Cambridge
Our experienced leadership and clinical development team in Cambridge has deep relationships with the world’s top cancer centers and extensive experience in company-building and drug development.
Our Team: Driven & Diverse
Just as we bring together two modalities in our bifunctional therapies, our work also bridges two continents with a team in Cambridge, Mass. and a dedicated research arm in Bangalore, India. Together we are working towards a shared vision to provide first-in-class, meaningful therapies to cancer patients.
Bangalore
The Bangalore team, a dedicated research arm, is comprised of skilled protein engineers, immunologists and CMC experts who have experience building highly complex molecules and a track record of developing FDA-approved drugs.
Leadership
Claire Mazumdar, Ph.D., MBA
Chief Executive Officer
Claire Mazumdar, Ph.D., MBA
Chief Executive Officer
- Business development and corporate strategy at Rheos Medicines, a biopharmaceutical company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she supported a major partnership with Roche
- Senior Associate at Third Rock Ventures, focused on company formation and supporting business development for portfolio companies
- Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from Stanford Medical School and MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business; bachelor’s degree in biological engineering from MIT
Ryan Cohlhepp, Pharm.D.
President & Chief Operating Officer
Ryan Cohlhepp, Pharm.D.
President & Chief Operating Officer
- Leading biotech executive with over 20 years of expertise in driving early-stage drug development to commercial success
- Founding executive of Rheos Medicines, an immuno-metabolism company launched from Third Rock Ventures
- Responsible for Takeda’s commercial oncology portfolio in the US that included four compounds across a range of both hematological and solid tumors
- Pharm.D. in Pharmacy from Purdue University and current member of the Dean’s Advisory Council
Ivan Hyep, MBA
Chief Financial Officer
Ivan Hyep, MBA
Chief Financial Officer
- 15 years of experience with finance, strategy, and operations
- Previously Head of Finance at MOMA Therapeutics and Director of Finance at Third Rock Ventures
- MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship from Boston University Questrom School of Business; B.S. in Finance from Bentley University
Liviu Niculescu, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer
Liviu Niculescu, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer
- Previously Head of Clinical Development for Oncology at bluebird bio
- Nine years at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals as Senior Medical Director and nearly seven years as Vice President of Global Medical Affairs at Takeda Oncology
- M.D. from the Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy; master’s degree in Public Health from Harvard University
John Maraganore, Ph.D.
Executive Advisor
John Maraganore, Ph.D.
Executive Advisor
- Founding CEO and a Director of Alnylam from 2002 to 2021, where he built and led the company from early platform research on RNA interference through global approval and commercialization of the first four RNAi therapeutic medicines; led the company’s value creation strategy, building $25B in market capitalization and forming over 20 major pharmaceutical alliances
- Serves as Venture Partner at ARCH Venture Partners, a Venture Advisor at Atlas Ventures, an Executive Partner at RTW Investments, Senior Advisor for Blackstone Life Sciences, and Board Member for numerous publicly traded and private companies
- Past leadership, managerial, and scientific roles with Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Biogen, Zymogenetics, and the Upjohn Company
- Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Chicago
Praveen Marapaka, Ph.D.
Head of Global Regulatory Affairs
Praveen Marapaka, Ph.D.
Head of Global Regulatory Affairs
- Experienced regulatory executive instrumental in bringing to market several products with innovative product development and regulatory strategies across multiple therapeutic areas
- Former Head of Global Regulatory Affairs and Companion Diagnostics at Merck KGaA
- Held global regulatory leadership positions at AstraZeneca and Schering-Plough
- Ph.D. in Chemistry from University of Hyderabad, India and cancer research at Washington University in St. Louis, USA
Sathish Hasige, Ph.D.
Head of Technical Operations & Supply Chain
Sathish Hasige, Ph.D.
Head of Technical Operations & Supply Chain
- Process development, manufacturing, and clinical supply chain operations leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry
- Previously, global head of drug product development for AstraZeneca Biologics and CMC and Operations team lead for multiple early and late-stage biologics at Medimmune, Hospira/Pfizer and AstraZeneca
- MS. and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from University of Mysore, India and Postdoctoral training from Vanderbilt University and University of Colorado
Amy Lynch
Head of Operations & HR
Amy Lynch
Head of Operations & HR
- Extensive experience in both scientific research and human resources and operations
- Former Head of Operations and Human Resources at TCR2, Inc. and Associate Director at Catabasis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- Scientific experience as biological services manager at Sirtris Pharmaceuticals and a scientific associate at Novartis
- Bachelor’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Connecticut College
Rachel Salazar, D.H.Sc.
Head of Program and Portfolio Management
Rachel Salazar, D.H.Sc.
Head of Program and Portfolio Management
- Passionate and adaptive organizational leader with drug development experience across multiple modalities from pre-IND through life cycle management
- Skilled in strategy development, portfolio management and prioritization
- In-depth oncology & immuno-oncology experience acquired from various leadership roles at EMD Serono, Inc., Takeda Oncology and Pfizer
- D.H.Sc from Eastern Virginia Medical School; master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Tufts University
David Bohr, MBA, MS
Head of Clinical Operations
David Bohr, MBA, MS
Head of Clinical Operations
- Experienced clinical operations head with a demonstrated history of accelerating and directing early phase oncology clinical development
- Skilled in trial design and management, CRO oversight, GXP compliance and regulatory filing
- Previously Clinical Trial Leader at Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research
- MBA from Boston University Questrom School of Business; master’s degree in Genomics and Molecular Biology from New York University; master’s degree in Public Health from Boston University
Gary Bostanxhi, MBA
Controller
Gary Bostanxhi, MBA
Controller
- Four years in biotech industry holding various roles in technical accounting and SEC reporting
- Public accounting at Ernst and Young LLP, Manager of Audit
- MBA from Bentley University
- CPA in Massachusetts
Seng-Lai (Thomas) Tan, Ph.D.
Senior Scientific Advisor
Seng-Lai (Thomas) Tan, Ph.D.
Senior Scientific Advisor
- Experienced drug developer who has held leadership positions at a number of biotech and pharmaceutical companies
- Former Head of Immunology at Marengo (Elstar) Therapeutics Inc. and at Forma Therapeutics Inc.; responsible for providing scientific leadership and building immuno-oncology pipeline
- Past leadership position as Head of Cellular and Translational Immunology at EMD Serono Research & Development Institute and at Roche
- Ph.D. in Microbiology from University of Washington School of Medicine; B.S. in Biotechnology from Minnesota State University
Board of Directors
Ryan Cohlhepp, Pharm.D.
Board Director
Bicara Therapeutics
Bicara Therapeutics
Ryan Cohlhepp, Pharm.D.
Board Director
Bicara Therapeutics
Bicara Therapeutics
- Leading biotech executive with over 20 years of expertise in driving early-stage drug development to commercial success
- Founding executive of Rheos Medicines, an immuno-metabolism company launched from Third Rock Ventures
- Responsible for Takeda’s commercial oncology portfolio in the US that included four compounds across a range of both hematological and solid tumors
- Pharm.D. in Pharmacy from Purdue University and current member of the Dean’s Advisory Council
F. Stephen Hodi, M.D.
Board Director, Chairman of the Clinical Advisory Board
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
F. Stephen Hodi, M.D.
Board Director, Chairman of the Clinical Advisory Board
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
- Director of the Melanoma Center and the Center for Immuno-oncology at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School
- Recognized leader in the development of immune therapy and melanoma therapeutics; known for leadership in research and clinical development of checkpoint inhibitors
- Clinical interests in gene therapy for cancer, melanoma research and tumor immunology; lead researcher on the study that resulted in the FDA approval of ipilimumab
- Chair of Bicara’s Clinical Advisory Board
- M.D. from the Weill Medical College of Cornell University; Internal Medicine residency at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; Medical Oncology fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Vijay Kuchroo, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Chairman of the Board
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Vijay Kuchroo, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Chairman of the Board
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
- Institute Member, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
- Inventor on 25 patents, founder of five biotech companies, and member of numerous scientific advisory boards, including those of Biocon, Pfizer, Novartis and GSK
- Founding Director of the Evergrande Center for Immunologic Diseases at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Kuchroo Laboratory, a leader in research that created the basis for describing the TIM family of genes
- Ph.D. in Pathology from the University of Queensland, Brisbane Australia; bachelor’s degree from the College of Veterinary Medicine, Hisar, India
Nils Lonberg, Ph.D.
Board Director
Canaan Partners
Canaan Partners
Nils Lonberg, Ph.D.
Board Director
Canaan Partners
Canaan Partners
- Three decades of experience in the biotech and pharma industries, focused on platform innovation, drug discovery and drug development
- A leader in the use of genetically engineered mice for antibody drug discovery, resulting in multiple FDA-approved antibody products; conducted substantial research involving transgenic mice in order to discover new medicines that could be effective for humans
- Currently an Executive in Residence at Canaan Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm; previously served as Senior Vice President of Biologics Discovery and led oncology discovery at Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Harvard University
Claire Mazumdar, Ph.D., MBA
Board Director
Bicara Therapeutics
Bicara Therapeutics
Claire Mazumdar, Ph.D., MBA
Board Director
Bicara Therapeutics
Bicara Therapeutics
- Business development and corporate strategy at Rheos Medicines, a biopharmaceutical company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she supported a major partnership with Roche
- Senior Associate at Third Rock Ventures, focused on company formation and supporting business development for portfolio companies
- Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from Stanford Medical School and MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business; bachelor’s degree in biological engineering from MIT
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Board Director
Biocon, Ltd.
Biocon, Ltd.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Board Director
Biocon, Ltd.
Biocon, Ltd.
- Pioneering biotech entrepreneur who founded and runs Biocon, India’s leading biotechnology enterprise
- Committed to innovation and affordability in delivering top-of-the-line therapeutics to patients around the world
- Named as one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world for her work in the biotech space and her experience as a leader in business
- Master’s degree from the University of Melbourne; bachelor’s degree in Zoology and Animal Biology from Bangalore University
Scientific Advisory Board
Chaitanya Divgi, MBBS
CEO of Divgi Consulting
Chaitanya Divgi, MBBS
CEO of Divgi Consulting
- Nuclear medicine physician-scientist with more than 30 years of experience in top institutions leading programs in nuclear oncology imaging and therapy
- Has held positions at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University
Thomas F. Gajewski, M.D., Ph.D.
University of Chicago
Thomas F. Gajewski, M.D., Ph.D.
University of Chicago
- AbbVie Foundation Professor of Cancer Immunotherapy and Professor in both the Ben May Department for Cancer Research and the Department of Pathology at the University of Chicago
- Investigates and develops new treatments for patients with melanoma and in the development of immunotherapies against this disease
- Leads the development of immune-based therapies for cancers other than melanoma, using new laboratory data on how the immune system is regulated to develop novel clinical trials
Caetano Reis e Sousa, D.Phil
The Francis Crick Institute
Caetano Reis e Sousa, D.Phil
The Francis Crick Institute
- Senior group leader and assistant research director at the Crick and head of the Immunobiology Laboratory
- Professor of Immunology in the Department of Medicine at Imperial College London
- Holds honorary professorships at both University College London (UCL) and King’s College London
Arlene Sharpe, M.D., Ph.D.
Harvard Medical School
Arlene Sharpe, M.D., Ph.D.
Harvard Medical School
- George Fabyan Professor of Comparative Pathology and Chair of the Department of Immunology at Harvard Medical School
- Member of the Department of Pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a Member at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Leader of the Cancer Immunology Program at the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, and Co-Director of the Evergrande Center for Immunologic Diseases at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital
- Heads laboratory that discovered and elucidated the functions of T cell costimulatory pathways, including the immunoinhibitory functions of the CTLA-4 and PD-1 pathways, which have become exceptionally promising targets for cancer immunotherapy
Dario Vignali, Ph.D.
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Dario Vignali, Ph.D.
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
- Frank Dixon Chair in Cancer Immunology, Vice Chair and Professor of Immunology at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
- Director of Cancer Immunology Training Program, Co-Leader of the Cancer Immunology Program, Co-Director of the Tumor Microenvironment Center at University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI)
- Leads Vignali Laboratory at University of Pittsburgh
Jedd D. Wolchok, M.D., Ph.D., FASCO
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Jedd D. Wolchok, M.D., Ph.D., FASCO
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Lloyd J. Old/Virginia and Daniel K. Ludwig Chair in Clinical Investigation; Chief, Immuno-Oncology Service, Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Director, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy Associate Director, Ludwig Center for Cancer Immunotherapy; Member, Ludwig Cancer Research, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Professor of Medicine, Weill Medical College of Cornell University
