Robert Brooks, JD: Chief Executive Officer
Robert Brooks serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Robert brings over 30 years of biotechnology, financial and legal experience. He also serves as Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alphageneron Pharmaceuticals, a clinical stage company focused on natural killer (NK) cell and antibody-based therapies. In 2015, he founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of Aurora Biopharma, a biotechnology company with a mission to develop CAR T cell therapy for solid tumors. In 2012, he founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of Medvax Technologies, a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing dendritic cell cancer vaccines. From 2000 to 2010, Mr. Brooks practiced corporate law, representing private and publicly listed companies. From 1987 until 1999, he was employed in the financial industry, and involved in investment banking. He serves on the Board of Directors of Medtherapy, Inc., a start-up global cell and gene manufacturer.
He holds a Juris Doctorate (JD) degree from the University of Miami, Florida, and undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree, Cum Laude, in Biology.
A. Graham Pockley, PhD: Chief Scientific Officer / Scientific Advisor
Graham Pockley is the CEO of multimmune GmbH, Munich, Emeritus Professor of Immunobiology and Chief Scientific Officer (interim) of Alphageneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. USA. He is also the former Director of the John van Geest Cancer Research Centre at Nottingham Trent University, UK, and was the Founder and CEO of the flow cytometry resource Chromocyte, the assets of which have now been sold to Biocompare.
Graham’s extensive academic career has focused on the immunobiology of disease, the development of new immunotherapeutic strategies for treating aggressive and ‘orphan’ cancers, new approaches for analysing and interpreting complex datasets and defining new biomarkers of disease presence, status and response to therapy in patients with cancer.
multimmune GmbH is a private, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company which has developed a unique and proprietary technology platform on the basis of the founding scientists’ (Professor Gabriele Multhoff, Dr Claus Botzler) discovery that cell surface-bound Hsp70 is uniquely expressed on a large proportion of cancers (~50-75%), but not on healthy cells. This makes this form of Hsp70 an excellent and broadly-applicable molecule on which to base the development of innovative therapeutics and diagnostics (‘theranostics’).
Graham holds a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry from the University of Sheffield, UK and a PhD in Immunology from Sheffield Hallam University, also in Sheffield, UK.
Michael Sun, PhD: CMC / Manufacturing
Dr. Mike Sun has more than 20 years of experience in the CMC of ADCs, from pre-IND to commercial. Dr Sun’s experience includes leadership roles for multiple companies, most recently as Senior Vice President of CMC for VelosBio, which was acquired by Merck for $2.75B. Prior roles included serving as Vice President of CMC at Silverback Therapeutics and various leadership roles during his 17-year tenure at Seagen.
Dr. Sun participated in the development and submission of more than 30 antibody and ADC INDs and 4 BLAs, including serving as the CMC Lead during development and approval of ADCETRIS and PADCEV. Dr. Sun serves as technical advisor to multiple biotechnology companies developing ADCs.
Dr. Sun holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Washington.