KARTOS THERAPEUTICS is a clinical stage
biopharmaceutical company with an investigational
MDM2 inhibitor (navtemadlin)
Leadership Team
Click for bio
Jesse McGreivy, MD
CEO
Click for bio
Beth Mechling
COO
Click for bio
Srdan Verstovsek, MD, PhD
CMO
Click for bio
Todd Covey
CSO
Click for bio
Greg Slatter, PhD
SVP, Clinical Pharmacology
Click for bio
Scott Sandler
SVP, Finance
Click for bio
John Mei
SVP, Clinical Development Operations
Click for bio
Cecile Krejsa, PhD
VP, Translational Medicine
Click for bio
Reg Myers
SVP, Strategy & Business Development
Dedicated to the development of novel, targeted therapeutics that meaningfully improve the lives of patients with cancer.
Wayne Rothbaum
President at Quogue Capital
Wayne Rothbaum is president of Quogue Capital, a single-family office private equity fund focused on investing and supporting small to midcap life sciences companies. Mr. Rothbaum began his career at The Carson Group, a strategic consulting firm, where he managed its life sciences practice and boutique investment bank Evolution Capital. Following The Carson Group’s sale to Thomson Reuters in 2001, Mr. Rothbaum founded Quogue Capital, through which he has started and/or invested in numerous private and public life sciences companies. In 2012, Mr. Rothbaum co-founded and was the Executive Chairman of Acerta Pharma, a private life sciences company he later sold to AstraZeneca. Acerta’s lead drug, Calquence (acalabrutinib) was approved by the FDA for mantle cell lymphoma in 2017 and CLL in 2020. In 2016, Mr. Rothbaum also co-founded Kartos Therapeutics following the in-license of an investigational MDM2 inhibitor from Amgen. More recently, in 2019, he co-founded Telios Pharma after licensing a novel targeted therapy from Merck KGaA to treat selected blood cancers and ophthalmology diseases. Additionally, Mr. Rothbaum has taken a leadership role in transforming Iovance, restructuring and reorganizing its Board of Directors, senior management and overall clinical operations and strategy. Currently, Mr. Rothbaum is a board member and its largest shareholder. Mr. Rothbaum graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Binghamton University in 1990 with a dual major in political science and psychology and received his MA in international economics from The George Washington University. He is listed as an inventor on many scientific patents and is published in numerous medical journals, including the NEJM, the Lancet and the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Iain Dukes, MA DPhil
Venture Partner at OrbiMed Advisors
Iain Dukes is currently Chairman of Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASQ:IOVA) and CEO of Theseus Pharmaceuticals and Viriom. He also serves on the Boards of KaNDy Therapeutics (previously as Chairman), NeRRe Therapeutics, ENYO, Kyn Therapeutics and ReViral.
Dr. Dukes previously served as Senior Vice-President and Head of Business Development and Licensing for Merck Research Laboratories through May 2016. He joined Merck in August 2013. Prior to joining Merck, Dr. Dukes was Vice-President of External Research & Development at Amgen, from August 2010 to August 2013. From 2007 to 2010, Dr. Dukes was the President and Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the board of directors, of Essentialis Therapeutics, a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development of breakthrough medicines for the treatment of rare metabolic diseases. From 2000 to 2007, Dr. Dukes was Vice President of Scientific and Technology Licensing at GlaxoSmithKline, and prior to that, from 1990 to 1999, he held various positions at Glaxo Wellcome, including Head of Exploratory Development for Metabolic and Urogenital Diseases and Head of Ion Channel Drug Discovery Group. Dr. Dukes holds Master of Jurisprudence and Doctorate of Philosophy degrees from the University of Oxford, a Master of Science degree in Cardiovascular Studies from the University of Leeds, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacology from the University of Bath.
David A. Piacquad
Independent Board Director
David A. Piacquad has been in the biopharmaceuticals business for nearly 40 years. He currently serves as a director on the boards of 3T Biosciences and Kartos Therapeutics. He retired from Amgen in 2022 after spending over a decade as the head of business development. During his tenure, Mr. Piacquad completed acquisitions and collaborations that significantly expanded Amgen's revenues, pipeline and international footprint. Additionally, he completed a number of deals that added major new research capabilities. Prior to Amgen, Mr. Piacquad was Senior Vice President, Business Development & Licensing at Schering-Plough Corporation. Before joining Schering-Plough, Mr. Piacquad spent more than 20 years at Johnson & Johnson, where he held a series of leadership roles in finance and business development. Mr. Piacquad holds a BA degree from Colgate University and an MBA from the Wharton School.
Roger Ulrich, PhD
Senior Advisor at Frazier Healthcare Partners & Scientific Advisor at BioGeneration Ventures
Dr. Ulrich is an entrepreneur and biotech executive with more than 35 years of operational and administrative experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He is currently a Senior Advisor to Frazier Healthcare Partners and a Scientific Advisor to BioGeneration Ventures, and is a member of several small pharma Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Boards. Most recently he served as Chief Scientific Officer and a member of the Board of Directors at Acerta Pharma BV until the majority acquisition by AstraZeneca in 2016. Prior to Acerta, he was Founder and Chief Development Officer at Calistoga Pharmaceuticals Inc., which was acquired by Gilead Sciences in 2011. Prior to Calistoga, Dr. Ulrich was Senior Scientific Director with Merck Research Laboratories/Rosetta Inpharmatics, Director of Regulatory Toxicology, Safety Pharmacology, Genetic Toxicology, Cellular and Molecular Toxicology, Microscopy and Microanalysis at Abbott Laboratories, and a Senior Scientist with The Upjohn Company and Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc. Dr. Ulrich holds several patents and has authored more than 125 publications. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology/Chemistry and his Masters of Arts in Biomedical Sciences from Western Michigan University. He received his doctorate in Cellular and Molecular Biology from West Virginia University, and is a Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences.
Flavia Borellini, PhD
Independent Board Director
Dr. Borellini has over 25 years of executive management experience in the pharma/biotechnology industry, especially focused on global oncology drug development, from pre-clinical to on-market stage. Flavia is the retired Chief Executive Officer for Acerta Pharma, where she led the organization to the approval of Calquence for Mantle Cell Lymphoma; she also served as the Global Franchise Head, Hematology at AstraZeneca, with responsibility for the hematology portfolio in the Oncology Business Unit. During her career in the industry, Flavia led the global development, approval and launch of several oncology drugs, including a first in class EGFR T790M inhibitor (osimertinib, AstraZeneca), a first in class BRAF inhibitor (vemurafenib, Roche), and served as the program leader for a HER2 Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer inhibitor (trastuzumab) and a EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (erlotinib) at Genentech. Flavia holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Modena (Italy), and completed her post-doctoral training at the NCI. Before joining industry, Flavia held a Research Assistant Professor position at Georgetown University in Washington DC. Flavia currently serves on the Board of Directors of Cantargia AB.
Carl L. Gordon, PhD, CFA
Managing Partner at OrbiMed Advisors
Carl L. Gordon, PhD, CFA, is a founding Partner and Co-Head of Global Private Equity at OrbiMed. He was a senior biotechnology analyst at Mehta and Isaly from 1995 to 1997. He was a Fellow at The Rockefeller University from 1993 to 1995. For the last five years (2014 to 2018) Forbes® Magazine named Mr. Gordon one of the top 100 venture capitalists in the world when it placed him on the "Forbes Midas List". Carl received a PhD in Molecular Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1993) and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Harvard College (1987).
Erin Denny, PhD
Head of Oncology Search & Evaluation, Business Development, Amgen
Erin is currently a Director in Amgen’s Business Development group where she leads oncology search and evaluation. Her team is responsible for identifying external opportunities and conducting technical diligence for all licensing, collaboration and acquisition deals across oncology therapeutics. Since joining Amgen in 2015, Erin has led due diligence processes across several therapeutic areas and technology platforms within Business Development. She started her career as a Clinical Analyst at Doctor Evidence, a healthcare technology firm focused on developing a medical intelligence platform. Erin received her undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California (USC) and completed her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the City of Hope. She leads the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) Ambassador program at Amgen and holds an advisory board role for the Los Angeles chapter of the Association for Women in Science (AWIS).
Jesse McGreivy, MD
CEO
Dr. McGreivy brings clinical, strategic, and operational leadership as well as extensive experience in the successful development of novel cancer therapies to Kartos, having joined from Adicet Bio where he was CMO. Prior to this, Dr. McGreivy was CMO at Acerta Pharma where he built and managed Clinical, Drug Safety teams alongside leading late-stage development and registration strategy for acalabrutinib (CALQUENCE®), culminating in the sale of Acerta to AstraZeneca for up to $7B. Before joining Acerta, Dr. McGreivy was the CMO at Pharmacyclics, where he oversaw the clinical development of ibrutinib (IMBRUVICA®) and its successful global filings. He received his medical degree from Ohio State University and completed his internship and residency in internal medicine, and his fellowship in hematology/oncology at Georgetown University.
Beth Mechling
COO
Beth brings almost 30 years of hematology expertise spanning clinical practice, medical communications, and Industry. As SVP of Client Solutions at Vaniam Group (2016-19), she led medical and scientific teams and consulted with pharmaceutical clients commercializing in hematology. Prior to this and as Head of U.S. Medical Affairs at Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (2011-15) and CTI Biopharma (2015-16), Beth built medical organizations and led medical strategy for various commercial product launches (BELEODAQ®, MARQIBO®, EVOMELA®) and late-stage pipeline asset pacritinib. Having been a Nurse Practitioner (1994-2004) in SCT/Heme-malignancies at University of Colorado and US Oncology, Beth transitioned to Industry by joining Allos Therapeutics (2008-11) first in development, then moving to Medical Affairs for the launch of FOLOTYN®. Her MS is from the University of Michigan.
Srdan Verstovsek, MD, PhD
CMO
Dr. Verstovsek is a world-renowned physician-scientist and a leading global authority on the treatment of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), including myelofibrosis (MF). Since 1998, Dr. Verstovsek has been affiliated with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, where he served as hematologist-oncologist and more recently as the Professor of Medicine in the Leukemia Department. He was Founder/Director of the largest single institution MPN Clinical Research Center worldwide. Dr. Verstovsek has achieved international acclaim for his leadership in developing landmark MPN therapeutics and have received several awards. He is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and is co-founder and an Executive Committee Member of the International Working Group for MF Treatment and Research. Dr. Verstovsek received his MD and PhD from the University of Zagreb, Croatia. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at SUNY at Buffalo, NY, and his fellowship in hematology/oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Todd Covey
CSO
Mr. Covey joined Kartos in April 2020 bringing over 25 years of industry experience in the hematology and inflammation fields. As VP of Biology at Acerta Pharma, Mr. Covey built and managed the biology lab and implemented strategies to assess the pharmacodynamic impact of acalabrutinib (CALQUENCE®). After Acerta was acquired by Astrazeneca, Mr. Covey remained in a leadership position, developing effective teams and biomarker strategies for Astrazeneca’s drug candidates. Prior to Acerta Pharma, Mr. Covey was Director of Research at Nodality for 4 years and was a Scientist at Amgen for 16 years. During that time, he managed projects focusing on the characterization of activated signaling networks in tumor cells and utilizing this knowledge to advance kinase inhibitors from the preclinical stage to the clinic. Todd holds a BA in Physiology and Cell Biology from UC Santa Barbara.
Greg Slatter, PhD
SVP, Clinical Pharmacology
Dr. Slatter has over 25 years of industry experience in DMPK and clinical pharmacology aspects of drug discovery & development. Prior to joining Kartos, Dr. Slatter was VP for DMPK/Clinical Pharmacology at Acerta Pharma (a member of the AstraZeneca Group, 2014-18); Scientific Director (PKDM) and Medical Sciences Director (Clinical Pharmacology/Early Development) at Amgen (2006-14); Scientific Director (Preclinical Molecular Profiling) at Rosetta Inpharmatics/Merck (2003-06); Scientist II-IV (Drug Metabolism Research) and Associate Director (Life Cycle Management) at Pharmacia/Upjohn (1990-2003). Dr. Slatter postdoc’d at the University of Washington School of Pharmacy after a PhD, MSc and BSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia and a BSc (Honors, Biology) at Lakehead University.
Scott Sandler
SVP, Finance
Mr. Sandler brings over 25 years of finance experience in the life sciences industry to Kartos. He most recently served as VP, Finance at Oxford Biotherapeutics. Prior to his role at Oxford, Mr. Sandler held various finance roles of increasing responsibility at Hyperion Therapeutics, Complete Genomics, Ipsen, Nektar Therapeutics, and Genentech. Mr. Sandler received his BS in Engineering from Tufts University and his MBA from the University of Michigan.
John Mei
SVP, Clinical Development Operations
Mr. Mei joined Kartos in Mar 2018 and has been instrumental in building and operationalizing the Kartos clinical trial portfolio. He has extensive experience in clinical operations and clinical development of both small and large-molecule therapies across a range of oncology indications. Prior to joining Kartos, he was the program lead for rovalpituzumab tesirine at Stemcentrx, prior to its acquisition by AbbVie. From 2010 to 2014, he worked on a variety of oncology projects within clinical operations at Loxo Oncology and Pharmacyclics. Mr. Mei holds a BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from The University of California, Santa Cruz.
Cecile Krejsa, PhD
VP, Translational Medicine
Dr. Krejsa has led early- and late-phase nonclinical and clinical translation programs for diverse small molecule and protein therapeutics in oncology, autoimmune and allergy indications. Her previous roles include Senior Director, Pharmacology & Toxicology at Acerta Pharma (2014-2018); Senior Program Scientist, Experimental Medicine at Seattle Genetics (2011-13); Principal Scientist, Mechanistic and Applied Pharmacology at ZymoGenetics (2004-09); and Senior Scientist, BioPrint™ at Cerep (2001-04). She served on Leadership Council for the Society of Toxicology PANWAT Chapter (2003-11, including President 2009-10). Dr. Krejsa received her doctorate in Toxicology from the University of Washington (2000) and is an Affiliate Professor at U.W. Dept. of Environmental Health Sciences.
Reg Myers
SVP, Strategy & Business Development
Mr. Myers joined Kartos in May 2018 from AstraZeneca, where he was Director, Oncology Business Unit Strategy with a focus on Hematology-oncology. While at AstraZeneca, he was a member of the team responsible for the acquisition of Acerta Pharma, after which, he contributed to the U.S. commercial launch of its lead asset, acalabrutinib (CALQUENCE®). Prior to this, he was an Equity Research Analyst covering Global Pharma and Biotech companies at various financial institutions. Mr. Myers holds an MBiochem in Molecular & Cellular Biochemistry from Oxford University.