Syncromune is uniquely focused on developing intratumoral immunotherapy to fight cancer in a new way
CORPORATE OVERVIEW
A novel approach to fighting metastatic cancers
Syncromune™ is a privately held, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of novel intratumoral immunotherapies for metastatic solid tumors. We are at the forefront of developing combination immunotherapies, which several thought leaders consider to be the future of cancer therapy. We are committed to bringing life-changing treatments to patients with unmet medical needs by fighting cancer in a new way.
The company is currently developing Syncrovax™, a proprietary platform technology that uses a combination approach to synchronize the timing and location of tumor antigen release with the functional activation of immune cells. A vaccine is created from the patient’s own tumor, making it a personalized treatment for each patient. The platform is designed to enable the immune system to recognize and attack cancer throughout the body. Several clinical development programs are underway to advance Syncrovax™ into clinical trials.
FOUNDED
HEADQUARTERS
SPECIALTY
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
*As of 6/14/2022
is to be the world leader in optimized intratumoral immuno-oncology multi-component drug development and therapies.
SYNCROMUNE TEAM
Unsurpassed Dedication to Finding a Cure
To deliver on the promise of our novel immunotherapy platform, we have assembled a senior leadership team with multi-disciplinary expertise in drug development, cancer immunotherapy, combination drug/device cancer therapy & clinical trials.
CHARLES J. LINK, MD
Executive Chairman & Chief Medical Officer
EAMONN HOBBS
President & Chief Executive Officer
JOSEPH GERARDI
Chief Financial Officer
MARIO MAUTINO, PHD
Chief Scientific Officer
AGUSTIN GAGO
Chief Business Officer
MARLENE BARTON
EVP, Regulatory Affairs – Medical Device
GABRIELA ROSSI, PHD
EVP, Immunology & Grant Management
JASON RIFKIN
EVP, Clinical Affairs
STEPHEN KEE, MD
EVP, Clinical Operations
DAN RECINELLA
EVP, Medical Device Development
DANIELLE HOBBS
EVP, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Disclaimers: The content on this website is intended for US healthcare professionals only. The compounds and their uses mentioned on this website are investigational and have not been determined safe and effective by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Executive Chairman & Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Link is the Co-founder and previous Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NewLink Genetics, a clinical stage company focused on the development of new immuno-oncology treatments. Dr. Link co-founded NewLink Genetics in 1999 with the idea of leveraging the body’s immune system to fight cancer.
He practiced oncology for 18 years, most recently caring for patients part-time at Medical Oncology and Hematology Associates of Iowa from 1995 to 2013. He also served as director of the Human Gene Therapy Research Institute, which is part of the John Stoddard Cancer Center at Iowa Methodist Medical Center.
Dr. Link was appointed by United States Senator John Glenn of Ohio to the United States Air Force Academy where he studied chemistry. Prior to graduating, he was accepted to a special program at Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, California, where he received his medical degree. He completed his residency at the University of California, San Francisco, followed by fellowship training in medical oncology at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, where he also served as an attending physician.
Dr. Link has authored more than 100 scientific articles and abstracts. He has received more than $20 million in funding for his research from organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society, U.S. Army Breast Cancer, Department of Defense, and Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
President & Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Hobbs is an entrepreneurial senior executive with over 35 years of demonstrated success in profitable medical device and combination drug/device product business creation and growth, general management, sales and marketing, and product development. He is a renowned expert in combination drug/device technologies, having developed and commercialized numerous combination products throughout this career.
Previously he was a Visiting Scholar and Entrepreneur in Residence for the Translational Accelerator at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. He has also led several pharmaceutical and biotech companies throughout his career. Formerly he was President and CEO of Antares Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATRS), a specialty pharmaceutical and drug/device combination company focused on self-injection pharmaceutical products and technologies. Prior to ATRS, he was the President and CEO of Delcath Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: DCTH), a specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company specializing in a novel drug/device combination cancer therapy.
Prior to Delcath Systems, Inc., Mr. Hobbs served as President and CEO of AngioDynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGO), a company he co-founded in 1988. He grew the company into a leading medical technology and oncology company which he took public in 2004. ANGO was the best performing medical technology IPO of the class of 2004, also earning the top honors in 2005 and 2006. It was also recognized in Business Week as a “Hot 100 Top Growth Company” for 2005 and 2006 and received a # 11 ranking in Forbes “Best 200 Small Companies” in 2006. Prior to starting AngioDynamics, Mr. Hobbs was Director of Marketing and Product Development at NAMIC; founder, President and CEO of Hobbs Medical, Inc.; and a Product Development Engineer at Cook Incorporated.
He is a highly sought-after board director and has served on numerous public and private company boards throughout his career, including at present 4 other companies in addition to syncromune. Mr. Hobbs received a B.S. degree in Plastics Engineering with a Biomaterials emphasis at the University of Massachusetts (Lowell).
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Gerardi is an entrepreneurial C-Level executive and a consummate financial strategist who partners with company leadership as a trusted adviser and plays a pivotal role in influencing strategy, planning and growth. He grasps the implications of critical issues and quickly formulates and implicates appropriate financial strategies and capital management solutions and controls with systems that drive organizational growth and expansion.
Mr. Gerardi started his career at FACTRON/Schlumberger as a Cost Accountant in 1986. He transitioned into the medical sector in 1987 as a Plant Controller at Mallinckrodt. In 1992, Mr. Gerardi joined AngioDynamics, Inc as the Chief Financial Officer. Throughout his 16-year tenure, he was pivotal in the rapid growth of the company. In 2004 he helped to successfully execute an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of AngioDynamics that was subsequently recognized as one of the most successful IPOs of the year.
In 2008 Mr. Gerardi stepped down from AngioDynamics and joined Paradigm Spine as its VP and CFO. He continued to work within the orthopedic specialty in 2012, serving as VP and CFO to Knee Creations and Centinel Spine. From 2015 to 2018 Mr. Gerardi served as the VP and CFO of Genesis Global Healthcare, LLC. In 2015 he founded Fox Hollow Financial Consulting, partnering with companies as a trusted adviser, influencing strategy, planning and growth.
He received a B.B.A. in Finance in 1984 from SUNY Utica, followed by an MBA in International Business from SUNY Albany.
Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Mautino is a senior R&D executive and translational scientist with diverse experience in drug discovery and development, including strategic planning, program management, and intellectual property management. He brings 25+ year of experience in the fields of immuno-oncology, immunology, basic research, medicinal chemistry, bioassays, pharmacology, toxicology, safety pharmacology, clinical pharmacology, IND filings, regulatory guidelines, quality, pharmaceutical development, and drug substance and drug product manufacturing.
He has led multiple research projects related to design of vaccines, and research of combinations of therapeutic modalities in different cancer models including chemotherapy, radiation, vaccination, inhibition of metabolic, and other immune checkpoints.
Chief Business Officer
Mr. Gago brings to this position over 30 years of experience nurturing, developing and building strong and lasting relationships with the international healthcare community. He has extensive experience on a global basis with industry business partners, ranging from component suppliers to clinical, training and marketing organizations.
Agustin brings a wealth of expertise in the fields of interventional oncology, cancer treatment systems/surgical devices, diagnostic cancer pharmaceuticals as well as cardiology devices and devices for vascular interventions.
Agustin has held several executive-level positions, including: EVP/Chief Commercial Officer at InspireMD, Chief Commercial Officer at Delcath, Vice President of International Oncology Sales at AngioDynamics, and Vice President of International Operations at E-Z-EM Inc.
Over the years Agustin has built direct sales, distributor sales, marketing and distribution organizations, along with technical sales and marketing support units that were focused on the oncology and interventional oncology segments of the marketplace. He holds a B.S. in Business Management from Hofstra University.
EVP, Regulatory Affairs – Medical Device
Marlene Barton is a renowned expert in regulatory affairs and has significant experience in worldwide approvals and coordination of FDA panel meetings. Notably, Marlene assisted in the first drug-eluting stent approval in Japan, the first Brachytherapy system approval in the United states, and the first liquid embolic agent IDE approval for Neurovascular use in the United States which lead to PMA approval.
Marlene has been an active participant in the AdvaMed PMA & 510 (k) Working Groups since 1997, where she worked in conjunction with FDA to re-engineer their systems and develop numerous guidance documents. She was the PMA Working Group Chairperson for seven years. Marlene has also held significant roles in compliance efforts which led to resolution of a Corporate Warning Letter. This included her membership with the Office of Management and lead on several of the work streams (complaint handling, change management and non-conformances).
She has vast international experience, including her role as a representative for the Global Harmonization Task Force Study Group 1, as well as her work with FDA and Asia Pacific regulators to present the United States regulations at the time they were establishing new regulations in their countries.
Previously, Marlene served as the VP of Regulatory Affairs at Syntactx, where she was responsible for worldwide regulatory approvals for medical devices, combination products, biologics and drugs. Prior to Syntactx, Marlene was the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for Cordis Corporation where she worked for 27 years on Endovascular, Neurovascular and Cardiology products. She left Cordis, a J & J company, in 2010 to start her own consulting company. During this time, she worked on various medical devices and combination products.
Marlene holds a Bachelor of Science in Geology from SUNY Binghamton. She is a member of the Regulatory Affairs Society and is Regulatory Affairs Certified (RAC).
EVP, Immunology & Grant Management
Dr. Rossi is a forward-thinking, highly knowledgeable immunology executive. As a scientific leader, with extensive experience in biological products development and characterization for cancer immunotherapy applications, she brings a wide range of experience in the life cycle of a biological product, from pre-clinical research and development up to large scale manufacturing process for commercialization purposes.
She received her undergraduate and Doctoral training in Cordoba, Argentina and Doctoral degree in Infectious Disease and Immunology in 1997. She continued her education as Post-Doctoral Fellow in several prestigious organizations including the American Red Cross, NIH, the National Cancer Institute, and the Iowa Cancer Research Foundation. During her training, she gained valuable experience in immunology and animal models. Dr. Rossi has published her work in peer-reviewed scientific journals and has presented her work in numerous national and international conferences. Her work has included clinical trials development and immunological monitoring of Patients in clinical trials as well as process development for the manufacture of cGMP biological materials for early/late clinical trials development.
She previously served as VP of Cancer Biology and Immunology at NewLink Genetics, a clinical stage company focused on the development of new immune therapies for oncology treatments. She spent over 15 years in leadership positions at NewLink Genetics after her training as Post-Doctoral Fellow at the NCI.
EVP, Clinical Affairs
Jason Rifkin has been involved in numerous early-stage biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies in a variety of executive and leaderships positions. Roles have included President and CEO of PhageNova Bio, Inc.; President and CEO of Cage Pharma, Inc.; Vice President of Business and Contract Development of AZTherapies, Inc.; and Senior Vice President of Delcath Systems, Inc.
Through these roles, he has managed all aspects of clinical operations and scientific affairs, with a primary focus on building and executing development plans, with the goal of reaching pre-commercial inflection points and development milestones.
In addition, Jason serves as a Strategic Advisory Board Member of Spring Mountain Capital and is a Member of the Advisory Board of the Westchester Biotech Project, and Member of BioNJ’s Clinical Development Committee. Jason earned a Master’s of Science in Biotechnology from The University of Pennsylvania, School of Engineering and Applied Science, a Juris Doctor from Northeastern University School of Law, and a Bachelor of Science from The University of Pennsylvania, College of Arts.
EVP, Clinical Operations
Dr. Kee is an Interventional Radiologist and served as Chief of Interventional Radiology at UCLA from 2006-2019. He qualified from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 1986, completed his basic training in Ireland and came to the United States in 1993. Following Fellowships at UCSF in Thoracic Radiology, and at Stanford University in Interventional Radiology, Dr. Kee served on Faculty at Stanford University Hospital from 1996-2006.
He received a Masters in Medical Management from the University of Southern California in 2013.
Dr. Kee has authored over 130 scientific papers and has authored 2 text books. He has been an educator and scientist, having served as the Chair of the Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation from 2013-2015.
EVP, Medical Device Development
Mr. Recinella has over 35 years of experience in medical devices and has taken numerous products from feasibility to commercialization. His experience covers a wide array of devices ranging from Class I to Class III and has included the development of implants, combination products, hardware and consumables. Most of his career has been spent in engineering (R&D and Operations) and project management, but he also has experience in product management, regulatory and clinical.
Dan started his career at Sarns (a division of 3M) where he was part of the team developing one of the first LVAD’s as well as consumables for open heart surgery procedures. From there he moved on to Mansfield Scientific, followed by AngioDynamics where he last served as interim Chief Technology Officer before leaving in 2012.
Dan was at Veniti where he served as one of the executive level managers and led R&D, Operations, Clinical and Regulatory. He left Veniti after the company was successfully acquired by Boston Scientific in 2018. More recently, Dan served as the EVP of Device Development for ImmunSYS, Inc, a start-up company focusing on immunotherapy treatment for adenocarcinomas.
Dan is named on numerous patents and patent applications. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and an MBA from State University of New York-Albany.
EVP, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Ms. Hobbs is an entrepreneurial executive with over 2o years of experience in biotech, medical devices, and pharma. Throughout her career, she has been involved in the successful commercialization of several combination drug/device and oncology products in the U.S. and Europe.
Danielle was most recently the Chief Operating Officer of Summa Therapeutics, a medical device company that is developing a novel angioplasty balloon for interventional procedures. In 2013 she co-founded a specialty thrombectomy and embolic protection medical device company Capture Vascular, Inc. and served as CEO until 2015.
Prior to Capture, in 2005, Danielle founded Medevixx (formerly MedCentric), a boutique consulting firm specializing in corporate branding, business development, training, market assessment, and commercialization strategies for the medical sector. She has consulted for several top public and early-stage companies as well as physicians over the past 15 years. She has expertise in several therapeutic areas, including interventional oncology, interventional radiology, interventional cardiology, vascular surgery, ENT, and dermatology.
Danielle currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Emergency Medicine Advisory Board at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. She attended Ohio University on a basketball scholarship where she received a B.S. in Physiology with a Pre-Med concentration.