Palleon is backed by a top-notch investor syndicate, with $147 million in capital raised since company inception.
Jim Broderick is an accomplished biotech executive with more than 20 years of experience in the industry. He was Co-Founder and Chairman of Ra Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ RARX, acquired by UCB), founding CEO of SetPoint Medical, and Co-Founder and Chairman of Promedior (acquired by Roche), while he was a partner at the venture capital firm Morgenthaler Ventures. Jim founded Palleon in collaboration with the venture capital firm SR One, where he served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence. He earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering from MIT and an M.D. from UMass Medical School.
Li Peng has over 15 years of industry experience in drug discovery and development. Since joining Palleon at its launch in 2016, she has led the invention of Palleon’s EAGLE, CONVERGENCE and HYDRA platforms and overseen research and early development, including discovery, pharmacology, toxicology, and CMC. Previously, Li worked at Medimmune/AstraZeneca for 10 years in roles of increasing responsibility, leading drug discovery programs and cross-functional project teams. She has published over 30 scientific papers and is an inventor on ~20 patents and patent applications. Li earned a B.S. in biology from Capital Normal University, Beijing, and a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of California, Davis.
Jim Broderick is a successful biotech entrepreneur who was Co-Founder and Chairman of Ra Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ RARX, acquired by UCB), founding CEO of SetPoint Medical, and Co-Founder and Chairman of Promedior (Acquired by Roche), while he was a partner at the venture capital firm Morgenthaler Ventures. Jim founded Palleon in collaboration with the venture capital firm SR One, where he served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence.
Deepa Pakianathan Ph.D. is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist and former investment banker, sell-side analyst and immunologist. She is currently a Managing Member at Delphi Ventures. Dr. Pakianathan was previously Vice President in the healthcare group at J.P. Morgan.
David Johnson was the Founder and CEO of VelosBio, which was acquired by Merck in 2020. Prior to this, Mr. Johnson was the CEO of Acerta Pharma, up until its acquisition by AstraZeneca. He has served in various roles at Hoffmann-La Roche, Immunex (acquired by Amgen), Millennium (acquired by Takeda), Favrille, Gloucester (acquired by Celgene), and Calistoga (acquired by Gilead).
Karan Takhar is a Managing Director and the head of Life Sciences investing at Matrix Capital Management, an investment fund focused on technology and life sciences. Mr. Takhar received a B.S. in economics and mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Alan Colowick is a Managing Director at Matrix Capital Management, an investment fund focused on technology and life sciences. Prior to joining Matrix, Dr. Colowick was the Chairman of VelosBio until its acquisition by Merck in December 2020, and the Chairman of Principia Biopharma until its acquisition by Sanofi in September 2020. Dr. Colowick was the CEO of Gloucester Pharmaceuticals until it was acquired by Celgene, and he held executive positions at Celgene, Geron, Threshold Pharmaceuticals and Amgen.
Denis Patrick is Vice President and Head of Partnering Innovation at Pfizer and a Managing Partner at Pfizer Ventures, the venture capital arm of Pfizer Inc. Prior to joining Pfizer Ventures, Dr. Patrick served as Head of Oncology Licensing for Worldwide R&D at Pfizer, and Director of Oncology Scientific Licensing and Business Development at GlaxoSmithKline.
Rajeev Dadoo joined SR One in 2004 as an alum of the Kaufmann Fellows Program. He currently represents SR One as a director of several private biopharma companies. Prior to joining SR One, Rajeev worked for GlaxoSmithKline, Genentech, and Bio-Rad Laboratories.
Carolyn Bertozzi is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Carolyn was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the invention of bioorthogonal chemistry and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Inventors.
Carolyn is a world leader in the study of glycoscience as it relates to various diseases including cancer, inflammation, and infectious disease. Her noteworthy discoveries include elucidating the mechanistic role of tumor-associated glycans in immunosuppression, an insight that provides the scientific underpinnings of Palleon’s drug development programs.
Paul Crocker is Emeritus Professor of Glycoimmunology and Head of the Division of Cell Signaling and Immunology at the University of Dundee in Scotland. Paul is a world leader in the study of glycan-dependent regulation of immune and inflammatory responses. He pioneered the discovery of the Siglecs, a family of receptors found on immune cell surfaces that recognizes sialic acid-containing structures and regulates immune responses.
Jim Paulson is the Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Chair of Chemistry and Co-chair and Professor of the Department of Molecular Medicine at Scripps Research Institute. He is a world leader in the study of glycan binding proteins central to immune regulation and human disease.
Stephan von Gunten is an Associate Professor and Principal Investigator at the University of Bern in Switzerland. He is a leader in immuno-pharmacology and glyco-immunology of cancer and inflammatory disease.
Peter Murray is on the faculty of the Max Planck Institute in Munich, Germany, where he is focused on immune regulation, particularly in macrophages. His lab is now translating his principles learned from infection biology to the cancer arena.
Rakesh Dixit has over 30 years of experience as a successful executive, scientist, and inventor in the biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to becoming a full-time consultant, Rakesh was Executive Vice President of R&D and Global Head of Biologics Safety Assessment for MedImmune/AstraZeneca. He also served as a Director of Research for Merck and Johnson & Johnson. During the course of his career, Rakesh contributed to the successful approval of 10 biopharmaceutical products. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Lucknow in India, and he continued his studies at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Rob Kramer is a proven oncology research leader with 23 years of experience working in the biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to becoming a consultant, Rob was Vice President and Global Head of Oncology Discovery for Johnson & Johnson. He also served as Vice President of Oncology and Immunology Drug Discovery for Bristol-Myers Squibb. Over the course of his career, Rob has managed teams that have advanced over 35 drug candidates from discovery to development, resulting in the approval of several cancer drugs. Rob has a Ph.D. from the University of Vermont.
Mary Crow is Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, Co-Director of the Mary Kirkland Center for Lupus Research, and Director of the Autoimmunity and Inflammation Program at the Hospital for Special Surgery’s Research Institute. She is the Physician-in-Chief Emeritus at the Hospital for Special Surgery. Dr. Crow’s research focuses on autoimmune diseases, with a particular focus on systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis.
Betty Diamond is Director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Professor of Autoimmune Diseases, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and Director of the PhD Program at Hofstra/Northwell. She is the former Head of Rheumatology at Albert Einstein School of Medicine and the former President of the American Association of Immunology. Dr. Diamond’s research focuses on many facets of B cells, including DNA-reactive B cells in systemic lupus erythematosus.
David Wofsy is Professor of Medicine and Microbiology/Immunology, and Associate Dean of Admissions at UCSF School of Medicine. Dr. Wofsy has conducted several clinical trials in systemic lupus erythematosus. His research focuses on cellular and molecular mechanisms that lead to autoimmunity in murine models for SLE.
Jim Broderick is a successful biotech entrepreneur who was Co-Founder and Chairman of Ra Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ RARX, acquired by UCB), founding CEO of SetPoint Medical, and Co-Founder and Chairman of Promedior (Acquired by Roche), while he was a partner at the venture capital firm Morgenthaler Ventures. Jim founded Palleon in collaboration with the venture capital firm SR One, where he served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence.
Carolyn Bertozzi is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Carolyn was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the invention of bioorthogonal chemistry and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Inventors.
Carolyn is a world leader in the study of glycoscience as it relates to various diseases including cancer, inflammation, and infectious disease. Her noteworthy discoveries include elucidating the mechanistic role of tumor-associated glycans in immunosuppression, an insight that provides the scientific underpinnings of Palleon’s drug development programs.
Paul Crocker is Emeritus Professor of Glycoimmunology and Head of the Division of Cell Signaling and Immunology at the University of Dundee in Scotland. Paul is a world leader in the study of glycan-dependent regulation of immune and inflammatory responses. He was a pioneer in the discovery of the Siglecs, a family of receptors found on immune cell surfaces that recognizes sialic acid-containing structures and regulates immune responses. Paul’s understanding of the differences in immune pattern recognition between humans and other species provides a significant advantage and proprietary know-how to Palleon’s drug discovery platform.