We have assembled a team of leading experts in the fields of longevity and gene delivery.
The Genflow Biosciences team boasts decades of expertise in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, with extensive experience collaborating with prestigious organizations such as GSK, Pfizer, Schering Plough, and renowned universities including Harvard, Oxford, LSE, and UCL.
Executive Team
Dr Eric Leire
Founder & CEO
Dr. Eric Leire brings to the Company a solid biotechnology expertise through his experience pharmaceutical industry experience (Pfizer, Schering Plough, Pharmacia), biotechnology (CEO of several private and public biotech companies such as APT Therapeutics, Paringenix), academia (Research Associate at the Harvard AIDS Institute) and Private Equity (partner at Biofund Venture Capital).
He is the inventor of several medical patents. He also serves on the board of several biotechnology companies (Immunethep, BSIM, Inhatarget). Furthermore, Dr Eric has been CEO of several gene and cell therapy companies such as Enochian Biosciences (Nasdaq: ENOB) and DanDrit Biotechnologies (OTC.QB:DDRT). He holds an MD from Grenoble University and an MBA from HEC, Paris and Kellogg, Northwestern University.
Dr. Cedric Szpirer
Head of CMC
Dr. Cedric Szpirer earned a PhD in molecular biology from Université Libre de Bruxelles. He was the founder of Delphi Genetics in 2001. He has been Executive & Scientific Director of Delphi Genetics until beginning of 2021 when the company was sold to Catalent. He worked as General Manager for Catalent Belgium until June 2021. He is also the inventor or co-inventor of more than 10 patent families in the field of molecular biology, gene therapy, recombinant productions and DNA engineering and author of several publications in this field.
Board of Directors
Tamara Joseph
CHAIRPERSON
Tamara is a seasoned health care leader, having extensive experience in both early-stage and commercial biotech companies in the US and other markets. Her expertise in the biotech sector includes public and private financings, M&A, global expansions, and a Nasdaq uplisting. She has also supported Nasdaq financings of over $800m. Her experience, spanning over 20 years, includes acting as a member of the executive team (as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel) at multiple US publicly listed companies, as well as leading IT, Public and Government Affairs, and People & Culture teams.
Tamara is currently serving as Chief Legal Officer at Nasdaq-listed Spero Therapeutics Inc., a multi-asset, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She previously served as Chief Legal Officer at Nasdaq-listed, Millendo Therapeutics Inc., to support its transition to a publicly-traded company, and as General Counsel at Enzyvant Therapeutics Inc., a rare disease company focused on regenerative medicine which is now a subdivision of Sumitomo Pharma. Previously, Tamara has served as an adviser to the boards of five US publicly traded biotechs, including Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. Tamara has a BA in Economics from Duke University, a JD from the University of Michigan Law School, and LLM degrees from the College of Europe in Belgium and the University of Paris. She began her legal career at the law firms of Morrison & Foerster and Fried Frank, working in New York, Los Angeles, Brussels and Paris. She also serves as a non-executive board member for the non-profit organizations of BINA Farm Center and Heluna Health, an $600M+ agency focused on improving population health.
Dr Eric Leire
Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Eric Leire, MD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer: brings to the Company a solid biotechnology expertise through his experience in the pharmaceutical industry (Pfizer, Schering Plough, Pharmacia), biotechnology (CEO of several private and public biotech companies such as APT Therapeutics, Paringenix), academia (Research Associate at the Harvard AIDS Institute) and Private Equity (partner at Biofund Venture Capital). He is the inventor of several patents.
He also serves on the board of several biotechnology companies such as Pherecydes (ALPH.PA), Inhatarget, Immunethep, BSIM Therapeutics. Furthermore, Eric has been CEO of several Cell & gene therapy companies such as Enochian Biosciences (Nasdaq: ENOB) and DanDrit Biotechnologies (OTC.QB: DDRT). He has also served as Non-Executive Director on the board of several cell & gene therapy companies such as Genizon (Canada) or FIT Biotechnology (Finland). He holds an MD from Grenoble University and an MBA from HEC, Paris and Kellogg, Northwestern University.
Dr Guy Charles Fanneau de la Horie
Non-Executive Director
Over the past 20 years, Guy-Charles has built, and led, biotech executive teams where he has acted as Chief Executive Officer. During his tenures, he has successfully led IPOs and completed multiple fundraisings. Guy-Charles’ expertise in the biotech field in both public and private companies encompasses launching and selling new drugs in untapped markets, with successful early access programs.
Specifically, Guy-Charles has served as Chief Executive Officer at three biotech companies, including, until very recently, Euronext Growth traded, Pherecydes Pharma, a biotech company that develops treatments against resistant bacterial infections; and Neovacs, a therapeutic vaccine company. Guy-Charles has also held senior positions at Biogen, a Nasdaq listed global biotechnology company. Guy-Charles managed the IPO and associated successful financing of Neovacs in 2010, and in 2021, led Pherecydes Pharma through an oversubscribed placing.
Dr Peter King-Lewis
Non-Executive Director
Dr Peter King-Lewis studied Medicine at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. Prior to that he served for ten years as a Submarine Seaman Officer and Diver in The Royal Navy. Having completed Post Graduate Training in General Practice (St Bartholomew’s, St Thomas’, The Chelsea and Westminster and The Priory Roehampton) he founded a Private General Practice in Central London.
Continuing his interest in Hyperbaric Medicine he was an HSE Approved Medical Examiner of Divers. He has a strong interest in Bioidentical Hormones and has practiced Acupuncture alongside more conventional medicine. Dr King-Lewis also started and runs OfficeGP Ltd which provides Primary Care in the workplace for a variety of companies. During the last twenty-seven years he has also been the President of The Independent Doctors Federation and Hon Sec, President and Trustee of the Chelsea Clinical Society.
Dr Yassine Bendiabdallah
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dr Yassine Bendiabdallah (MPharm, PhD, IP) is a Functional Medicine Healthy Ageing Specialist and an expert in Bio-identical Hormone therapy (BHRT). His previous academic degree as an anti-cancer drug discovery scientist with Cancer Research UK at University College London has earned him various distinctions and publications in peer-reviewed academic journals.
After a few years in academia, he embarked on an entrepreneurial journey and co-founded Zen Healthcare group of pharmacies and wellness clinics with multiple sites in London and worldwide partnerships. His current role as a clinical director and clinician with interests include age reversal therapies, functional approaches to medicine and intravenous micronutrient therapies. He also co-founded Pasithea Therapeutics, an innovative mental health group of clinics and Biotech and is currently Chief Operations Officer and head of UK Clinics. He is a director and board member of a number of companies within the healthcare industry.
Scientific Advisory Board
Genflow has formed a distinguished Scientific Advisory Board, with its primary role to steer the company’s research and development efforts, while also providing external expertise and perspective to shape the strategic direction of our initiatives.
Details of the Scientific Advisory Board Members are as follows:
Dr. Vera Gorbunova
CHAIRPERSON
Vera Gorbunova, PhD Co-director of the Rochester Ageing Research Center, University of Rochester New York. Dr Gorbunova is an endowed Professor of Biology at the University of Rochester and a co-director of the Rochester Ageing Research Center.
Her research is focused on understanding the mechanisms of longevity and genome stability and on the studies of exceptionally long-lived mammals. Her work received awards from the Ellison Medical Foundation, the Glenn Foundation, American Federation for Ageing Research, and from the National Institutes of Health. Her work was awarded the Cozzarelli Prize from PNAS, the prize for research on ageing from ADPS/Alianz, France, Prince Hitachi Prize in Comparative Oncology, Japan, and Davey prize from Wilmot Cancer Center.
Dr. Eric Verdin
Eric Verdin, M.D. has been Chief Executive Officer and President of Buck Institute For Age Research since November 18, 2016. Dr. Verdin served as an Associate Director and Senior Investigator at the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology and a Professor of Medicine at the University of California.
Dr. Verdin’s laboratory’s work focus on the role of protein acetylation in biological processes, particularly in modulating the immune response. Specifically, his laboratory studies histone deacetylase enzymes (HDACs) that remove acetyl groups from histones and non-histone proteins.
Dr. Matthew Hirschey
Matthew Hirschey, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Medicine (Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition) and Pharmacology & Cancer Biology at Duke University Medical Center and a faculty member of the Sarah W. Stedman Nutrition and Metabolism Center and the newly formed Duke Molecular Physiology Institute.
His research focuses on mitochondrial metabolism, with a particular interest in how cells use metabolites and chemical modifications to sense metabolism. He and his lab study the regulation of this process by a family of enzymes called sirtuins, and how sirtuins maintain energy homeostasis. His work has appeared in several leading journals, including Nature, Science, Cell Metabolism and Molecular Cell. He has received several awards including an Innovator Award from the American Heart Association, a New Scholar in Ageing Award from the Ellison Medical Foundation, and the Helmholtz Young Investigator in Diabetes (HeIDi) Award. His work is supported by grants from the American Heart Association, the Mallinckrodt Foundation, Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance, the Ellison Medical Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health
Dr. Manlio Vinciguerra
Manlio Vinciguerra, PhDﾠis a Principal Investigator at the International Clinical Research Center (ICRC), Brno, Czech Republic. Previously he held a position of Senior Lecturer at the Institute for Liver and Digestive Health at the University College London (UCL), London, United Kingdom.
He received his PhD in Internal Medicine (2004) and research training at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), in Italy and in Germany (2005-2011). He obtained a degree in Biomolecular Sciences from the University of Catania, Italy, in 1999. Dr. Vinciguerra unravelled important cellular signalling and epigenetics mechanisms involved in metabolic and infectious processes, stress and ageing in the heart and in the liver, such as PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and sirtuins, using a systems biology approach in cells and rodent models. He is a member of Who’s Who in Gerontology.
Professor Dr. Sven Francque
Professor Francque is a renowned expert in the field of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its advanced form, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
He has a long-standing interest and expertise in NAFLD and NASH, with research focusing on the vascular changes in steatosis and their contribution to disease progression. Genflow stands to gain significant value from Professor Francque’s extensive knowledge of NASH, particularly in identifying new targets and potential therapies for the disease.
Moreover, Professor Francque’s expertise in clinical research and clinical trial design will be invaluable in the development of clinical trial programs for the Company’s novel therapeutics. His membership on the SAB will play a vital role in shaping and brodeaning the Company’s strategy and direction, and his vast experience will be integral to achieving the Company’s goal of improving the lives of patients with NASH.
Dr. Mary E. Rinella, MD
Mary Rinella, MD, is a board-certified transplant hepatolgist at University of Chicago Medicine. Dr. Rinella is an expert in fatty liver disease (steatotic liver disease). She has become an expert in the various types of fatty liver diseases during her 20-year tenure, while also learning extensively about autoimmune and biliary liver diseases.
Dr. Rinella has significant experience treating these illnesses, utilizing remedies such as nutritional intervention, the use of medications, endoscopy and clinical trials to deliver the most advanced treatment options. Dr. Rinella earned her medical degree at the University of Illinois School of Medicine before completing her residency and fellowship at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University, respectively.
Her studies on the matters have led to over 150 articles published in prestigious journals such as Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), The Lancet and more.
Dr Eric Verdin
Eric Verdin, M.D. has been Chief Executive Officer and President of Buck Institute For Age Research since November 18, 2016. Dr. Verdin served as an Associate Director and Senior Investigator at the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology and a Professor of Medicine at the University of California.
Dr. Verdin’s laboratory’s work focus on the role of protein acetylation in biological processes, particularly in modulating the immune response. Specifically, his laboratory studies histone deacetylase enzymes (HDACs) that remove acetyl groups from histones and non-histone proteins.
Dr Vera Gorbunova
Vera Gorbunova, PhD Co-director of the Rochester Ageing Research Center, University of Rochester New York. Dr Gorbunova is an endowed Professor of Biology at the University of Rochester and a co-director of the Rochester Ageing Research Center.
Her research is focused on understanding the mechanisms of longevity and genome stability and on the studies of exceptionally long-lived mammals. Her work received awards from the Ellison Medical Foundation, the Glenn Foundation, American Federation for Ageing Research, and from the National Institutes of Health. Her work was awarded the Cozzarelli Prize from PNAS, the prize for research on ageing from ADPS/Alianz, France, Prince Hitachi Prize in Comparative Oncology, Japan, and Davey prize from Wilmot Cancer Center.
Dr Matthew Hirschey
Matthew Hirschey, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Medicine (Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition) and Pharmacology & Cancer Biology at Duke University Medical Center and a faculty member of the Sarah W. Stedman Nutrition and Metabolism Center and the newly formed Duke Molecular Physiology Institute.
His research focuses on mitochondrial metabolism, with a particular interest in how cells use metabolites and chemical modifications to sense metabolism. He and his lab study the regulation of this process by a family of enzymes called sirtuins, and how sirtuins maintain energy homeostasis. His work has appeared in several leading journals, including Nature, Science, Cell Metabolism and Molecular Cell. He has received several awards including an Innovator Award from the American Heart Association, a New Scholar in Ageing Award from the Ellison Medical Foundation, and the Helmholtz Young Investigator in Diabetes (HeIDi) Award. His work is supported by grants from the American Heart Association, the Mallinckrodt Foundation, Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance, the Ellison Medical Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health
Dr Manlio Vinciguerra
Manlio Vinciguerra, PhD is a Principal Investigator at the International Clinical Research Center (ICRC), Brno, Czech Republic. Previously he held a position of Senior Lecturer at the Institute for Liver and Digestive Health at the University College London (UCL), London, United Kingdom.
He received his PhD in Internal Medicine (2004) and research training at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), in Italy and in Germany (2005-2011). He obtained a degree in Biomolecular Sciences from the University of Catania, Italy, in 1999. Dr. Vinciguerra unravelled important cellular signalling and epigenetics mechanisms involved in metabolic and infectious processes, stress and ageing in the heart and in the liver, such as PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and sirtuins, using a systems biology approach in cells and rodent models. He is a member of Who’s Who in Gerontology.
Dr Aubrey de Grey
Aubrey de Grey, PhD is an English author and biomedical gerontologist. He is the Chief Science Officer of the SENS Research Foundation and VP of New Technology Discovery at AgeX Therapeutics, Inc. He is editor-in-chief of the academic journal Rejuvenation Research, author of The Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Ageing (1999) and co-author of Ending Ageing (2007).
He is known for his view that medical technology may enable human beings alive today not to die from age-related causes. He is also an amateur mathematician who has contributed to the study of the Hadwiger–Nelson problem. De Grey is an international adjunct professor of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, the American Ageing Association, and the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. He has been interviewed in recent years in a number of news sources, including CBS 60 Minutes, the BBC, The New York Times, Fortune Magazine, The Washington Post, TED, Popular Science, The Colbert Report, Time, the Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe, and The Joe Rogan Experience. He is also a member of Flooved advisory board.
