Rapafusyn Pharmaceuticals to Present In Vivo Data on ENT1 Inhibitor for Acute Kidney injury at the American Society for Nephrology (ASN Kidney Week 2024)
Rapafusyn Pharmaceuticals Secures $28 Million Series A to Advance Its Non-Degrading Molecular Glue Drug Discovery Platform
Dr. Matthew Olson is promoted to Vice President of Biological Sciences
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Dr. Jian Li is a partner at Lapam Capital, where he focuses on life sciences investment and strategic partnerships. Prior to joining Lapam, he served as Vice President and consultant for business development at HitGen Inc. beginning in 2017. Earlier, he was Director of Global Business Development at Sanofi, where he led and contributed to multiple cross-border licensing and partnering deals.
Dr. Li began his industry career at Tanabe Research Laboratories, the U.S. subsidiary of Mitsubishi Tanabe, in 1999. There, he led small molecule drug discovery projects targeting cancer and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, and was responsible for new technology acquisitions. He has also advised MediciNova and Huya Bioscience, supporting licensing of drug candidates from Japan, Europe, and China for clinical development in the United States.
Dr. Li received his Ph.D. from Cologne University in Germany and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Southern California. He continued his cancer research as an Assistant Professor at The Scripps Research Institute before transitioning into the biopharmaceutical industry.
Shenjun Yan is Chairman of China Tianying Group, a publicly listed company on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (Ticker: 000035). In addition to his leadership at China Tianying, he serves as an Adjunct Professor at Nanjing University, where he contributes to research and mentorship.
Under his direction, China Tianying Group has expanded its operations and technological capabilities, strengthening its position as a leading enterprise. As Chairman, he has overseen strategic investments and initiatives aimed at advancing sustainable development and innovation.
Beyond his corporate leadership, Shenjun remains active in academia, sharing his expertise with students and faculty as an Adjunct Professor. His dual commitment to industry growth and education underscores his dedication to fostering the next generation of innovators and leaders in China.
Dr. Jun Liu is the scientific founder of Rapafusyn, a biotechnology company pioneering novel therapeutics inspired by natural products. In addition to his entrepreneurial work, he is a Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where his research focuses on chemical biology and drug discovery.
Dr. Liu serves as Co-Leader of the Cancer Chemical and Structural Biology Program at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, advancing innovative approaches to understanding cancer biology at the molecular level. He is also Director of the Johns Hopkins Drug Library, one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of clinically approved and investigational compounds, which has facilitated numerous discoveries in translational medicine.
Through his academic and industry leadership, Dr. Liu has made significant contributions to the fields of chemical biology, cancer research, and therapeutics development.
Dr. Gordon Ringold has been CEO of Quadriga BioSciences, an oncology start-up focused on developing targeted anti-cancer drugs, since 2015. He is currently on the board of directors of Rapafusyn and Okava Pharmaceuticals and Executive Chairman of Maxymune Therapeutics. From 1997 to 2015, he served in various capacities as Co-Founder and/or CEO of Maxygen, SurroMed, Alexza, and Alavita. From 1991 to 2000, Gordon was CEO and Scientific Director of Affymax Research Institute (acquired by Glaxo in 1995) where he managed the development of novel technologies to accelerate the pace of drug discovery; prior to that he was VP and Director of the Institute for Cancer and Developmental Biology at Syntex Corporation (1986-1991). Gordon received his Ph.D. in the laboratory of Dr. Harold Varmus, before joining the Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology ( 1978-1987). While on the Stanford faculty he invented technologies for manufacturing of recombinant proteins in mammalian cells, now widely used for production of dozens of therapeutic products and received the John J. Abel Award as the best Pharmacologist in the US under the age of 35. Gordon is an alumnus of Crown College, UC Santa Cruz, 1972.
Addressing a Critical Unmet Need: Acute Kidney Injury (AKI)
Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) is a life-threatening complication that affects approximately 30% of cardiac surgery patients. This condition significantly prolongs ICU stays and increases the risk of progression to chronic kidney disease, creating a substantial burden on both patients and healthcare systems. Despite its prevalence and severity, there are currently no approved therapies to prevent or treat AKI, highlighting an urgent need for innovative and effective solutions.
At the core of our strategy is the Equilibrative Nucleoside Transporter 1 (ENT1), a key protein that facilitates the cellular uptake of adenosine. During cardiac surgery, ischemia caused by restricted blood flow, triggers an increase in adenosine production. However, rapid cellular uptake via ENT1 reduces the availability of adenosine to activate its protective receptors. By selectively inhibiting ENT1, adenosine uptake into cells is blocked, preserving elevated extracellular adenosine levels. This allows adenosine to activate its receptors, reducing metabolic stress and mitigating ischemia/reperfusion injury, a major driver of AKI.
RAP-0001 is a highly potent and selective ENT1 inhibitor with demonstrated preclinical efficacy in preventing ischemia/reperfusion injury. By targeting ENT1, RAP-0001 mitigates renal damage during periods of ischemic stress, offering a novel therapeutic approach for patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Beyond its immediate application in cardiac surgery-associated AKI, RAP-0001 has potential in other clinical settings where ischemic/reperfusion injury plays a significant role, further expanding its therapeutic impact.
Dr. Liu is a founding partner of 3E Bioventures Capital, a healthcare-focused venture capital firm. Prior to 3E Bioventures, she was a partner at Kaiwu Capital, in charge of healthcare investment, and was managing director at CRCI Capital, also in charge of healthcare investment. She is a co-founder and investor of Shenogen Pharma, a company developing innovative liver cancer therapeutics, and was an entrepreneur and senior team member of 3721, an internet-search company that was sold to Yahoo in early 2004. Earlier, Dr. Liu was a consultant at McKinsey & Company. Dr. Liu has been active in China healthcare venture investment since 2006, with investments in device, diagnostics and drug companies. Increasingly, she invests in the cross-sector innovations between medtech and information technology. Dr. Liu earned a B.S. from Cornell University, Master of Medical Sciences degree from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in Immunology from Harvard University. She also received an EMBA degree from the Chungkong Graduate School of Business in China.
Haolin Sung is partner at Proxima Venture fund, a Shanghai-based venture capital firm focused on early and mid-stage investment in healthcare and biotech.
For over 18 years, Haolin has dedicated himself to building and developing several companies including VerImmune, Dotbio, and Coastar as a board director. In addition, Haolin currently serves in critical roles at various Proxima portfolio companies including Dotbio and VerImmune where Haolin helps establish funding, devise business development strategies and implement licensing activities.
In addition to Proxima venture, Haolin is also the founder and managing partner of Chaperone Investment, a Taiwan-based venture capital firm focused on angel and early-stage healthcare and biotech investments. Haolin serves in critical roles at various Chaperone portfolio companies including Belite, Lin Bioscience, Caliway, and Protech Animal Health where Haolin helps establish funding, devise business development strategies, and implement licensing activities. He took Belite to IPO on Nasdaq, and Lin Bioscience and Caliway to IPO on Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Prior to launching Chaperone Investment, Haolin was the director of the direct investment department for Diamond Biofund, the largest Biotech VC in Taiwan. Haolin was also the deputy director of Microbio Biotech in Shanghai. Haolin was previously with First Capital Management as a healthcare/biotech industry analyst.
Haolin earned his EMBA at Columbia University and London Business School and he holds a B.S. degree in Biochemistry from Dong Hwa University.
Matthew Olson is the Vice President of Biological Sciences at Rapafusyn Pharmaceuticals, where he leads target identification, prosecution, and biological assay development to advance drug discovery. With a career spanning nearly 28 years, Matthew’s expertise encompasses, in vitro biophysical, functional, cell-based assay development that allow for translationally accurate in vivo biomarker development. His efforts lead to the progression of multiple compounds to IND stage. In addition, Matthew has expertise in external innovation, and strategic partnership cultivation. He is the primary author of numerous peer-reviewed publications and patents, highlighting his commitment to scientific innovation and impactful discovery in the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, Matthew has and continues to serve on NIH study sections for infectious diseases
Prior to Rapafusyn, Matthew joined HemoShear Therapeutics as Senior Director to initiate drug discovery efforts. Here, Matthew completed the strategically designed and executed the necessary experiments to launch multiple discovery programs resulting in the advancement to Head of Assay Development and Biomarker Discovery. In this role, he oversaw and performed critical biochemical, cell-based and biomarker assay development for both internal and partnered programs, including a Phase II asset.
At Janssen Pharmaceuticals, as Director of External Innovation, he identified novel chemical and biological platforms, fostering partnerships that enhanced internal drug discovery. In his tenure as a Principal Scientist at Janssen, he developed label-free assays in enzymology and biophysics to support hit identification through lead optimization and served as the Site Lead for Janssen’s Epigenetics Initiative. Earlier in his career, Matthew rose to Principal Scientist II at Wyeth, within the Chemical Sciences Area and Infectious Disease therapeutic area.
Matthew received his BA from Kalamazoo College a Ph. D. in Biochemistry from Michigan State University and was an NIH postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Colorado.
Dr. Sam Hong is the Senior Director and Head of Platform Sciences at Rapafusyn Pharmaceuticals, where he has been pivotal in developing the company’s platform since joining as the first employee. In this role, he oversees arrayed and DNA encoded library technologies, data sciences, and automation. His leadership and technical expertise have been instrumental in Rapafusyn’s progress from inception of the company.
Dr. Hong’s foundational work for Rapafusyn’s platform technology began during his doctoral research at Johns Hopkins University. Under the guidance of Dr. Jun O. Liu, he was part of the team that developed innovative methods to target challenging protein interactions, creating a framework that directly inspired Rapafusyn’s approach. His research included helping construct a 45,000-compound macrocycle library, developing multiple assays for several disease models, and identifying the mechanism of action for a lead program. His work at Johns Hopkins and NCI has led to 12 publications and is an inventor on 6 families of patents.
Alex Rabby is a seasoned biopharmaceutical business development executive, currently serving as Senior Vice President of Business Development at Rapafusyn Pharmaceuticals. With over two decades of experience spanning both large and emerging biotech companies—including Amgen, Provention Bio, and Dynamic Cell Therapies—Alex has built a distinguished career leading strategic partnerships and transformative transactions.
During his 15-year tenure at Amgen, Alex held progressively senior roles, culminating as a Transaction Lead, where he spearheaded negotiations and deal execution across in- and out-licensing deals, spin-outs, clinical collaborations, and strategic commercial partnerships in emerging markets.
In 2019, Alex transitioned to Provention Bio, a publicly traded biotech specializing in autoimmune disease, where he led business development and alliance management. His work included overseeing outreach for the company’s lead Type 1 diabetes program (teplizumab), fostering collaborations with Sanofi and Huadong Medicine (for their lupus program), and playing a pivotal role in the company’s acquisition by Sanofi. Following the integration phase, Alex was a Chief Business Officer role at Dynamic Cell Therapies (fractional role), where he facilitated outreach for the company’s novel CAR-T platform.
Alex brings to Rapafusyn Pharmaceuticals a multidisciplinary biopharma background and extensive expertise in structuring successful partnerships across all stages of drug development, reinforcing the company’s mission leverage its pioneering non-degrading molecular glues to drug historically challenging proteins.
Alex holds a B.S. in Biology from UC Irvine and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Business.
Dr. Rick Ewing is a senior medicinal chemist experienced in leading teams to deliver development candidates, running academic collaborations and leading scientific assessments for business development opportunities.
Rick has held the position of Vice President, Head of Drug Discovery at the Barer Institute, a discovery phase oncology biotech. Previous to his role at the Barer Institute, Dr. Ewing was a senior director in Discovery Chemistry at Bristol Myers Squibb where he led medicinal chemistry teams in the therapeutic areas of cardiovascular, diabetes, obesity, and heart failure. In these areas, Dr. Ewing led medicinal chemistry teams to deliver over 15 development candidates. Among these are Milvexian, a first in class Factor XIa inhibitor currently in PIII development.
Rick has experience at developing and leading CRO and consulting networks. He has a broad knowledge of biotechs through his lead role in the search and evaluation of business development opportunities, Over his last 5 years at BMS, Dr. Ewing was involved in over 100 scientific evaluations for business development across multiple therapeutic areas including oncology, immunology, fibrosis, heart failure and platform technologies.
Rick is coinventor on 74 patents, and co-author on 73 peer reviewed publications. In 2021, he was awarded the American Chemical Society (ACS) Fellow for his scientific achievements and contributions to the Society, and in 2018 received the Ondetti-Cushman award for leadership of the FXIa team that discovered Milvexian. Prior to Bristol Myers, Dr. Ewing spent 12 years at Rhone-Poulenc Rorer (now part of Sanofi). Dr. Ewing received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania, and his B.S. in Chemistry West Chester University of Pennsylvania.
Former CEO of Avotres Inc.; Former Sr. VP and Head of Healthcare Consulting at GlobalData PLC
Dr. Hu brings over 25 years of broad experience in life science industries, primarily in building and growing business, developing strategies for drug and diagnostics product development and commercialization, and, the scouting, evaluation & valuation of drug assets.
Prior to Rapafusyn, Dr. Hu built and ran several companies in the US, including, for example, Avotres Inc., a clinical stage biopharma company developing autoimmune disease and cancer therapies targeting regulatory T cells. Earlier, during his ~14-year management consulting tenure advising life science industries, Dr. Hu advanced through the consulting career ladder, starting with AT Kearney and IMS Consulting, later building and growing consulting business at Bionest USA, BioStrat Advisory LLC and GlobalData PLC as managing partner and/or head of consulting, and leaving the consulting industry as the head of healthcare consulting business in the Americas for GlobalData, a publicly listed global company headquartered in London.
Dr. Hu also brings hands on operating experience from BMS, a major pharma, and biotech companies including CuraGen, a first-generation genomics company, and Illumina, a major success story in recent biotech history.
Dr. Hu holds a PhD in Genomics from NYU, and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business double-majored in Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management.
