Our Story

Josep Bassaganya-Riera, Ph.D.

Chairman, President and CEO

Josep Bassaganya-Riera, Ph.D. has served as our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer since our founding in January 2017. Dr. Bassaganya-Riera has served as the Director of the NIMML Institute since July 2002 and the Chairman of the board of directors of Biotherapeutics Inc. since October 2008. He previously served as the Chief Executive Officer at Biotherapeutics and Professor of Inflammation & Immunology Virginia Tech. He is a captain of industry, innovator, thought leader, and serial entrepreneur, with more than 20 years in the industry. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and books on the acceleration of biopharmaceutical development and computational immunology, and he has contributed 40 patents in immunology and autoimmune disease treatment. He has founded 3 award-winning Companies, raising over $200 million in non-dilutive and equity financing rounds. His distinctions include recognition as Innovator of the Year and recipient of the Research Excellence Award at Virginia Tech. Dr. Bassaganya-Riera has applied agile and lean management systems in combination with an efficient use of capital to catalyze value accrual and capture. Through its entrepreneurial corporate culture, encapsulated in four fundamental pillars: be bold and decisive, never give up, be solution-oriented and do the impossible, Landos empowers employees to think outside the box to achieve creative and innovative solutions that promote technological innovation. Dr. Bassaganya-Riera holds a degree in Veterinary Medicine from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and a Ph.D. in Nutrition and Immunology from Iowa State University.

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Chris Garabedian

Xontogeny, Perceptive Advisors

Chris Garabedian is founder and CEO of Xontogeny, a biotech aggregator that supports life science technologies from early development through clinical proof of concept. He also established the firm’s venture fund strategy in a partnership with Perceptive Advisors. Prior to joining Xontogeny, he served as the President and CEO of Sarepta Therapeutics, overseeing the development of the company’s Duchenne muscular dystrophy program. His previous positions also include VP of Corporate Strategy at Celgene and various global leadership roles at Gilead. Currently, Garabedian serves on the Board of Directors of MassBio, the Keck Graduate Institute, and is a Senior Advisor for the Boston Consulting Group.

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Tiago Girão

CFO of RoiVant Sciences

Tiago Girão is currently the Chief Financial Officer of ProteoVant Therapeutics, a newly launched development-stage biotech company created by Roivant Sciences that focuses on the discovery and development of disease-modifying therapies by harnessing natural protein homeostasis processes. Mr. Girão has more than 20 years of experience in accounting, finance, and operations for U.S. and global private and public life sciences companies. Previously, Mr. Girão was the CFO and SVP of Operations at Cytori Therapeutics (NASDAQ: PSTV) from September 2014 to March 2019. Before that, he served as International Controller at NuVasive (NASDAQ: NUVA) from April 2012 to August 2014. Earlier in his career, Mr. Girão served as Senior Manager, Assurance at KPMG in the U.S. from October 2004 to March 2012, as well as Ernst & Young in Brazil from October 2000 to August 2004. Mr. Girão will bring valuable insight as a cross-functional leader to Landos, as he has conducted successful capital raising strategies and executed productive business development initiatives.

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Tim M. Mayleben

Tim M. Mayleben was most recently the President, CEO and Director of Esperion Therapeutics, Inc., a pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for the treatment of patients with elevated levels of LDL-cholesterol. In this role, he oversaw the development, strategy and commercial product launch of NexletolTM/NexlizetTM, as well as initiated collaborations with key commercial and development partners. Mr. Mayleben has more than two decades of executive leadership experience in the life science industry including as former President, CEO and Director of Vericel Corporation (formerly Aastrom Biosciences, Inc.), former President, COO and Board member of Virtual Radiologics (formerly Nighthawk Radiology Holdings, Inc), and former COO and CFO of the original Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. until its acquisition by Pfizer, Inc. (NYSE: PFE) in 2004. Mr. Mayleben also serves as an Independent Board member of Marinus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MRNS) and Kaleo, Inc. where he also serves as non-executive Chairman.

Mr. Mayleben earned an M.B.A., with distinction, from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, and a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan, Ross School of Business.

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Konstantin Poukalov

Managing Director – Strategy, Perceptive Advisors

Konstantin Poukalov is a Managing Director in Strategy at Perceptive Advisors and serves as Executive Chairman at LianBio. Previously, Mr. Poukalov worked at Kadmon Holdings, a biopharmaceutical company focused on therapeutics for inflammatory and fibrotic diseases. During his tenure, he served as Chief Financial Officer following his role as Vice President of Strategic Operations. Prior to joining Kadmon, Mr. Poukalov worked in the Jefferies healthcare investment banking group. Mr. Poukalov began his career at UBS in investment banking.

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Roderick Wong, M.D., MBA

Managing Partner, RTW Investments

Roderick Wong, M.D. is Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of RTW, where he manages the firm’s investments focused on innovative drug development. Prior to founding RTW, Dr. Wong was a Managing Director and sole Portfolio Manager for the Davidson Kempner Healthcare Funds. Over the years, he has held various healthcare investment and research roles at Sigma Capital Partners and Cowen & Company. He also holds an affiliation at the New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business. Dr. Wong simultaneously received an MD from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and an MBA from Harvard Business School and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.S. in Economics from Duke University.

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Maria T. Abreu, M.D.

Maria Abreu, M.D., brings over 20 years of experience in conducting preclinical models and clinical studies of IBD, with a research focus in intestinal inflammation and colon cancer. Dr. Abreu is an expert of host-bacterial interactions and in particular the role of TLR4 signaling in intestinal inflammation and colon cancer. Currently, Dr. Abreu is Chief of Gastroenterology and Professor of Medicine at the University of Miami. Her additional roles include Chairperson of the International Organization for the Study of IBD and Councillor-at-Large of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Governing Board, among others. Dr. Abreu has authored more than 116 peer-reviewed articles, books, chapters, and reviews. In recognition of her substantial contribution, she received the 2018 Book of Hope Award from the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation and the prestigious Sherman Prize in 2019. She has been a member of the Landos CAB since 2018.

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Jean-Frederic Colombel, M.D.

Jean-Frédéric Colombel, M.D. currently serves as a Professor of Medicine and Director of the Leona and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Icahn School of Medicine, New York, positions he has held since 2013. Since 2013, Dr. Colombel has also served as the Co-Director of the Susan and Leonard Feinstein Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, Icahn School of Medicine, New York. Dr. Colombel has served as a member of the Committee on Appointments, Promotions and Tenure at the Icahn School of Medicine, New York, since 2017, has served as an associate editor of Gastroenterology since 2016, and has been a member of the National Scientific Advisory Committee at the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America since 2015. Dr. Colombel holds an HDR (Habilitation a Diriger les Recherches) from Universite Lille II, France, a DEA (Diplome d’Etudes Approfondies) from Universite Paris VII, France, and an M.D. from Université Lille II, France. During his career he has mentored hundreds of top Gastroenterologists worldwide. As a leading world-renowned Gastroenterologist, Dr. Colombel’s pioneering and highly innovative research in IBD has shaped the field of therapeutic development for over 30 years. He has published nearly 600 articles in top peer-reviewed journals. He has been a member of the Landos CAB since its inception in 2017.

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Fabio Cominelli, M.D., Ph.D.

Fabio Cominelli, M.D., Ph.D., has more than 30 years of experience conducting clinical research for inflammatory bowel disease therapeutics and gastrointestinal cancers. Dr. Cominelli is the Hermann Menges M.D. Professor of Internal Medicine, the chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Liver Disease and the Director and Chief Scientific Officer of the Digestive Health Institute at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland. Prior to these roles, he was the Director of the Center for Excellence in Digestive Diseases at the University of Virginia. He is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, Association of American Physicians, Editor in Chief of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, and a perennial figure on key NIH-NIDDK study sections. He has published nearly 200 articles in top peer-reviewed journals and has received over $70M in federal grants throughout his career. Dr. Cominelli received his MD and PhD degrees at the Universita Degli Studi Di Firenze (Florence). He has been a member of the Landos CAB since its inception in 2017.

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Asher Kornbluth, M.D.

Asher Kornbluth, M.D., is Clinical Professor of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, New York and has mentored hundreds of medical students, residents and fellows over the last more than 25 years. He is the principal author of all three editions of the Ulcerative Colitis Practice Guidelines in Adults, published by the American College of Gastroenterology. He has also been the principal author on the chapter on Crohn’s disease in Sleisenger and Fordtran’s Textbook of Gastroenterology twice. He has served as an associate editor for the journal Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and has authored over 100 articles. Dr Kornbluth is an investigator on a number of clinical trials examining new therapeutic agents in inflammatory bowel disease, and most recently has been analyzing the role of biosimilar drugs in the management of inflammatory bowel disease. He received his medical degree from Downstate Medical Center in New York and completed his postgraduate training in internal medicine as both resident and Chief Resident at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York. He joined the Landos CAB in 2019.

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William J. Sandborn, M.D.

William Sandborn, M.D., brings over 30 years of expertise in the management of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Currently, he serves as the Director of IBD Center at UC San Diego Health, supervising a multi-investigator team of physicians, research fellows, nurses, and study coordinators. In addition, he is chief of the Division of Gastroenterology, vice chair of clinical operations for the Department of Medicine, and a member of the Clinical Practice Oversight Board for UC San Diego Health. One of Dr. Sandborn’s notable achievements includes managing multiple Phase 3 clinical trials which have established the standard for clinical care. He has published nearly 700 articles in journals such as The Lancet, JAMA, Gastroenterology, Nature, and the New England Journal of Medicine, of which he is on the editorial board. In 2019 he was honored to receive the Sherman Prize for Excellence in Crohn’s and Colitis research. He has been a member of the Landos CAB since its inception in 2017.

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Francisco Sylvester, M.D.

Francisco Sylvester, M.D., has more than 30 years of expertise as a translational scientist focused on the unique and complex needs of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. His lab focuses on the effects of chronic intestinal inflammation on childhood growth and bone and muscle development. Dr. Sylvester also serves as chief of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, a collaborative gastrointestinal research center at UNC Chapel Hill, for which he actively recruits, supports, and retains other pediatric gastroenterologists. Additionally, Dr. Sylvester has served as the Director of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America PRO-KIIDS organization, a critical network supporting pediatric research studies in IBD. He has published over 100 articles in top peer-reviewed journals. He has been a member of the Landos CAB since its inception in 2017.

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