Tom has more than 40 years of accomplishments in the discovery and development of protein therapeutics. Tom worked at Amgen for 28 years and served in positions of increasing responsibility in growing Amgen Protein Sciences to an organization of over 300 researchers across five different sites. His career at Amgen began in 1981 as a bench scientist with the isolation and cDNA cloning of novel cytokines and growth factors including G-CSF. He was also responsible for expressing, purifying, and formulating many of Amgen’s recombinant proteins. Tom developed proprietary processes used to produce recombinant G-CSF and other therapeutic candidates for clinical applications. Tom was the first Vice President of Amgen Protein Science. Tom was the lead scientist in the development of Nplate®, a treatment of thrombocytopenia. His critical role in the discovery and process development of G-CSF (Neupogen) is widely recognized. Tom has Masters degrees in Microbiology from UCLA and Soil Science from UC Davis. Tom has recently helped start several companies and has helped them license in clinical stage molecules. He is currently a consultant or scientific advisor for more than 30 companies, providing both strategic and technical guidance.
Mike Mangone, Ph.D.
Mike has spent more than 15 years in strategic, operational and drug development roles in the biotech and life science space. Most recently, he was Vice President of Business Development and Operations at BridgeBio (BBIO) where he advanced two late-stage portfolio companies, Phoenix Tissue Repair and Origin Biosciences. At Origin, Mike managed operations through clinical development; oversaw FDA and EMA approvals; and directed corporate strategy for the launch of Nulibry, BridgeBio’s first commercial asset. Prior, Mike consulted for a wide range of biotech, pharma and private equity clients on projects spanning corporate, portfolio and commercial strategy, and business development in the oncology, inflammation and immunology, and autoimmunity disease spaces among other areas. Mike also spent time at Flagship Pioneering helping create early-stage platform companies centered on breakthrough science, such as Ring Therapeutics.
Mike is a scientist by training and developed small molecule inhibitors targeting key oncogenic and inflammatory pathways at the Center for Lymphoid Malignancy at Columbia University. He received his Ph.D. in Pathobiology working on cancer vaccine development at NYU School of Medicine and earned an A.B. in molecular biology from Princeton University.
Hirdesh Uppal, Ph.D.
Hirdesh possesses over two decades of drug development expertise, making significant contributions advancing medicines from discovery to regulatory approval. In his recent role as VP of Development Sciences at CytomX Inc., he managed a diverse portfolio encompassing antibodies, ADC’s, bispecifics, and cytokines. Prior to this, he served as VP of Development Sciences at Revolution Medicines Inc., concentrating on novel therapies targeting RAS-addicted cancers. At Medivation Inc., Hirdesh led Translational Medicine & Companion Diagnostics (CDx), involving the translational strategy & clinical development for enzalutamide (XTANDIâ), talazoparib (TALZENNAâ) and several other pipeline molecules. He invented & facilitated successful clinical biomarker work culminating in CDx development at partner firms. His earlier tenure at Genentech Inc. and F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd focused on development sciences and safety assessment where he provided leadership & strategic alignment of a safety biomarker, stem cell & biochemical-molecular toxicology investigative laboratory group. Hirdesh holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, and a Master’s in Immunology from Punjab Agricultural University, India. Additionally, he has completed Executive Management programs at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Harvard Business School, and The Wharton School.
Jeremy Barton, M.D.
Jeremy Barton, M.D. has over 31 years of experience in all phases of oncology drug development in the pharmaceutical industry in Switzerland, UK and currently in the US. He is now working as a self-employed consultant, advising biotech companies on strategic oncology drug development.
Most recent industry responsibilities in the US have included Chief Medical Officer roles at Biogen Idec, eFFECTOR Therapeutics and Mirati Therapeutics. He was also head of early Oncology Development at Pfizer (San Diego) for 5 years overseeing the transition of all Oncology compounds from research through IND to proof-of-concept studies.
After obtaining a Master’s Degree in Physiological Sciences from Oxford University and his medical degree at University College Hospital Medical School in London, he trained in Internal Medicine and Clinical Oncology in the United Kingdom and practiced for 11 years in the National Health Service.
Jeremy is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Clinical Oncology, a Member of the Royal College of Physicians (U.K.), a Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists (Clinical Oncology) and a Member of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine.
Beatrice McQueen, Ph.D.
Beatrice has 20+ years of industry experience in research and development, operations, finance and business development. Beatrice was appointed a Simcha executive since its inception in 2018 accountable for all aspects of the company – G&A, Corporate Strategy and R&D, including manufacturing, preclinical & clinical development, regulatory and quality. Prior to Simcha, she served on the commercial team at PPD. Before PPD, Beatrice established and led Beatrice Perotti Inc in 2006, a consulting firm, full time for 12 years until 2017, providing consulting services to start ups and established biotech companies. Beatrice started consulting after 12 years of product development and finance experience in leadership positions in PKDM, product strategy/early development, strategic business operations and finance at Pfizer and Amgen.
Beatrice graduated with a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry – Pharmacokinetics & Drug Metabolism from the University of California, San Francisco, and an E.M.B.A. from UCLA Anderson School of Management. Beatrice also had a Project Management Certificate from CalTech and was an Amgen certified Six Sigma Black Belt.
Sanuj Ravindran, M.D.
Sanuj has spent more than 20 years in strategic and operational roles across the life science industry, both as an investor and company builder. Most recently, he served as CEO-in-residence at BridgeBio (BBIO) where he was chief executive officer of PellePharm, and executive chair of Phoenix Tissue Repair. In these roles, Sanuj led both companies’ growth, directed strategy, secured significant partnerships, and advanced pipeline programs in oncology and rare skin diseases through mid- and late-stage clinical trials. Before this, he served as chief business officer at aTyr Pharma (LIFE), a clinical-stage protein therapeutics company focused on tRNA synthetases. Prior to that, Sanuj was senior vice president of corporate development at The Medicines Company (MDCO), where he led multiple transactions totaling more than $2 billion in potential value. Sanuj began his biotech career as a venture capitalist for 10 years with Burrill & Company, Radius Ventures, and Asian Healthcare Fund.
Sanuj was previously a practicing physician, board-certified in Internal Medicine, having completed his residency training at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He received his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University, his doctorate in medicine from Jefferson Medical College, and his master’s of business administration from the Kellogg School of Management.