Brendan Classon, PhD
Executive Vice President of Research and Development
Autoimmune diseases refer to a group of approximately 100 different diseases in which the body’s immune system, mistakenly attacks and destroys a patient’s own tissue and/or organ (self). There is currently no cure for autoimmune diseases, and current treatments rely on general, non-specific suppression of immune system function, frequently resulting in unacceptable side effects including infection and cancer.
There is a large unmet need for improved treatments that can suppress immune activity (restore immune tolerance) to specific organs without causing generalized immune suppression.
Navacims create organ-specific immune suppression, while avoiding the general immune suppression associated with current therapies. Parvus’ innovative approach has the potential to benefit millions of patients suffering from different autoimmune diseases and chronic inflammatory conditions.
Navacims reprogram disease-associated, autoantigen-experienced T cells (effectors) to differentiate and expand into regulatory T (Treg) cells (suppressors) specific to the diseased organ. These organ-specific Tregs selectively reverse autoimmune disease by suppressing autoimmune attacks on self without impairing normal immune function.
Parvus has retained unencumbered rights to all Navacims and all indications and is advancing our robust pipeline of proprietary Navacim drug candidates towards clinical testing. Parvus’ leadership team possesses deep experience in drug discovery, development, and commercialization in diverse disease areas, including immunology and autoimmune disease.
MANAGEMENT
Industry leaders with proven track records in advancing innovative therapies through development to commercialization
Jord Cowan
Vice President of Operations
Louis Demers
Vice President CMC
Murray Hinz
Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration
Pere Santamaria, PhD, MD
Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, Board Member
Peter Strumph
Chief Executive Officer, Board Member
Brendan Classon, PhD
Executive Vice President of Research and Development
Brendan Classon has more than two decades of biopharmaceutical industry experience in discovery, research, and preclinical development of small molecule and biologic therapeutics for autoimmune disease. Brendan has held positions of increasing responsibility in research leadership at Genocea Biosciences, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Brendan earned a BS with Honors from Monash University and a PhD in Immunology from The University of Melbourne.
Jord Cowan
Vice President of Operations
Jord has been with Parvus since its spinout from the University of Calgary in 2013. Prior to Parvus, Jord served as the Manager of Company Creation at Innovate Calgary, the University’s technology transfer office. In that capacity, Jord played a key role in the formation of Parvus and was recognized for his outstanding work with the nanoVenture Prize of 2012 and the Alberta Innovates -Commercialization Associate award. Jord began his entrepreneurial career as an analyst for the Valhalla Angels (formerly Keiretsu Forum) and before that Argon Venture Partners, a cross-border early-stage venture capital firm. Jord received a Bachelor of Science (biochemistry & chemistry) degree and carried out graduate studies in medical sciences research at the University of Calgary.
Louis Demers
Vice President CMC
Louis Demers has more than two decades of experience in the biopharma industry with large and small companies like J&J, Genentech/Roche, XOMA, and most recently, Rezolute. Louis has managed CMC programs across a wide array of technologies with a focus on large molecules and Antibody-Drug Conjugates. He is experienced in setting up and managing virtual global supply chains to advance pre-clinical, clinical commercial manufacturing. Louis earned a BE in Chemical Engineering from McGill University in Montreal and an MBA from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.
Murray Hinz
Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration
Mr. Hinz is a Chartered Accountant with over 25 years of experience as a senior financial executive and consultant working with small and large, private and public companies in Canada, United States, South America, Caribbean and the United Kingdom. Previously Mr. Hinz was CFO of CanElson Drilling, where during his tenure he oversaw the company’s exponential growth from 1 to over 1,000 employees who served customers in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Earlier in his career, Mr. Hinz was employed by PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Canada and also Deloitte in the Cayman Islands providing business and financial advisory services including valuation, restructuring, liquidation and litigation support.
Pere Santamaria, PhD, MD
Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, Board Member
Dr. Santamaria holds both an MD and PhD from University of Barcelona, Spain, and completed post-doctoral studies at the University of Minnesota prior to joining the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary as Assistant Professor in 1992. He is an internationally recognized immunologist specialized in type-1 diabetes and Julia McFarlane Diabetes Research Chair and Professor at the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. Dr. Santamaria has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, demonstrating that Navacims can reprogram disease- or tissue-specific cells to enhance the regulatory functioning of the immune system in pre-clinical in vivo models of a variety of autoimmune diseases. He has received many honors and awards, including the Canadian Diabetes Association Young Scientist Award, the Outstanding Leadership in Alberta Technology Award and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Gerold & Kayla Grodsky Award. In 2017, he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He has published over 190 publications, many in high-impact journals, and he is a regularly invited speaker at national and international forums. He sits on the editorial board of a number of journals and numerous national and international grant review panels.
Peter Strumph
Chief Executive Officer, Board Member
Peter Strumph has more than two decades of experience in executive leadership and technical roles supporting successful development and commercialization for 7 FDA approved novel therapies. Peter’s prior experience includes CEO at Amygdala Neurosciences, CEO at Codexis, CEO of Nile Therapeutics, SVP of Operations at Portola Pharmaceuticals, SVP of Operations at CV Therapeutics, Manager of Operations & Planning at Biogen, and an engineer at Bayer. Peter served as a Lieutenant in the US Navy. Peter earned a BAS in Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Wharton School.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Hugh Young Rienhoff, Jr. MD
Executive Chairman
Pere Santamaria, PhD, MD
Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, Board Member
Peter Strumph
Chief Executive Officer, Board Member
Matthew J. Hogan, MBA
Charles Johnson, MB.ChB, FCP (SA)
Daniel C. Adelman, MD
TEAM
PARTNERS & FINANCING
Parvus has a history of partnerships and research funding agreements with industry, government, and NGOs.
If you are interested in discussing a collaboration or partnership opportunity, contact info@parvustx.com.