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Founding Team

Our founders bring deep expertise in cutting-edge oncology research and successful gene therapy product development and company formation. We’ve combined this know-how to change the paradigm in cancer treatment outcomes with In-Vivo Protein Engineering delivered T-cell Immunotherapy.

Timothy P. Cripe, M.D., Ph.D.

Co-Founder & Board Member
  • Chief, Division of Pediatric Hem/Onc/BMT at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
  • Gordon Teter Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cancer
  • 20-year member of American Society of Cell and Gene Therapy
  • Editor-in-Chief, Molecular Therapy Oncology
  • Former Chair, FDA Cellular, Tissue & Gene Therapy Advisory Committee

Brian Kaspar, Ph.D.

Co-Founder & Board Member
Brian Kaspar headshot
  • Chief Scientist & co-founder of: AveXis (acquired by Novartis), Celenex (acquired by Amicus), Motus Bio (acquired by Insmed), and Milo Biotechnology
  • Formerly Endowed Chair in Pediatrics and Professor at The Center for Gene Therapy at NCH & OSU’s College of Medicine
  • Ph.D. from UCSD – over 110 scientific articles published

Samit Varma

CEO & Board Member
Samit Varma headshot
  • CEO and co-founder of Celenex (acquired by Amicus)
  • CEO and co-founder of Motus Bio (acquired by Insmed)
  • Investor & Board member of Advanced Cell Technology (ACTC) (acquired by Astellas)
  • Investor & Board member of Cynvenio
  • Managing director & co- founder – Troy Capital/Quid & Anthem Ventures, multi-stage VC firms with $1.2b AUM

Allen Reha

Chief Development Officer
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  • 25 years in Pharma/Biotech R&D (Preclinical to Commercial Stage Programs)
  • Led multiple AAV gene therapy programs (Amicus, PTC Therapeutics, Lexeo Therapeutics) – preclinical to late clinical stage
  • Former Vice President/Head of Program Leadership, Portfolio Management and Corporate Strategy (Lexeo)
  • Former Head of Gene Therapy R&D (Amicus)

Board Members & Advisors

Jim Allison, Ph.D.

Head of Scientific Advisory Board
Jim Alison's headshot

Nobel Prize Laureate: Awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for pioneering cancer therapy via immune checkpoint blockade (inhibition of negative immune regulation)

Academic & Scientific Leadership: Regental Professor and Chair of the Department of Immunology, and Executive Director of the Immunotherapy Platform, at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Immunology Breakthroughs: Discovered the T-cell receptor structure and pioneered anti-CTLA-4 immunotherapy (ipilimumab / Yervoy), establishing the foundational paradigm for modern immuno-oncology

Honors & Recognition: Elected member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine; recipient of the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award

Kevin Sharer

Chairman of Board & Strategic Leadership Advisor
Kevin Sharer headshot

Amgen Executive Leadership: Served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Amgen (2000–2012), scaling annual revenue from $3.6 billion to nearly $16 billion and building the organization into one of the world’s premier biopharmaceutical giants

Academic Faculty: Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School, specializing in strategy, general management, and executive leadership

Corporate & Consulting Experience: Former Executive Vice President at MCI Communications, corporate executive at General Electric (GE), and management consultant at McKinsey & Company

Board Governance & Education: Served on public board of directors including 3M, Chevron, and Northrop Grumman; holds degrees in Aeronautical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and Naval Postgraduate School, plus an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh

Read Dr. Cripe’s landmark Science Advances publication describing the single-dose, In-Vivo Protein Engineering delivered cancer immunotherapy approach that became thefoundation for Vironexis’s TransJoin™ in vivo protein engineering platform.

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