About Us

Company Overview & Vision

 

BioEclipse Therapeutics™ is a clinical-stage oncology company that uses its proprietary platform technology to develop the next generation of immuno-oncology therapeutics.

 

Foundationally, we have harnessed a refined understanding of the human immune system, gaining insights into the reasons the body’s defense system so often turns a blind eye to the presence of cancerous cells and tumors. The result of this combination is a multi-mechanistic, targeted treatment that we believe will not only eradicate cancer cells, but also protect the patient from relapse and recurrence, through a durable immune response that prevents the development of new cancers, even in the face of new challenges from disease.

 

With our unique low-cost allogeneic (CRX200, IND ready) and autologous (CRX100, Phase 1b) therapies, we have demonstrated the power of an engineered immune attack against the tumor microenvironment of intractable solid cancers, using living cells programmed to assemble and instruct the diverse molecules and complex immune pathways.

 

The pioneering work underway at BioEclipse Therapeutics approaches cancer immunotherapy from not just one, but several directions. We believe that to defeat cancer requires a drug with multiple mechanisms of action (MOA) that work synergistically and systemically to target and kill cancer cells all over the body, and at the same time, create a durable immune response that prepares the patient’s body to fight relapse and recurrence.

Board of Directors

Chairman, Board of Directors

 

Gregory Schiffman is a CPA and an accomplished senior finance executive with more than 25 years of strategic and operational finance, treasury, and corporate development, manufacturing and logistics experience.  Mr. Schiffman has served as CFO at Lion Biotechnologies, Inc., which has since been renamed Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc., and served as Executive Vice President and CFO at StemCells, Inc., Dendreon Corp. and Affymetrix.  Notably, during his tenure at Dendreon, the company secured marketing authorization from the FDA and the European Commission for the world’s first cell-based, autologous immunotherapy for prostate cancer. Prior to these roles, Mr. Schiffman was Vice President and Controller at Applied BioSystems where he managed global financial operations and headed up a variety of global assignments at Hewlett Packard, including international finance projects in Europe and Asia, and a U.S. manufacturing operation.  Mr. Schiffman received an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from De Paul University.

Chief Executive Officer, Director and Co-Founder

 

Pamela Contag, Ph.D., has a career as a biopharmaceutical entrepreneur, researcher and senior executive that spans more than 25 years.  Dr. Contag co-founded BioEclipse Therapeutics™, initially named ConcentRX, raising seed funding and licensing key patents from Stanford University with a mission to deliver transformative, safe and precise therapies for resistant and recurrent cancers regarded as virtually untreatable. As CEO of the company, she was named by Goldman Sachs as one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2018, and in 2019, she successfully led BioEclipse through the completion of its Series A financing. Previously, Dr. Contag served as a senior executive for several pioneering biomedical technology companies, including Cygnet Biofuels, Cobalt Technologies and Xenogen Corp., which she co-founded based on technology she developed during her post doctorate training. As CEO of Xenogen from 1995 to 2006, Dr. Contag led the company’s successful initial public offering, grew U.S. and international revenue and built a customer base that included many leading pharmaceutical companies.

   

In 2004, Xenogen was named one of the top 100 fastest growing companies by the San Francisco Times and received the Frost and Sullivan Technology Innovations award.  Dr. Contag was recognized as one of the “Top 25 Young Businesses” by Fortune Small Business in 2000, followed in 2001 and 2003 with the R&D 100 award for achievements in Physics.  Dr. Contag was also named one of the “Top 25 Women in Small Business” by Fortune magazine. She was also awarded the Northstar Award from Springboard Enterprises. While she served as CEO and Chairman of Cobalt Technologies, the company was named one of the top 20 cleantech companies. In 2011, Dr. Contag was awarded “Cleantech Innovator of the Year” award for technology developed at Cygnet Biofuels.

   

With more than 25 years of microbiology research experience, Dr. Contag is widely published in the field of Microbiology and Optical Imaging and has over 35 patents in Biotechnology. Dr. Contag received her Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1989 studying Microbial Physiology and Genetics (for Alternative Fuels), and completed her postdoctoral training at Stanford University School of Medicine in 1993 specializing in “Host/Pathogen Interactions.”

 

Member, Board of Directors

 

Catherine Sohn is a pharmacist, global biopharmaceutical executive, Adjunct Professor and a Certified Licensing Professional (CLP). Dr. Sohn has deep industry knowledge from a 30-year career in the U.S. and global pharmaceutical industry, and a reputation as a strategic thinker with the ability to drive a strong interface between research and development and marketing. She was named “Distinguished Alumnus” by the University of California San Francisco (2000) and “Woman of the Year” by the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (2003), has received the Licensing Executive Society’s “Frank Barnes Mentoring Award” (2009), and the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association Euro-Excellence Award (2012).

 

In 2016, Dr. Sohn was recognized as one of the PharmaVoice 100 most inspiring people in the life science industry.  Her areas of expertise include domestic and global business development, strategy and product marketing/launch execution across vaccines, pharmaceutical products and consumer healthcare brands, having led the launches of the U.S. Vaccine Business and a $1 billion CNS pharmaceutical product at SmithKline Beecham (now GlaxoSmithKline). From 1998 to 2010, Dr. Sohn was Senior Vice President for Worldwide Business Development for GlaxoSmithKline’s $6 billion Consumer Healthcare division, where she served on the Global Executive Committee and led numerous U.S., global, European and Japanese transactions and integrations. In the pharmaceutical division, from 1994 to 1998, she was Vice President, Worldwide Strategic Product Development at SmithKline Beecham for the Cardiovascular, Pulmonary, and Metabolic Therapeutic Areas, with responsibility for product strategy, valuation and strategic commercial leadership for all assets from Phase 1 through life cycle management. Dr. Sohn has a strong technical background, having begun her career in 1982 in anti-infective medical affairs at SmithKline & French.

 

Dr. Sohn received a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm. D.) degree from the University of California San Francisco, as well as a Certificate of Professional Development from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a Board Leadership Fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), and is a Certified Licensing Professional.

 

Dr. Sohn is an Independent Director on the Board of Directors of Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (Nasdaq: JAZZ), Rubius Therapeutics (Nasdaq: RUBY), Axcella Health (Nasdaq: AXLA) and Landec Corporation (Nasdaq: LNDC), all publicly-traded life science companies.

Member, Board of Directors

 

Oliver Hopkinson joined BioEclipse’s Board of Directors in 2019 as a representative of Revelis Capital Group, a Colorado-based venture firm that invests across a range of disruptive, early-stage tech companies. Mr. Hopkinson co-founded Revelis in early 2017, and currently serves as its Managing Principal, overseeing all aspects of its investment operations. To date, Revelis has consummated Series Seed and Series A investments in the biotech, software and data/blockchain sectors. Mr. Hopkinson graduated with a B.S. in Economics from Duke University in 2016, and he is a J.D. candidate at University of Colorado Law School.

Member, Board of Directors

 

Mark Frohlich, M.D, is an experienced biotechnology executive and medical oncologist who has been involved in the development of cellular immunotherapies for cancer for 20 years. He previously served as Executive VP of Portfolio Strategy at Juno Therapeutics prior to its acquisition by Celgene, and as Executive VP of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer of Dendreon Corporation, where he led the clinical team responsible for the approval of the first cellular immunotherapy in the U.S. and Europe (Provenge®). Dr. Frohlich graduated Summa Cum Laude from Yale College with a B.S. in Economics and Electrical Engineering, and earned an M.D. from Harvard Medical School.  He continued his training at UCSF, where he completed an internal medicine residency, served as Chief Medical Resident, and subsequently completed an oncology fellowship program.

Member, Board of Directors

 

Biao He, Ph.D., is a Partner at Tsingyuan Ventures, where he has led the firm’s biomedical investments since 2017. Before arriving at Tsingyuan, Dr. He was a Partner at TEEC Angel Fund from 2012 to 2017 where he led their biomedical investment portfolio. Dr. He is also a Co-Founder of ACCB Biotech and Pinpoint Genomics.  ACCB Biotech is one of the leading companies in the space of precision medicine for oncology in China. As a co-founder of Pinpoint Genomics, he led the development of the first lung cancer molecular prognostic test, prior to its acquisition by Life Technologies in 2012.  Dr. He was a Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Cancer Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).  He earned a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics from the University of Virginia and received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Biochemistry from Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Member, Board of Directors

 

Mahmoud Mahmoudian, Ph.D., FRS, is a biopharmaceutical industry veteran who brings more than 30 years of global R&D, venture, and business development expertise driving growth strategies that identify and develop next-generation innovations into cures for major diseases that transform patients' lives. Most recently, Dr. Mahmoudian served as Senior Vice President and Head of Global Oncology External Innovation Hub at Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Oncology (Sumitomo Oncology), where he led biotechnology investments, venture creation, company building, and expedited the discovery, incubation and regulatory approval of cell therapies, oncolytic viruses and other novel therapeutic technologies. Dr. Mahmoudian raised $70 million in capital to build academic and venture hubs. He also established oncology research alliances with Columbia University, the Wistar Institute, Harvard University, and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and scouted venture capital investment opportunities that led to Sumitomo Oncology’s investment in the MPM Oncology Innovations Fund.

 

Dr. Mahmoudian previously served as Vice President, Head of Innovative Medicines at Ferring, Chief Innovation Officer and Chair of Executive Committee for Growth at Rohm & Haas (acquired by Dow) and Chief Biotechnology Officer at Eastman. At Merck and GlaxoSmithKline, he led global drug development teams with eight FDA approvals and product launches responsible for $15B in annual sales. Dr. Mahmoudian earned his Doctorate and Master of Science in Biotechnology from the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London, UK. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and an Executive in Residence at Columbia and Princeton universities.

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