Pioneers in
science

About Sahm:

Sahm Nasseri holds an extensive background in commercial drug development from his roles over the past 7 years while in the USA with Merck & Co, one of the world’s leading global biopharma companies. In that time, Sahm has built experience leading product teams and commercial strategy across a range of therapeutic areas, modalities and geographies as well as within Merck’s investor relations and business development functions. Prior to Merck, Sahm was a consultant with McKinsey & Company in Sydney. He holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering with Honours from the University of New South Wales and an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York City.

About Sue:

In addition to her role as Chief Scientific Officer at PYC, Professor Sue Fletcher is a Senior principal Research Fellow at Murdoch University.

Sue obtained a BSc in Zoology and Chemistry at the University of Zimbabwe and a PhD in Physiology at the University of Western Australia. Professor Fletcher’s research at The University of Western Australia and Australian Neuromuscular Research Institute (currently the Perron Institute) was as a molecular biologist, studying muscle regeneration and developing therapies for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Professor Fletcher together with Prof. Steve Wilton pioneered the development of a novel therapy for the devastating childhood disorder, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, through the design of antisense oligonucleotide therapies.

In 2016, the USA Food and Drug Administration gave accelerated approval to one of Prof. Fletcher and Prof. Wilton’s compounds, called Exondys-51 (previously Eteplirsen). This is the first dystrophin restoring drug of its type ever approved by the FDA. This has been followed by a second compound, Vyondys-53 (previously Golodirsen), gaining approval in 2019, for the treatment of a different sub-type of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. A third compound co-invented by Professor Fletcher, Amondys-45, received accelerated approval from the FDA in 2021.

Prof. Fletcher continues her Neuromuscular research alongside research in other muscle diseases, neurodegenerative disease and Inherited Retinal Dystrophies.

About Glenn:

Glenn Noronha has held leadership positions for over 20 years at pharmaceutical and biotech companies, including three start-ups. Most recently, at BridgeBio Pharma, Inc., Glenn was Chief Scientific Officer at BridgeBio owned companies Fortify Therapeutics and Retinagenix Therapeutics, and Head of Translational Medicine at Navire Pharma. At Fortify and Retinagenix, he led R&D for therapies targeting ocular pathologies that are genetic in origin, traversing both preclinical and clinical development; and at Navire, he interfaced across clinical, pharmacokinetics and biomarker efforts in an oncology program. Previously, he served as Chief Scientific Officer at Clearside Biomedical, Inc, a company that focused on ophthalmology. There, he led overall R&D strategy including clinical and regulatory strategy and development from Phase 1 through Phase 3 trials, resulting in a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) New Drug Application (NDA) for the lead program in uveitis. He was also one of the three executives who took Clearside public in 2016. Prior, Glenn was Head of R&D at Sucampo Pharma Americas and Chief Scientific Officer at JW Therapeutics. As Global Lead for Retina Development at Alcon, subsequently part of Novartis, Glenn led six ophthalmology programs from candidate nomination through clinical development and approval. Prior, he played a key role in developing the oncology and ophthalmology programs at TargeGen.

Glenn has overseen end-to-end development in ophthalmology — his experiences include programs in macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease, venous occlusive disease, and uveitis, in addition to programs in oncology, and experience in gastrointestinal (GI) and CNS diseases. His experience spans small molecules, biologics and gene therapies, including programs in rare diseases in ophthalmology. He has involvement with the development of four approved drugs. He has deep experience with health and ethics bodies, and regulatory agencies including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency, in addition to regulatory bodies in Asia. He has over 25 issued and pending patents.

About Rohan:

Rohan Hockings holds double degrees in medicine and law. He has worked across both disciplines following an internship at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and admission to practice in the Supreme Court of Victoria respectively.

He spent four years with McKinsey & Company and a further two years in the Private Equity industry before joining PYC Therapeutics. Rohan brings a deep affinity for conceptual thinking to PYC Therapeutics along with an understanding of the company’s technology and its commercialisation path.

About Kaggen:

Kaggen Ausma holds double degrees in Law and Economics. Before joining PYC Therapeutics, Kaggen spent 4 years at McKinsey and Company across Australia, Asia, and the US where he focused on corporate strategy, venture capital, private equity, and technology in many sectors including life sciences. Kaggen has also held a role in the Economics team at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, a sell-side institutional broking firm based in Hong Kong.

About Paula:

Paula holds a PhD in Microbiology, a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Genetics with Honors in Microbiology and a Masters in Environmental Science. She is an experienced scientist with excellent analytical, project management and team building skills. Paula has a strong background in molecular genetics, cell biology and immunology, with specific expertise in allergy and cancer research.

Her research interests focus on the development of highly efficient delivery methods for gene therapies of disease with specific emphasis on inherited retinal diseases. Prior to working at PYC Therapeutics, Paula was Group Leader of Bioassay Development for Phylogica Limited and a Senior Research Officer for Telethon Kids Institute in Perth, Western Australia.

About Chris:

Chris McFarlane holds a Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Mechanical Engineering and a
Bachelor of Science in Physics and Mathematics. Before joining PYC Therapeutics, Chris was a Senior
Manager at Bain & Company, where he spent six years consulting for clients across the globe with a
focus on performance improvement and strategy. He is an experienced leader of high performing
teams and has a track record of delivering complex and technical programs.