Reglagene Advisors
Reglagene is advised by drug discovery and development professionals with exceptional track records of advancing new cancer medicines into the clinic and onto the market
Meet the Advisors
Mark Chapman, PhD
Dr. Mark Chapman is a veteran of large and small biotech companies. He is well versed in all aspects of drug discovery, including target selection, validation, screening, hit-to-lead, lead optimization, preclinical testing, candidate selection, and early clinical development. He has worked with small molecules as well as therapeutic antibodies. Dr. Chapman has led cross-functional teams; established partnerships with CROs, clinicians, and academic groups; and is adept at addressing key questions in a cost-effective manner. He has deep knowledge in oncology and has additional experience in endocrinology and immunology. He holds a BA in genetics (UC Berkeley) and a PhD in Biochemistry (University of Arizona), and he trained at the Salk Institute
Jim Heddles
Jim Heddles has 30 years of experience in preclinical drug discovery computing, having led infrastructure and scientific projects and teams within Sanofi and its predecessor companies. Jim most recently had the privilege of leading a phenomenal IT/Informatics team through a complete rebuild of architecture, systems, and applications after the acquisition of the Sanofi Tucson facility by Icagen. His passion is to help companies understand their workflows and data needs and adopt the most appropriate tools to enable excellent decision making for drug discovery.
Matthew Marx, PhD
Dr. Matthew Marx is the principal at Marx Pharma, LLC, and a medicinal chemist with nearly 20 years of industry experience, mostly in the oncology therapeutic area. As a project scientist, project leader, or department head, he has been responsible for over 20 development candidates (Regulatory Toxicology candidates) and a dozen Initial New Drug applications. He completed his PhD in Organic Chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley and postdoctoral work at the University of Texas at Austin. His prior roles include Head of Oncology Chemistry at Pfizer’s Groton, CT site (1998–2010) and Chemistry Department Head at Takeda California (2010–2015). Dr. Marx currently is Vice President of Discovery Chemistry for Mirati Therapeutics in San Diego. He is widely regarded in the Medicinal Chemistry community and is the outgoing chair of the Medicinal Chemistry Gordon Research Conference.
Daniel Von Hoff, MD, FACP
Dr. Daniel Von Hoff, MD, FACP, is Physician-in-Chief and Distinguished Professor of Translational Research at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in Phoenix, AZ. He is also Senior Consultant, Clinical Investigations for the City of Hope; Chief Scientific Officer for HonorHealth Research Institute; Medical Director of Research, Chief Scientific Officer, US Oncology; and Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic. Dr. Von Hoff’s major interest is in the development of new anticancer agents, in both the clinic and the laboratory. He and his colleagues were involved in the beginning of the development of many of the agents we now use routinely, including mitoxantrone, fludarabine, paclitaxel, docetaxel, gemcitabine, irinotecan, nelarabine, capecitabine, lapatinib, vismodegib, nab-paclitaxel, nal-IRI, and others.
David Bearss, PhD
David J. Bearss, PhD, has a consistent and successful track record of drug discovery and development that spans the last 20 years in both academic and industrial settings. Dr. Bearss is an expert in small-molecule drug development and in the use of genetic model systems in drug discovery. He has deep experience in translational research focused on drug development and the use of genetic markers to predict drug sensitivity. Dr. Bearss has discovered 15 compounds that have filed INDs and moved forward in clinical development and has been a founder of 5 biotech companies. Dr. Bearss served as Chief Scientific Officer at Montigen Pharmaceuticals and in the same role at SuperGen Inc., overseeing early drug discovery and development. He was the founding Co-Director of the Center for Investigational Therapeutics at the Huntsman Cancer Institute as well as an Associate Professor in the Department of Oncological Sciences at the University of Utah and Associate Professor of Physiology & Developmental Biology at Brigham Young University. Dr. Bearss was the founder and CEO of Tolero Pharmaceuticals, which he led through its acquisition by Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma in 2017. He stayed on after the acquisition as CEO of Tolero and as Global Head of Research and CSO of Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Oncology. Dr. Bearss has published more than 80 manuscripts and book chapters, has over 50 patents issued or pending, and has won several awards for his scientific achievements.