-one meetings. EBD’s events annually attract more than 10,000 senior life science executives who engage in tens of thousands of one-to-one partnering meetings. These vital one-to-one engagements are the wellspring of deals that drive innovation in the life science industry.

About Domann, Inc:
The Domann Organization, Inc., is a retained search firm focused exclusively on delivering human capital. Founded in San Francisco during the biopharmaceutical industry’s infancy, Domann has built their practice by leveraging strategic industry knowledge and insight, relationship development, and talent cultivation. Their investment has resulted in Domann’s demonstrated advantage of securing the proven leadership talent providing the greatest potential for their Client’s strategic growth and success. Domann recruits Board, Chief Executive Officer, C-Suite, and other senior functional executives.

Recent client’s include: Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals, NantKwest, CytomX Therapeutics, ArmaGen Inc., Deltanoid Pharmaceuticals, Assembly Biosciences, Parvus Therapeutics, and Swift Biosciences. Domann operates from three strategically located offices: San Francisco, San Diego, and Madison, WI with International partners in Europe and Asia Pacific.In 2014 Domann established The BOARD Room, Inc., to further complement and strengthen their existing practice. BOARD Room trends toward Board, Board Advisor, and Advisor Consultant work.

For additional information regarding Domann please visit the website at www.domann.net

Domannn contact Jovanna Bost, Vice President, Business Development at jbost@domann.net.

The Domann Organization, members of the Wisconsin Technology Council/Wisconsin Innovation Network continue to sponsor, support and attend the Early Stage Symposium Conference held in Madison every November.

The symposium is designed to unlock Wisconsin’s entrepreneurial potential by providing the right combination of ideas, innovation, intellectual property and investment – as well as hands-on instruction and advice targeted to early stage companies ready to make the leap.

Registration numbers for Biotech Showcase™ are already up and we are forecasting another great event during the industry’s most important annual gathering. Presenting company slots are filling up fast and many hotels are already booked!

Domann, Life Science Leadership- Executive Search That Delivers today announced their firm Domann-The Board Room Inc. will continue as the exclusive search sponsor at The Biotech Showcase to be held in San Francisco January 9-11, 2017. “We are excited to continue Domann’s long standing tradition of sponsoring premier Industry events focused on promoting the entrepreneurial spirit of the Life Sciences” stated Bill Domann, Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “The Biotech Showcase provides a compelling vehicle for us to support a conference platform focused on emerging life science companies that drives innovation and deals, we are honored to participate and look forward to an outstanding and productive conference”. Domann has entered into an exclusive multi-year agreement with EBD Group.
The Biotech Showcase™ is an investor and networking conference devoted to providing private and public biotechnology and life sciences companies with an opportunity to present to, and meet with, investors and pharmaceutical executives in one place during the course of one of the industry’s largest annual healthcare investor conferences. Now in its eighth year, Biotech Showcase 2016 is expected to attract upwards of 2,100 attendees representing over 1250 companies. The program includes lunch plenary sessions featuring top industry leaders and innovators speaking on industry- and time-relevant topics, as well as presentations from both private and public companies.

EBD Group’s overriding mission is to help collaborations get started across the life science value chain. To achieve our mission, we created a variety of partnering conferences that today have grown to become the largest and most productive conference platform in the industry. Each one of our eight landmark events held in key life science markets around the world is powered by our state-of-the-art partnering software that enables delegates to efficiently identify and engage with new opportunities via one-to-one meetings. EBD’s events annually attract more than 10,000 senior life science executives who engage in tens of thousands of one-to-one partnering meetings. These vital one-to-one engagements are the wellspring of deals that drive innovation in the life science industry.

About Domann, Inc:
The Domann Organization, Inc., is a retained search firm focused exclusively on delivering human capital. Founded in San Francisco during the biopharmaceutical industry’s infancy, Domann has built their practice by leveraging strategic industry knowledge and insight, relationship development, and talent cultivation. Their investment has resulted in Domann’s demonstrated advantage of securing the proven leadership talent providing the greatest potential for their Client’s strategic growth and success. Domann recruits Board, Chief Executive Officer, C-Suite, and other senior functional executives.

For additional information regarding Domann please visit the website at www.domann.net

Domann contact Jovanna Bost, Vice President, Business Development at jbost@domann.net.

Tech Coast Angels, one of the largest and most active angel investing organizations in the United States with more than 300 members in five regional networks will host the 10th anniversary event where technology startups will compete for cash awards.

Domann established in San Francisco in 1988 and opened our San Diego office in September of 2001 would like to thank the clients we have served over the past 15 years.

Tobira focuses on products that treat nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, a common liver disease associated with obesity and type-2 diabetes. NASH occurs when the accumulation of liver fat is accompanied by inflammation and cellular damage, and it can lead to scarring of the liver and progress to cirrhosis, liver cancer and eventual liver failure.

Domann-The Board Room Inc. will be attending the 2016 Wisconsin Biohealth Summit on September 27th. The event offers an opportunity to exchange ideas, learn new strategies, and create lasting partnerships with companies at the forefront of their industry.

Join us at the 2016 Wisconsin Biohealth Summit!

September 27th, 2016 Overture Center, Madison, WI

The Michigan Growth Capital Symposium is the premier venture event that annually showcases nearly 40 “Best of the Midwest” high-growth companies in new businesses and emerging technologies. As part of MGCS, the newly added “University Pitch Track” will feature emerging startups out of the University of Notre Dame, Indiana University, University of Michigan, University of Chicago…

COMPANY BACKGROUND:

Our Client, an Israeli corporation with offices in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, pursues creative, unbeaten paths for the identification, development and commercialization of therapeutics for impairing CNS disorders. The company plans to develop and commercialize proprietary pharmaceutical products for the treatment of central nervous system disorders, and cognitive dysfunctions in particular.

MADISON, WI, February 1, 2016, /PRNewswire/ — Deltanoid Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the appointment of former Genzyme/Sanofi renal head, Douglas Jermasek as its new Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Jermasek replaces Deltanoid co-founder Hector F DeLuca, PhD, MD, DSC who will continue as Chairman of the Board of Directors and assume the responsibilities of Chief Operating Officer.

“Now over a decade since the founding of Deltanoid, I’m extremely proud of what our small team has accomplished in transitioning from a drug discovery into a clinical stage company with 3 promising compounds,” said Dr. DeLuca. “As we now progress our lead program, DP001 for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) to phase 3 clinical development and ultimately commercialization, I am thrilled to be turning over the reins to Doug, who brings a 20 year track record of biopharmaceutical industry success and proven leadership in the renal space.”

“I’m very excited by the opportunity to lead Deltanoid as we complete the late-stage clinical development of DP001 and begin to shape the commercial opportunity for this uniquely differentiated product and its emerging best-in-class profile,” said Mr. Jermasek. “Among my first priorities will be to secure the capital investment needed to fund this exciting next stage of Deltanoid’s evolution as a company.”

Mr. Jermasek has over 20 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience. In his past role as Senior Vice President & General Manager of Genzyme/Sanofi’s global renal business, he drove sales over $ billion, establishing Renvela® as the standard of care for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and achieving “blockbuster” status globally. Outside of his 12 years at Genzyme/Sanofi Renal, Mr. Jermasek has held positions of progressive responsibility at Hybritech/Lilly, Abbott Laboratories, Agouron/Pfizer, Prometheus, and most recently as Head of North America at Intercept. Mr. Jermasek received an M.B.A. from the Marriott School of Management and a B.S. in biological science from Brigham Young University.

About Deltanoid Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Founded out of the famed biochemistry lab of Hector F. DeLuca at the University of Wisconsin—Madison, Deltanoid Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with a vision focused on unlocking the power of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) to transform the health outcomes of patients with diseases of the kidney, bone, and skin. For more information about Deltanoid, please visit http://www.deltanoid.com.

CARLSBAD, Calif., and NEW YORK and SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — A record number of life science industry executives attended the eighth annual Biotech Showcase™ investor and networking conference, held January 11–13 in San Francisco.

More than 2,500 executive-level delegates representing qualified private and public equity investors, industry analysts, bankers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry executives attended from 1,600 companies and participated in 5,650 one-to-one investor meetings.

Over 300 innovative company presentations took place featuring mid-small cap and private life sciences across the therapeutic spectrum as well as platform, diagnostic and tool companies hoping to pique the interest of the nearly 600 public, private and strategic investors in attendance.

“The widespread commercialization of the biotech industry presented life sciences investors and industry leaders with new opportunities and challenges this year as they gathered for this year’s Biotech Showcase. We are proud that the event has become a home base for the life sciences industry during the healthcare industry’s busiest week of the year,” said Sara Jane Demy, CEO of Demy-Colton Life Science Advisors.

“Although 2015 has been a volatile year for biotech, Biotech Showcase attendance is at an all time high. This speaks to the sustained interest within the investor community in biotech innovation,” said Anna Chrisman, Group Managing Director, EBD Group. “This year we provided more space, more one-on-one meetings which we hope resulted in more opportunities. It was overwhelmingly successful.”

Biotech Showcase is produced by Demy-Colton Life Science Advisors and EBD Group. Both organizations have a long history of producing high quality programs supporting the biotechnology and broader life sciences industry.

Up-to-date coverage of Biotech Showcase, including panel videos and interviews, can be found on the Biotech Showcase website, onpartnering360:Insight, and on the partnering360 Blog.

The next edition of Biotech Showcase will be held January 9–11, 2017 in San Francisco.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 7, 2015-Domann, Life Science Leadership- Executive Search That Delivers today announced their firm, The Domann Organization, Inc, as the exclusive search sponsor at The Biotech Showcase to be held in San Francisco January 11-13, 2016. “We are excited to continue Domann’s long standing tradition of sponsoring premier Industry events focused on promoting the entrepreneurial spirit of the Life Sciences” stated Bill Domann, Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “The Biotech Showcase provides a compelling vehicle for us to support a conference platform focused on emerging life science companies that drives innovation and deals, we are honored to participate and look forward to an outstanding and productive conference”. Domann has entered into an exclusive multi-year agreement with EBD Group.

The Biotech Showcase™ is an investor and networking conference devoted to providing private and public biotechnology and life sciences companies with an opportunity to present to, and meet with, investors and pharmaceutical executives in one place during the course of one of the industry’s largest annual healthcare investor conferences. Now in its eighth year, Biotech Showcase 2016 is expected to attract upwards of 2,100 attendees representing over 1250 companies. The program includes lunch plenary sessions featuring top industry leaders and innovators speaking on industry- and time-relevant topics, as well as presentations from both private and public companies.

EBD Group’s overriding mission is to help collaborations get started across the life science value chain. To achieve our mission, we created a variety of partnering conferences that today have grown to become the largest and most productive conference platform in the industry. Each one of our eight landmark events held in key life science markets around the world is powered by our state-of-the-art partnering software that enables delegates to efficiently identify and engage with new opportunities via one-to-one meetings. EBD’s events annually attract more than 10,000 senior life science executives who engage in tens of thousands of one-to-one partnering meetings. These vital one-to-one engagements are the wellspring of deals that drive innovation in the life science industry.

About Domann, Inc:
The Domann Organization, Inc., is a retained search firm focused exclusively on delivering human capital. Founded in San Francisco during the biopharmaceutical industry’s infancy, Domann has built their practice by leveraging strategic industry knowledge and insight, relationship development, and talent cultivation. Their investment has resulted in Domann’s demonstrated advantage of securing the proven leadership talent providing the greatest potential for their Client’s strategic growth and success. Domann recruits Board, Chief Executive Officer, C-Suite, and other senior functional executives.

Recent client’s include: Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals, NantKwest, CytomX Therapeutics, ArmaGen Inc., Deltanoid Pharmaceuticals, Assembly Biosciences, Parvus Therapeutics, and Swift Biosciences. Domann operates from three strategically located offices: San Francisco, San Diego, and Madison, WI with International partners in Europe and Asia Pacific.In 2014 Domann established The BOARD Room, Inc., to further complement and strengthen their existing practice. BOARD Room trends toward Board, Board Advisor, and Advisor Consultant work.

For additional information regarding Domann please visit the website at www.domann.net

Domannn contact Jovanna Bost, Vice President, Business Development at jbost@domann.net.

Menomonee Falls — An accomplished doctor and two chief executive officers will join the ranks on the Wall of Recognition at Menomonee Falls High School this year.

A sincere sense of giving back in a variety of ways is the common denominator that has earned William Domann, Jr., Tom Gross and Jacquelyn Marie (McLees) Paykel a place on the Wall of Recognition, according to creator Dick Woosencraft.

“I know all of this year’s inductees personally, and they are all very special people,” said Woosencraft, who created the Wall of Recognition, Fine Arts Hall of Fame and Athletic Hall of Fame in his final year as principal at the high school.

Now in its 12th year, the wall features alumni who have accomplished powerful things since they walked the school halls.

The public is invited to attend as this year’s inductees are honored at halftime during the boys varsity basketball game Friday, Dec. 11, at the school, W142N8101 Merrimac Drive. There will also be a reception following the game in the school media center.

William Domann, Jr.

Family roots run deep in Menomonee Falls for Domann, whose family legacy began in the village in 1918 when his grandfather, William G. Domann, started his medical practice and would later become one of the founders of Community Memorial Hospital.

Beyond that, Domann, Jr. credits his parents, both of whom served as president of the Menomonee Falls Historical Society, for instilling him with a drive to give back to the community.
In 1988, Domann, Jr. founded the Domann Organization, which assists early-stage life sciences companies in building executive leadership teams and boards. Today, the organization has offices in San Francisco and San Diego, California, as well as in Madison.

Domann, who lives in California with his wife and two daughters, has served on many nonprofit boards, including the San Francisco Boys & Girls Club, the northern California Arthritis Foundation, The Guardsmen-San Francisco and BioForward.

The Domann Organization, members of the Wisconsin Technology Council/Wisconsin Innovation Network continue to sponsor, support and attend the Early Stage Symposium Conference held in Madison every November.

The symposium is designed to unlock Wisconsin’s entrepreneurial potential by providing the right combination of ideas, innovation, intellectual property and investment – as well as hands-on instruction and advice targeted to early stage companies ready to make the leap.

(SAN DIEGO, CA)—November 30, 2015—Human Longevity Inc. (HLI), the genomics based, informatics driven company, announced today that the company has acquired Cypher Genomics, Inc., a leading genome informatics company offering highly accurate, rapid and robust human genomic interpretation software solutions. The San Diego-based company has 14 employees who will join HLI including Cypher CEO and co-founder, Ashley Van Zeeland, Ph.D., who is now the head of HLI’s Pediatric Business. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

“Cypher Genomics has created important automated and scalable genome interpretation technology informed by additional expertise in genetics and biology that we believe will be invaluable to HLI’s business. The Cypher team, led by Dr. Van Zeeland, is a very impressive group of scientists who will be crucial in augmenting HLI’s already unparalleled and comprehensive genomic database business,” said J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., Co-founder and CEO, HLI.
Cypher has developed and marketed Mantis™, proprietary software which provides comprehensive and unbiased interpretation of genomic sequencing data enabling customers to rapidly uncover clinically significant variants. The company has also developed Coral™, a biomarker discovery service.

Industry collaborators for these products include: Celgene, Illumina and Sequenom. Cypher also has a number of key academic collaborations including: Scripps Translational Science Institute, University of Pennsylvania, and Clinic for Special Children. Cypher, in partnership with Lockheed Martin, was also recently selected as one of the finalists in the Genomics England bidding process to aid in genome interpretation as part of their 100,000 Genomes Project.
“At Cypher we saw an unmet need for automated interpretation of human genome sequencing data. We developed Mantis and Coral to provide rapid, automated, genome interpretation at scale enabling disease gene identification, population-based studies, diagnostic development and biomarker identification,” said Dr. Van Zeeland. “We look forward to joining the HLI team and to help advance HLI’s mission of applying the power of human genomics and informatics to improve healthcare.”

HLI has created the world’s largest and most comprehensive database of whole genome, phenotype and clinical data. The company is developing and applying large-scale computing and machine learning to make novel discoveries to revolutionize the practice of medicine. HLI enables customers in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, insurance, academic and government sectors.

About Human Longevity Inc™.

Human Longevity Inc. (HLI) is the genomics-based, technology-driven company creating the world’s largest and most comprehensive database of whole genome, phenotype and clinical data. HLI is developing and applying large scale computing and machine learning to make novel discoveries to revolutionize the practice of medicine. HLI’s business also includes the HLI Health Nucleus, a genomic powered clinical research program which uses whole genome sequence analysis, advanced clinical imaging and innovative machine learning, along with curated personal health information, to deliver the most complete picture of individual health.

The Michigan Growth Capital Symposium is the premier venture event that annually showcases nearly 40 “Best of the Midwest” high-growth companies in new businesses and emerging technologies. As part of MGCS, the newly added “University Pitch Track” will feature emerging startups out of the University of Notre Dame, Indiana University, University of Michigan, University of Chicago…

The MidAmerica Healthcare Venture Forum gives promising early-stage companies a chance to pitch their products, business model or investment opportunity to active, eager angel, venture and strategic investors. Last year, companies presented in front of the likes of…

Corporate Directors Forum is a nonprofit organization (501C-6) founded in 1991 to promote high standards of professionalism and ethics in the area of corporate governance and provide tools to help directors excel in the boardroom.

Core Values and Beliefs

• Boards are strategic assets of corporations.
• Education makes better directors.
• Better directors make boards more effective.
• More effective boards make better corporations.
• We can all learn a lot from each other.

The Domann Organization’s “The Board Room, Inc.” is the first retained search firm to join The Water Council with an emphasis on providing CEO, Advisors and Independent Board members to start up companies.

The Water Council, the only organization of its kind in the United States, is successfully coalescing these tremendous attributes together into a powerful force. Created by leaders in both business and education, The Water Council is convening the region’s existing water companies and research clusters, developing education programs to train our talent, and building partnerships that cut across all sectors and geographic boundaries.

The Domann Organization announced the formation of The Board Room Inc. The Board Room Inc., complements Domann’s existing recruitment platform with an emphasis on CEO, Board and Board Advisor searches. With private companies filing IPO’s at an unheard of pace and the exciting wave of entrepreneurial startups entering the marketplace, the dynamics and demand for quality Board Members and Advisors has dramatically increased. Our extensive network of leadership talent means we have immediate access and the unique ability to provide the steady and qualified hand of tenured leadership in the form of CEO, Board and Advisor leadership. For additional information on The Board Room Inc. please visit www.domann.net or www.BoardRoomInc.net.

The Domann Organization, members of the Wisconsin Technology Council/Wisconsin Innovation Network continue to sponsor, support and attend the Early Stage Symposium Conference held in Madison every November.

The symposium is designed to unlock Wisconsin’s entrepreneurial potential by providing the right combination of ideas, innovation, intellectual property and investment – as well as hands-on instruction and advice targeted to early stage companies ready to make the leap.

Bill Domann attends the gathering in Laguna Beach with industry CEO’s to discuss and review the industry’s current events.

The BIO International Convention is hosted by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products.

BIO performs many services for members, but none of them are more visible than the BIO International Convention. The BIO International Convention helps BIO fulfill its mission to help grow the global biotech industry. Profits from the BIO International Convention are returned to the biotechnology industry by supporting BIO programs and initiatives. BIO works throughout the year to create a policy environment that enables the industry to continue to fulfill its vision of bettering the world through biotechnology innovation.

BIOforward, founded in 1987, is the member driven state association that is the voice of Wisconsin’s bioscience industry and a state chapter of the national Biotechnology Industry Organization, actively advocating on members behalf for public policy that supports the industry while providing opportunities for connections to funding, partners, and valuable resources. Members include key players from bioscience companies, universities, non-profits, service providers, investment capital firms, and government agencies.

Leveraging connections for venture growth across the Midwest and beyond – CATTEC VI meets at Illinois Science + Tech Park in Skokie, IL.

InvestMidwest provides an opportunity for high growth companies from throughout the Midwest to present to an audience of over three hundred attendees including 60 -70 venture capital investors. The conference includes three presentation tracks: life sciences, technology and for the first time a food/ag/bioenergy presentation track.

The conference will showcase 45 companies in the three presentation tracks of life sciences, IT/general business and food/ag/bioenergy.