Executive Management
David H. Kirn, MD, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Kirn is a medical oncologist and a leader in cancer product research and commercial development. He held academic positions at Harvard Medical School; the University of California, San Francisco; and the University of Oxford where he is currently an adjunct Professor. Dr. Kirn was Vice President of Clinical Research at Onyx Pharmaceuticals. After joining as the first oncology development employee, he created and initiated clinical development plans in partnership with Bayer for Nexavar, now a marketed product for kidney cancer. He also led the development of a first-in-class oncolytic virus therapeutic through to Phase 3 and a corporate partnership with Warner-Lambert. Onyx completed an Initial Public Offering during his tenure. Dr. Kirn subsequently consulted for Pfizer, Novartis, BiogenIdec, Schering AG and other leading oncology companies. He was an invited advisor on cancer therapy to the National Institutes of Health (U.S.), the Gene Therapy Advisory Committee (U.K.) and the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (E.U.). He is author of over 70 publications in peer-reviewed journals and textbooks. He founded the International Society of Oncolytic Virotherapy with Dr. Bell in 2007.
John Bell, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Bell completed his PhD in Virology and Immunology at McMaster University and then carried out post-doctoral studies at the Medical Research Council in London England. In 1986, he began his independent research career at McGill University in the Department of Biochemistry supported by a Medical Research Council Scholarship and subsequently as a Senior Scientist of the National Cancer Institute of Canada. Dr. Bell moved to the Department of Medicine at the University of Ottawa in 1989 and is currently a Senior Scientist at the Ottawa Health Research Institute. In 2004 Dr. Bell formed and continues to head the Canadian Oncolytic Virus Consortium, a peer reviewed and funded multi-disciplinary group from across Canada that is developing virus based cancer therapeutics. In 2007, Dr. Bell was named the Director of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research program in Biotherapeutics, a program comprised of scientists and clinicians from across Ontario whose aim is to exploit viral and immuno-therapeutics to improve outcomes for cancer patients. Dr. Bell currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Cancer Society and is an Executive Member of the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group. His research program has been continuously funded by peer reviewed grants for twenty three years and he is an author on over 90 publications.
Lara Longpre, MSc, MBA, Chief Operating Officer
Ms. Longpre has over 16 years of clinical research experience in numerous roles in CRO and biotech environments. She previously held senior positions at PRA International, a global CRO, including Vice President of Proposals & Contracts, Vice-President of Quality and Process Management, Director of Global Regulatory Affairs, and Director of Operations. She has experience in all stages of clinical development and has directly managed several pivotal Phase 3 trials. Areas of specific expertise include project management, clinical operations, and quality management systems, including achieving ISO 9001:2000 registration and ensuring Sarbanes-Oxley compliance while at an international CRO. Ms. Longpre holds an M.Sc. in Medical Science from Harvard Medical School, an MBA from Queens University, and a B.A. from Cornell University.
Greg Schafer, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Schafer has more than 20 years of broad functional and strategic management expertise, including more than 10 years as a Chief Financial Officer of public companies in the biopharmaceutical industry. He has successfully raised over $600 million in capital through a variety of financial instruments, including public offerings, PIPEs, equity line and strategic loan facilities. He is experienced in all stages of drug development including asset acquisition, preclinical development, clinical development and commercialization, and has been an integral member of the corporate development review team. Mr. Schafer also serves on the board of directors for Nile Therapeutics. He received his MBA from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles and a BSE in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
Mark P. Backer, Senior Vice President of Technical Operations
Dr. Backer joined Jennerex in October 2010 as Senior Vice President, Technical Operations. Prior to that, he was principal of Biologics Technical Consulting where he provided strategic and technical consulting services supporting developers of biological products. Previously, he served as CEO and board member for Vaxart, Inc., a private company focused on developing vector-based oral vaccines. Dr. Backer served as founding chairman and then board member of Molecular Medicine BioServices (now SAFC Biopharma), a viral-based contract manufacturing firm. Dr. Backer also held management positions of increasing responsibility with Protein Design Labs, Aviron (now MedImmune Vaccines), Coulter Pharmaceuticals, Systemix, IDEC, Eli Lilly and Genentech. Dr. Backer holds a BS in chemistry from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Washington.
Helena Chaye, Ph.D., LL.B., VP Corporate Affairs & Intellectual Property
Dr. Chaye has over 15 years of experience in business development, law, intellectual property management, technology transfer and licensing, and legal affairs. Her legal practice included providing advice on general corporate commercial matters, mergers & acquisitions, and corporate finance. She represented venture capital funds in hi-tech and biotech company financings. Prior to joining Jennerex in 2006, she held the position of Director of Business Development at MediGene, Inc., a public biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Munich, Germany At MediGene, she led in-licensing and out-licensing of technologies for the oncolytic virus product programs, as well as the intellectual property strategies. She received her PhD in Genetics from the University of British Columbia and her Law degree from Dalhousie University.
Tae-Ho Hwang, DDS, Ph.D., Research Advisor, and Head of Pusan Research Site
Dr. Hwang has over 20 years of experience in cancer research, with more than 10 years focused specifically on cancer virotherapy. Having been a Professor at Baylor School of Medicine and Dong-A University School of Medicine in South Korea, he brings a deep knowledge in the field of cancer research. His experience as the Head of Clinical Pharmacology at Pusan National University in South Korea and Vice President of Research for liver and cholangio carcinomas at YangSan Hospital gives him practical and clinical knowledge of liver cancer patients and different treatment regimens. He is a member of the Board of Directors for SillaJen BT Inc. Dr. Hwang received both his DDS and Ph.D. in Physiology from Pusan National University in South Korea, and was a post-doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University. He has authored more than 50 papers in the fields of cancer.
Samantha Miller, Vice President, Corporate Development
Ms. Miller has over 15 years of biotechnology and pharmaceutical business development experience, and has negotiated, executed and managed numerous global partnerships, as well as regional partnerships in the United States, Europe, Japan and elsewhere. She has been involved in executing over 30 partnerships and licenses, with companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Astellas and others. Ms. Miller has held senior positions in business development, including the title of Vice President, in various companies including Anesiva, Theravance, Scios Pharmaceuticals, Onyx Pharmaceuticals and Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals. Ms. Miller holds a BS in Biochemistry/ Cell Biology from UCSD, and she holds Masters degrees in both Immunology and in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Rochester.
