PAUL L. HALLENBECK — FOUNDER, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER

Dr. Hallenbeck is the Founder, President and Chief Scientific Officer. He is a multiple award winning, serial entrepreneur, with 27 years in the biotechnology industry with expertise in all phases of cancer immuno-therapeutics R&D. As the sole founder of Neotropix, he raised $30M in VC, then successfully led SVV (NTX-001) through IND approval, and completed several Phase I/II clinical trials, establishing an excellent safety record & compelling evidence of efficacy. 

James M. Hussey — Chief Executive Officer

Jim Hussey is the Chief Executive Officer and a Pharmacist with an MBA who has spent the last 20+ years in pharma & biotech C-suite positions. He was most recently the acting US President at Morphosys.  Mr. Hussey recently joined Seneca Therapeutics and will be strategizing business development partnership options for Seneca as well as securing the foundation needed to get to a Series B .  Mr. Hussey will join Dr. Hallenbeck as his co-captain leading SVV-001 into clinical trials by the second quarter of 2021 and into a double digit ROI for investors via partnership or acquisition.

Neil Sankar — Chief Medical Officer 

Dr. Sankar, MD, MPH, CCRP is the Chief Medical Officer of Seneca Therapeutics.  He is President & Founder of SwanBio, LLC, a BD & Clinical Strategy consultancy firm that facilitates the translation of scientific discoveries into cancer therapeutics. An expert in global clinical development & regulatory strategies for therapeutic drugs; he has led numerous clinical trials in oncology (Genentech & Pharmacyclics) therapy ranging from breast, ovarian, pancreatic, liver, lung, and connective tissue tumors, to a range of hematological malignancies.

Sunil Chada — Vice President of Research & Development 

Sunil Chada, Ph,D is the Vice President of Research and Development  Dr. Chada's drug development expertise includes antibodies, cell and gene therapies and small molecules for oncology, genetic diseases and immunotherapy. He is an expert in translating product concepts into clinical trials: >15 INDs; >20 Phase I-III. Dr. Chada is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Experimental Therapeutics at MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas. He is also a special advisor to the chief scientific officer of MDACC Moonshots Initiative.

Sarath Kanekal —Vice President of Regulatory Affairs

Dr. Kanekal, DVM, PhD, DABT, RAC is a Board Certified Regulatory Affairs Professional experienced in both early & late stage NDA & 505b2 filings. He has a track record of FAST successful INDs—5-6 months from candidate nomination to FDA ‘hold’ resolutions. He has represented sponsors at various stages: preIND, EOPII, pre-NDA & Advisory Committee meetings. He has a sound understanding of US and European Regulatory requirements based on real-life hands on experience: FDA, CDER, CBER, EMEA, BfARM, AFSSAPS, MHRA etc. He has also authored regulatory documents, briefing documents, investigator brochures, clinical protocols, and annual reports.

James Wechuck — Vice President of Manufacturing

Dr. Wechuck, PHD is a biochemical engineer with 15 years of experience in recombinant protein production, viral vector manufacturing and biologics testing. He has developed and advanced the proprietary cGMP manufacturing production, purification and formulation methodologies for Type 1 Diabetes drug products and viral vectors for gene therapy products. He has led CMC regulatory elements for several investigational drug applications in the US & Europe.

Janice Ingram — Corporate Secretary

As Corporate Secretary for Seneca, Ms. Ingram is working closely with Dr. Hallenbeck and Mr. Hussey as liaison between the investors and the Board of Directors. She has over 15 years of Human Resource Management with a concentration in Corporate Governance and Equity Incentive Plan Design and implementation.   She has collaborated with Dr. Hallenbeck on a previous start up venture which eventually was the basis for the formation of Seneca Therapeutics.

Igor Puzanov, MD, MSci, FAACP

Clinical Professor of Medicine, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo

In his professional career, he has worked on developing precision medicine agents as well as immunotherapies. In the first in human trial of PLX4032/vemurafenib we provided critical PK/PD data that led to the first in class/ first in human FDA- approved BRAF inhibitor. His team was instrumental in the development of talimogene laherparepvec, the first in human oncolytic virus therapy for patients with melanoma. Recently, he has explored immunotherapy combinations with targeted agents as well as combinations of oncolytic viruses with checkpoint inhibitors.

E. Antonio Chiocca, MD, PhD

Chair, Department of Neurosurgery, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Chiocca’s research has focused on how viruses with specific gene mutations will replicate selectively in tumors with a specific defect in a tumor suppressor pathway. His research has also included how modulation of innate immunity will improve replication of these tumor-selective viruses. More recently, Dr. Chiocca has elucidated how specific microRNAs (mir128 and mir451) regulate cellular target transcripts to permit tumor cell self-renewal and invasion into brain. He also has been the principal investigator of three multi-institutional clinical trials of gene-, viral-therapies for malignant gliomas and has been a permanent member of NIH study sections (NCI DT and NCI P01-D clinical studies).

Dr. Zachary Morris

Department of Human Oncology at The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

As a physician-scientist, his current clinical focus is on the treatment of patients with melanoma and soft tissue sarcomas. His independent translational research laboratory focuses on the mechanisms whereby radiation may enhance the response to immunotherapies.