He is passionate about translational research in Immunology, as well as innovation and disruptive ideas that may help people in need.
An immunologist by training, his career is highlighted by several successful entrepreneurial pursuits, including Provention Bio, which he co-founded and where he served as Chief Scientific Officer (acquired by Sanofi in 2023), and Celimmune, which he co-founded and where he served as CEO and Chief Medical Officer (acquired by Amgen in 2017).
His scientific and corporate mission is the development of interventions to restore immune balance, intercepting or preventing immune-mediated diseases.
He is experienced in the main areas of immunology: immunodeficiencies, allergy, infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, transplantation and, in particular, autoimmunity and vaccines. He has led R&D projects and teams in diverse settings, from start-ups to Big Pharma, and is fluent in all phases of drug development and commercialization. He also has expertise in the design and execution of strategies and trials for rapid and cost-effective de-risking of experimental medicines and solutions (“rapid go/no-go”).
He has authored or co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and patents. He has also led or participated in the development of several approved products: Provention’s teplizumab/TZIELD®, AZ’s benralizumab/FASENRA®, BMS’s abatacept/ORENCIA® and belatacept/NULOJIX®, and Janssen’s ustekinumab/STELARA® and guselkumab/TREMFYA®.