Joanne B.L. Tan, PhD
Senior Vice President 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 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
Senior Vice President CMC
Sarah Grimberg
Senior Director Clinical Operations
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
Joanne B.L. Tan, PhD
Senior Vice President Research and Development
Joanne brings more than 15 years of industry experience building R&D teams and advancing drug candidates through development and clinical proof-of-concept studies. Prior to Parvus, Joanne served as Head of Translational Sciences at Nkarta and Sana Biotechnology and Head of Clinical Biomarker at Schrodinger. At Arcus Biosciences, Joanne served in a series of leadership rolesdeveloping biomarker strategies and advancing the pre-clinical pipeline. Joanne’s earlier experience includes Research and Development roles at Compugen, ChemoCentryx, and Genentech. Joanne earned her BSc with honors and PhD in Immunology and Developmental Biology from Trinity College at the University of Toronto.
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
Senior 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.
Sarah Grimberg
Senior Director Clinical Operations
Sarah Grimberg has more than two decades of biopharmaceutical experience in clinical research with an emphasis on Phase 1 – Phase 3 trial execution. She began her research career at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Sweden, and has been working in the biopharma industry based in the United States since 2004. Sarah has experience across multiple therapeutic indications, and she has supported the development of 3 FDA approved therapies. In recent years she has provided expertise in the oversight of global pivotal trials as well as early-phase planning. Sarah earned her undergraduate degree in Physiological Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles.
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
Pere Santamaria, PhD, MD
Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, Board Member
Peter Strumph
Chief Executive Officer, Board Member
Hugh Young Rienhoff, Jr. MD
Executive Chairman
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.