Orphagen Team 

Scott Thacher has over 30 years of expertise in pharmaceutical R&D. Prior to Orphagen, Scott directed dermatology and metabolic disease programs at Allergan (now AbbVie), contributing to the NDA filing for Tazorac®. He holds a Ph.D. in Biophysics from Harvard, a B.S. in Physics from Stanford, was a post-doctoral fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health, at the NIH, and then joined the biochemistry and medical genetics faculty at the Texas A&M College of Medicine.

An author of 30+ publications and locally recognized biopharma leader, Scott also co-founded the San Diego Entrepreneurs Exchange. He has secured 20+ NIH/SBIR and other grants, and these, along with several industry partnerships, have formed the foundation for Orphagen’s innovative drug discovery and first-in-class development programs.

At Orphagen since 2008, Paul Crowe guides discovery research and preclinical development activities for programs at Orphagen, including in vitro and in vivo pharmacology, ADME-PK, and nonclinical safety for the SF-1 antagonist OR-449.

Paul brings a wealth of experience from his tenure as Senior Director of Pharmacology and Lead Discovery at Neurocrine Biosciences. There, he managed drug discovery programs in CNS, autoimmunity, and metabolic disease, and led a research collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceuticals focusing on CRF receptor antagonists. Paul holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Therapeutics from the University of South Florida, was a research Assistant Professor at U.C. Riverside, and brings deep knowledge and commitment to innovative pharmacological research at Orphagen.

With over 25 years of experience in transactions, licensing, and strategic collaborations in pharma and biotech, Jukka previously led Business Development and Strategic Alliance Management for Orion Pharma as Vice President, securing high-profile deals and alliances with Bayer (for darolutamide), Merck (for opevesostat), and other major industry players. His expertise includes licensing, M&A, equity and non-dilutive funding structures, high-stakes commercial negotiations, and the formation, management, and restructuring of industry collaborations. As Founder and President of AllianceXConsulting, he provides strategic advisory services to pharma and biotech clients. Jukka holds an MBA from Henley Business School and Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees from the University of Illinois and the University of Helsinki.

Dr. Dorr is a medical graduate of the University of North Carolina. He trained in Internal Medicine and Oncology with Daniel von Hoff at the University of Texas in San Antonio. He was a Cancer Expert and Senior Investigator at the Division of Cancer Treatment at the NCI and Associate Professor at the Univ. of Indiana. He served in progressively senior roles at Eli Lilly, Ionis and Salmedix before becoming a full-time consultant, specializing in Phase 1 clinical trial design and execution.

Recognized for his creative spark as a chemist, Neil has been instrumental in designing new nuclear receptor-focused compounds for potential therapeutic exploration by Orphagen including the retinoid receptor antagonist OR-812 and the SF-1 antagonist OR-449. Before joining Orphagen, Neil Raheja was a Group Leader of Chemistry at Celgene San Diego, spearheading multiple oncology and inflammation programs. His extensive experience includes roles at Pfizer, where he led and advanced 10 programs into clinical development across Oncology, Inflammation, and Dermatology. Neil earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Prof. Carl Johnson and was an NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship under Prof. Ralph Hirschmann and Prof. Amos Smith III at The University of Pennsylvania. Neil is also a co-founder of January Therapeutics and Venquis Therapeutics.

Dr. JoAnn Wilson holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Wayne State University and has held successively more senior positions in the pharmaceutical industry in all aspects of chemical development: at Ciba-Geigy, Ligand Pharmaceuticals, and Exelixis, eventually becoming Vice President, Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls at Exelixis. Since 2015, she has provided consulting services in all aspects of small molecule drug development.

Kelly Beck, MBA, is CEO of Trench Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held preclinical company that harnesses the power of the nasal microbiome. Most recently, she was CEO of PolyCore Therapeutics, Inc. and previously Vice President, Investor Relations and Administration with Ocugen, Inc., where she played a key role in its reverse merger and Nasdaq listing. She previously held roles of increasing responsibility at PRA Health Sciences, DrugDev and Tengion. Ms. Beck holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Millersville University, a M.S. in Human Resource Development from Villanova, and a M.B.A. from Penn State University.

Dr. Len Post is Chief Scientific Officer at Vivace & Virtuoso Therapeutics and Executive in Residence at Canaan Ventures. Len was previously CSO at BioMarin, joining after the acquisition of LEAD Therapeutics. He played a pivotal role in the discovery and development of Talzenna (talazoparib), a groundbreaking anti-cancer agent, at both companies. Earlier, he spearheaded the development of Nexavar (sorafenib) at Onyx Pharmaceuticals. Len was previously VP of discovery research at Parke-Davis in Ann Arbor. He holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin.

Dr. Gary Hammer is the Schembechler Professor of Adrenal Cancer and Director of Endocrine Oncology at the University of Michigan and a trailblazer in the pursuit of cutting-edge therapies for ACC, both in the clinic and in new company formation. His publications on SF-1 function and the genomics of ACC have illuminated our understanding of adrenal cancer.

Dr. Hammer previously served as the President of the Endocrine Society. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. at Tufts University and was a Resident and Fellow at U.C. San Francisco.

Anjana Rao, Ph.D., is a pioneering immunologist, biochemist, and cancer biologist who has made major contributions, elucidating fundamental pathways of gene expression in T cells and other cell types (e.g. B cells, embryonic stem cells). Dr. Rao is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and Professor in the Division of Signaling and Gene Expression Research at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in San Diego.

She holds a Ph.D. in Biophysics from Harvard and was progressively Research Fellow, Instructor, Assistant, Associate and Full Professor in the Department of Pathology at Harvard Medical School before her move to La Jolla. Among her many accomplishments, she and her collaborators discovered proteins of the TET family that are Fe(II) and 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases that convert the methyl group of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) in DNA, fundamentally expanding our understanding of epigenetic control of gene expression.

Casey T. Weaver, M.D., is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Wyatt and Susan Haskell Endowed Chair of Medical Excellence, Departments of Pathology, Medicine and Microbiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine. Dr. Weaver is an immunologist who studies the development and function of CD4 T cells. He is best known for his contributions in defining the Th17 subset and its function in host defense and immune-mediated disease of the intestines. He has served as an advisor to Orphagen since August 2009.