Provenance’s Management Team consists of the two company founders, Dr. Stephen Gillies and Mr. Jason Walsh together with a virtual team of experienced biological research and development experts.

 

Stephen D. Gillies, Ph.D, President and CEO: Dr. Gillies is an expert in the creation and development of recombinant antibodies and immunotherapy. He is inventor of core platform technologies, immunocytokines and Fc-X, for which there are several clinical projects in development with various pharmaceutical companies, research institutes, and government agencies.

 

Prior to founding Provenance Biopharmaceuticals Corp., Dr Gillies led all scientific and business endeavors of Lexigen Pharmaceuticals Corp. since its founding in 1992 as Fuji Immunopharmaceuticals Corp. In this capacity, he was responsible for numerous funding activities and corporate partnerships, including the acquisition of the Company by Merck KGaA. After Lexigen’s acquisition in 1999, until 2007, Dr. Gillies had the additional responsibility of overseeing Global Oncology Pre-clinical research for Merck KGaA. Previously, he was vice president of research at Damon Biotech and Abbott Biotech Inc., where he oversaw development of recombinant antibodies and pro-urokinase, an anti-clotting protein. As a postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working with Nobel laureate Susumu Tonegawa, he identified the first cellular enhancer sequences that were found to be critical for the regulation of antibody expression. This discovery proved a key part of the commercial success of Erbitux, a cancer drug marketed by Imclone Systems Inc., Bristol Myers Squibb, and Merck KGaA. Dr. Gillies and his scientific teams have expanded on this early scientific breakthrough with other protein expression technologies, including Fc-X technology. As part of his recombinant antibody project work, Dr. Gillies invented and implemented the immunocytokine technology, and leveraged through his academic network, the first proof of principle of this approach. Through support of the National Cancer Institute and clinicians in both the US and Germany the first clinical trials were conducted. During the course of his scientific career, Dr. Gillies led multiple therapeutic candidates into clinical development for HIV/AIDS and cancer. These include engineered antibodies, NCEs and immunocytokines.

 

Dr. Gillies received his M.S. degree and Ph.D. from the College of Medicine and Dentistry, Rutgers University and his B.S. degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

 

Jason M. Walsh, Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer: Mr. Walsh is a successful business leader with broad strategic, financial, and operational expertise with over twenty years of biotechnology management and entrepreneurial experience. Mr. Walsh is a founder of Provenance Biopharmaceuticals Corp. and is responsible for leading the finance and business functions.

 

Previously, Mr. Walsh led all business activities for the biotechnology company, Lexigen Pharmaceuticals Corp. He raised significant capital and partnership funding and managed competitive due diligence initiatives, which culminated in the Company’s acquisition by the European pharmaceutical company, Merck KGaA. Additionally, his efforts were instrumental in orchestrating the transaction and in the Company’s transition from an independent entity to a wholly-owned subsidiary of this global pharmaceutical concern. Mr. Walsh led the business functions for this Merck KGaA business unit until he and Dr. Gillies started Provenance Biopharmaceuticals Corp. and licensed the DI-Leu16-IL2 from Merck KGaA.

 

Previously, Mr. Walsh founded and led several entrepreneurial ventures in a wide range of industries. He has a B.S. degree from the University of Massachusetts and an MBA from Babson College. He is a founder, initial President, and a member of the Board of Directors of The Bioscience Network, a non-profit educational and professional development organization.