Genomically Inclined Treatments
John Lepore is Senior Vice President, Head of Research at GSK leading a team of more than 1,000 researchers, scientists and physicians working to identify new drug targets, discover novel drug candidates, and demonstrate safety and proof of mechanism in clinical studies. John’s team focuses on the modulation of the immune system and human genetics to identify novel drug targets with a higher probability of success. John currently serves on the Board of Directors of ViiV Healthcare, the Scientific Advisory Boards of Medicxi Ventures and Hatteras Ventures, the BIO Health Section Governing Board, and the PhRMA R&D Leadership Forum. He chairs the GSK Research Review Board and Research Investment Board and is a member of the late phase Portfolio Investment Board.
John’s previous roles at GSK include serving as VP of Clinical Pharmacology and Discovery Medicine, VP and Head of the Heart Failure Discovery Performance Unit, SVP and Head of the Metabolic Pathways and Cardiovascular Therapeutic Area Unit, and SVP R&D Pipeline. John joined GSK in 2006 from academia in order to help drive the translation of research breakthroughs into new therapies. He received his MD from Harvard Medical School and trained in internal medicine and cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital where he was also Chief Medical Resident. Following his post-doctoral training at the Harvard School of Public Health, John joined the faculty of the Cardiovascular Medicine Division at the University of Pennsylvania, where his lab studied transcriptional regulation of cardiovascular development, and he was the attending physician on the academic cardiology service.
John Lepore is Senior Vice President, Head of Research at GSK leading a team of more than 1,000 researchers, scientists and physicians working to identify new drug targets, discover novel drug candidates, and demonstrate safety and proof of mechanism in clinical studies. John’s team focuses on the modulation of the immune system and human genetics to identify novel drug targets with a higher probability of success. John currently serves on the Board of Directors of ViiV Healthcare, the Scientific Advisory Boards of Medicxi Ventures and Hatteras Ventures, the BIO Health Section Governing Board, and the PhRMA R&D Leadership Forum. He chairs the GSK Research Review Board and Research Investment Board and is a member of the late phase Portfolio Investment Board.
John’s previous roles at GSK include serving as VP of Clinical Pharmacology and Discovery Medicine, VP and Head of the Heart Failure Discovery Performance Unit, SVP and Head of the Metabolic Pathways and Cardiovascular Therapeutic Area Unit, and SVP R&D Pipeline. John joined GSK in 2006 from academia in order to help drive the translation of research breakthroughs into new therapies. He received his MD from Harvard Medical School and trained in internal medicine and cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital where he was also Chief Medical Resident. Following his post-doctoral training at the Harvard School of Public Health, John joined the faculty of the Cardiovascular Medicine Division at the University of Pennsylvania, where his lab studied transcriptional regulation of cardiovascular development, and he was the attending physician on the academic cardiology service.
Aris Baras, MD, MBA, serves as Senior Vice President and a member of the senior management team at Regeneron. He is the Founder and General Manager of the Regeneron Genetics Center (RGC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Regeneron, comprising one of the largest genomics and precision medicine platforms in the world to advance the discovery and development of Regeneron’s pipeline of innovative new medicines. Under Dr. Baras’ leadership, the RGC has sequenced several million individuals, enabled through collaborations with more than 100 institutions around the world and over $100M in external funding through industry partnerships. Dr. Baras leads several foundational large-scale genomics initiatives, such as the RGC’s collaborations with Geisinger Health System to sequence exomes from 250,000 participants and with UK Biobank to sequence exomes from 500,000 participants. The RGC has discovered numerous drug targets that have led to more than a dozen new drug discovery programs at Regeneron, such as HSD17B13 for chronic liver diseases for which Regeneron and Alnylam have developed an RNAi program that has entered the clinic. Prior to Regeneron, Dr. Baras contributed to biotechnology ventures, working with the Wakefield Group and Liquidia Technologies and conducting research spanning antibody-based therapeutics, oncology and nanotechnology. He currently serves as a Board Observer on the Board of Directors at DNAnexus, has co-authored over 70 publications in journals including New England Journal of Medicine, Science, Nature, Nature Genetics, Nature Medicine, JAMA, and Lancet and is an inventor on more than 20 issued or pending patents. Dr. Baras has been recognized by Business Insider as one of the ‘Top 30 Under 40’ biotech leaders, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News as one of the ‘Top 10 Under 40’ leaders in biopharma research and business, and Pharmaceutical Executive as one of the emerging leaders in biopharma. He received his B.S., M.D. and M.B.A. all from Duke University.
Aris Baras, MD, MBA, serves as Senior Vice President and a member of the senior management team at Regeneron. He is the Founder and General Manager of the Regeneron Genetics Center (RGC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Regeneron, comprising one of the largest genomics and precision medicine platforms in the world to advance the discovery and development of Regeneron’s pipeline of innovative new medicines. Under Dr. Baras’ leadership, the RGC has sequenced several million individuals, enabled through collaborations with more than 100 institutions around the world and over $100M in external funding through industry partnerships. Dr. Baras leads several foundational large-scale genomics initiatives, such as the RGC’s collaborations with Geisinger Health System to sequence exomes from 250,000 participants and with UK Biobank to sequence exomes from 500,000 participants. The RGC has discovered numerous drug targets that have led to more than a dozen new drug discovery programs at Regeneron, such as HSD17B13 for chronic liver diseases for which Regeneron and Alnylam have developed an RNAi program that has entered the clinic. Prior to Regeneron, Dr. Baras contributed to biotechnology ventures, working with the Wakefield Group and Liquidia Technologies and conducting research spanning antibody-based therapeutics, oncology and nanotechnology. He currently serves as a Board Observer on the Board of Directors at DNAnexus, has co-authored over 70 publications in journals including New England Journal of Medicine, Science, Nature, Nature Genetics, Nature Medicine, JAMA, and Lancet and is an inventor on more than 20 issued or pending patents. Dr. Baras has been recognized by Business Insider as one of the ‘Top 30 Under 40’ biotech leaders, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News as one of the ‘Top 10 Under 40’ leaders in biopharma research and business, and Pharmaceutical Executive as one of the emerging leaders in biopharma. He received his B.S., M.D. and M.B.A. all from Duke University.
Ruchita is a General Partner with AV8 Ventures, where she leads healthcare investing. She invests in lifescience and healthcare companies such as Phenomic AI, Think Bio, Yuvo, Brave Care, Clever Care, and Axuall. She has spent 20 years in the healthcare industry as a scientist, operator, and most recently, as an investor & advisor to healthcare and lifescience startups. Prior to AV8, Ruchita was the head of digital health investing at Sanofi Ventures where she created the strategy and built a portfolio of investments including Inozyme, Omada Health, Evidation Health, Click Therapeutics, Aetion, Curisium, Science 37 and Common Sensing. Earlier, Ruchita was at GE Ventures, where she led a range of initiatives including equity investments, partnerships, and portfolio management. She executed deals that delivered millions in upside for GE Healthcare businesses.Ruchita started her career as a scientist and also spent time at Pfizer’s Strategy & BD group and as a management consultant with LEK Consulting. She was nominated to the Global Corporate Venturing Forum Powerlist multiple times and also serves on the advisory board of the BIO Investor Forum. She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, MS in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and BS in Biochemistry from Mount Holyoke College.
Ruchita is a General Partner with AV8 Ventures, where she leads healthcare investing. She invests in lifescience and healthcare companies such as Phenomic AI, Think Bio, Yuvo, Brave Care, Clever Care, and Axuall. She has spent 20 years in the healthcare industry as a scientist, operator, and most recently, as an investor & advisor to healthcare and lifescience startups. Prior to AV8, Ruchita was the head of digital health investing at Sanofi Ventures where she created the strategy and built a portfolio of investments including Inozyme, Omada Health, Evidation Health, Click Therapeutics, Aetion, Curisium, Science 37 and Common Sensing. Earlier, Ruchita was at GE Ventures, where she led a range of initiatives including equity investments, partnerships, and portfolio management. She executed deals that delivered millions in upside for GE Healthcare businesses.Ruchita started her career as a scientist and also spent time at Pfizer’s Strategy & BD group and as a management consultant with LEK Consulting. She was nominated to the Global Corporate Venturing Forum Powerlist multiple times and also serves on the advisory board of the BIO Investor Forum. She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, MS in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and BS in Biochemistry from Mount Holyoke College.
Dr. Tony Ho has served as our Executive Vice President, Research and Development since August 2017. He is a highly accomplished R&D leader with experience throughout his nearly 20-year career across all phases of R&D, including discovery, early and late-stage clinical development and regulatory. Prior to joining our company, Tony held a number of roles at AstraZeneca, most recently Senior Vice President and Head of Oncology Integration and Innovation. At AstraZeneca, he led the development and commercialization of two key drugs: LYNPARZA, a PARP inhibitor for ovarian cancer, and IMFINZI, a PD-L1 inhibitor and AstraZeneca’s first immuno-oncology drug for bladder cancer. Prior to joining AstraZeneca, Tony was the Neurology and Ophthalmology Clinical Section Head at Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Co., and led multiple development programs including the approval of Maxalt for pediatric migraine and Zioptan for glaucoma. Prior to joining Merck, Tony was the Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Neuronyx, a regenerative medicine company. Tony currently serves on the Board of Directors of Engrail Therapeutics. He received his M.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and his B.S. in Electrical Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles. He completed his residency and neurophysiology fellowship in the Department of Neurology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was an Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins Hospital and is an adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University. He has published over 80 papers across several fields and is co-inventor of seven patents.
Dr. Tony Ho has served as our Executive Vice President, Research and Development since August 2017. He is a highly accomplished R&D leader with experience throughout his nearly 20-year career across all phases of R&D, including discovery, early and late-stage clinical development and regulatory. Prior to joining our company, Tony held a number of roles at AstraZeneca, most recently Senior Vice President and Head of Oncology Integration and Innovation. At AstraZeneca, he led the development and commercialization of two key drugs: LYNPARZA, a PARP inhibitor for ovarian cancer, and IMFINZI, a PD-L1 inhibitor and AstraZeneca’s first immuno-oncology drug for bladder cancer. Prior to joining AstraZeneca, Tony was the Neurology and Ophthalmology Clinical Section Head at Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Co., and led multiple development programs including the approval of Maxalt for pediatric migraine and Zioptan for glaucoma. Prior to joining Merck, Tony was the Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Neuronyx, a regenerative medicine company. Tony currently serves on the Board of Directors of Engrail Therapeutics. He received his M.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and his B.S. in Electrical Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles. He completed his residency and neurophysiology fellowship in the Department of Neurology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was an Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins Hospital and is an adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University. He has published over 80 papers across several fields and is co-inventor of seven patents.