Executive Team
James Breitmeyer, MD, PhD
President and CEO
Dr. Breitmeyer has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc. since September 2015. Dr. Breitmeyer is a veteran biotech executive with experience successfully starting and growing biotechnology organizations. He has been responsible for both the development and implementation of both operational and drug development strategies, as well as supervising and managing both large organizations and emerging biotechnology companies. Dr. Breitmeyer served as President of Bavarian Nordic, Inc. and Executive Vice President of Bavarian Nordic A/S, a multinational corporation headquartered in Denmark, from February 2013 to July 2015 where he oversaw business operations and development strategy both for Bavarian Nordic, Inc. and Bavarian Nordic A/S. He served as a director of Zogenix, Inc., then a public pharmaceutical company, from March 2014 until it was acquired by UCB S.A. in March 2022 and was the acting Chief Medical Officer of Zogenix from August 2012 to February 2013 where he was responsible for clinical development and regulatory strategy. He previously served as the Executive Vice President of Development and Chief Medical Officer of Cadence Pharmaceuticals Inc., a public pharmaceutical company, from August 2006 to August 2012, and the Chief Medical Officer of Applied Molecular Evolution Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Co., a global pharmaceutical company, from December 2001 to August 2006. Dr. Breitmeyer was also the founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Harvard Clinical Research Institute, and Chief Medical Officer and Head of Research & Development for North America at Serono Laboratories Inc., an international biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Breitmeyer served as a founding collaborator and scientific advisor to Immunogen Inc., a biotechnology company, and held clinical and teaching positions at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Breitmeyer earned his B.A. in Chemistry from the University of California, Santa Cruz and his M.D. and Ph.D. from Washington University School of Medicine and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Oncology. He holds an active California medical license.
Richard Vincent
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Vincent has served as Oncternal’s Chief Financial Officer since April 2017. Mr. Vincent served as an independent Chief Financial Officer to multiple pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies, including Avalyn Pharma (co-founder), Meritage Pharma, and Elevation Pharmaceuticals from 2012 through 2017. Mr. Vincent was the Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of Sorrento Therapeutics from January 2011 through February 2015. Mr. Vincent served as Chief Financial Officer for Verus Pharmaceuticals from 2004 to 2008, and Women First Healthcare from 2003 to 2005. Mr. Vincent’s areas of responsibility have spanned all areas of finance, treasury, investor and public relations, human resources, information technology, facilities and project management. From 1987 to 1995, Mr. Vincent held a number of positions with Deloitte & Touche LLP, the last of which was senior manager, where he specialized in emerging growth and publicly-reporting companies. Mr. Vincent became a Certified Public Accountant in California in 1989 and holds a B.S. degree in business with an emphasis in accounting from San Diego State University.
Rajesh Krishnan, PhD
Chief Technical Officer/Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Krishnan is currently the Chief Scientific Officer and Chief Technical Officer of Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc. He previously served as our Senior Vice President, Manufacturing from 2019-2021. Dr. Krishnan has more than 24 years of experience across process development, CMC, technology transfer, and manufacturing sciences for U.S. and international manufacturing sites, involving both internal and partnered programs. From 2017 until 2019, he served as Vice President, Process Development and Manufacturing Sciences at Dynavax Technologies Corporation, where he led manufacturing, drug process development, process validation, analytical sciences, and technology transfer efforts for commercial and clinical development programs. From 2012 through 2017, Dr. Krishnan served in several positions at Gilead Sciences, Inc., leading the Biologics Drug Substance Process Development, which comprised of cell line development, upstream and downstream process development for multiple clinical biologics programs. From 2000 to 2012, he served in positions of increasing responsibility at Merck & Co., Inc., Amgen Inc., and Pfizer, with a consistent leadership role across process development, technology transfer and CMC for clinical and commercial biologics programs. Dr. Krishnan holds a B.S.E. degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University, a M.S. degree in chemical engineering from the University of California, Davis, and a Ph.D. degree in Biochemical Engineering from the University of California, Davis.
Chase Leavitt
General Counsel
Chase Leavitt joined as our General Counsel in April 2021 and previously served as General Counsel of Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company, from May 2019 to April 2021. From June 2018 to May 2019, Mr. Leavitt served as Vice President of Legal Affairs of Tang Capital Management, LLC, a life sciences-focused investment company, and its affiliate Odonate Therapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company. From May 2017 to May 2018, Mr. Leavitt served as the Deputy General Counsel of Switch, Inc., a publicly traded technology company, and previously served as its Associate General Counsel from July 2014 to May 2017. From 2007 to 2014, Mr. Leavitt was a corporate attorney at Latham & Watkins LLP, where his practice focused on public company representation, mergers and acquisitions and capital markets, serving life sciences and technology companies. Mr. Leavitt received a B.S. degree in business administration and a J.D. from the University of Southern California and is admitted to practice law by the State Bar of California.
Pablo Urbaneja
SVP Corporate Development
Pablo Urbaneja joined as our SVP, Corporate Development in July 2021. He previously served as Vice President, Corporate Development at Coherus Biosciences, where he helped transform its biosimilars and immuno-oncology late-stage pipeline. Previously, Mr. Urbaneja was in the pharmaceuticals and medical products practice of McKinsey & Company, where he advised clients on business strategy, operational performance, commercialization, and mergers and acquisitions, on a global scale.
Angela Pietrofeso
VP Clinical Development Operations
Ms. Pietrofeso joined Oncternal in September 2021 as Senior Director Clinical Operations and was promoted to VP Clinical Development Operations in September 2022. Ms. Pietrofeso has over 20 years of extensive global expertise in biopharmaceutical and medical device industries. She has a broad range of therapeutic experience in oncology, ulcerative colitis, cardiovascular medical devices, acute pain, and infectious diseases. Before joining Oncternal, Ms. Pietrofeso held positions of increasing responsibility at Pfizer, Valeant, Metabasis, Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Lithera, W.L Gore & Associates, and Gossamer Bio. Her career highlights include contributions to the successful NDA for Sutent® at Pfizer; the NDA submission for Ofirmev® at Cadence Pharmaceuticals; and the PMA approval of GORE® VIABAHN® VBX Balloon Expandable Endoprosthesis (VBX Stent Graft) at W.L Gore & Associates. Prior to joining industry Ms. Pietrofeso worked as a Research Nurse Manager at the Royal Free Hospital (London UK) and as a Registered Nurse in South Africa and UK. Ms. Pietrofeso holds a Bachelor of Social Science ( Nursing) from University of Natal ( Durban South Africa).
Board of Directors
David F. Hale
Chairman
David F. Hale has served on our board of directors since the completion of the Merger in June 2019. He was a co-founder and served as a member of the board of directors of Private Oncternal since 2013, and Chairman of the Board of Private Oncternal from December 2018 until the Merger. Since May 2006, Mr. Hale has served as Chairman & CEO of Hale Biopharma Ventures, LLC. He is a serial entrepreneur who has been involved in the formation and development of numerous life sciences companies. He was previously President and CEO of CancerVax Corporation, a cancer therapeutic company from October 2000 through May 2006 when CancerVax merged with Micromet, Inc. He became Chairman of Micromet, Inc. until the sale of the company to Amgen Inc. in 2012. After joining Hybritech, Inc., in 1982, he was President & Chief Operating Officer and became CEO in 1986, when Hybritech was acquired by Eli Lilly and Co. From 1987 to 1997 he was Chairman, President and CEO of Gensia, Inc. He was a co-founder and Chairman of Viagene, Inc. from 1987 to 1995. He was President and CEO of Women First HealthCare, Inc. from January 1998 to June 2000. Prior to joining Hybritech in 1982, Mr. Hale was Vice President and General Manager of BBL Microbiology Systems, a division of Becton, Dickinson & Co. and from 1971 to 1980, held various marketing and sales management positions with Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation, a division of Johnson & Johnson, Inc. Mr. Hale previously served as Chairman of a number of companies, including Santarus, Inc., Somaxon, Inc., SkinMedica, Inc., CRISIMed, Inc., Agility Clinical, Inc., Zerigo Health, Inc., Neurana, Inc., and Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. He is a Co-founder and currently serves as a Director of Neurelis, Inc and Dermata, Inc. Mr. Hale also is a co-founder and serves on the Board of Directors of BIOCOM and Connect, is a former member of the board of The Biotechnology Industry Organization or BIO, and the San Diego Economic Development Corporation. Mr. Hale also serves as a board trustee of Rady Children’s Hospital of San Diego, and Chairman of the board of Rady Children’s Institute of Genomics Medicine and serves as a member of the board of the University of San Diego. Mr. Hale holds a B.A. in Biology and Chemistry from Jacksonville State University.
James Breitmeyer, MD, PhD
Director
Dr. Breitmeyer has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc. since September 2015. Dr. Breitmeyer is a veteran biotech executive with experience successfully starting and growing biotechnology organizations. He has been responsible for both the development and implementation of both operational and drug development strategies, as well as supervising and managing both large organizations and emerging biotechnology companies. Dr. Breitmeyer served as President of Bavarian Nordic, Inc. and Executive Vice President of Bavarian Nordic A/S, a multinational corporation headquartered in Denmark, from February 2013 to July 2015 where he oversaw business operations and development strategy both for Bavarian Nordic, Inc. and Bavarian Nordic A/S. He served as a director of Zogenix, Inc., then a public pharmaceutical company, from March 2014 until it was acquired by UCB S.A. in March 2022 and was the acting Chief Medical Officer of Zogenix from August 2012 to February 2013 where he was responsible for clinical development and regulatory strategy. He previously served as the Executive Vice President of Development and Chief Medical Officer of Cadence Pharmaceuticals Inc., a public pharmaceutical company, from August 2006 to August 2012, and the Chief Medical Officer of Applied Molecular Evolution Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Co., a global pharmaceutical company, from December 2001 to August 2006. Dr. Breitmeyer was also the founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Harvard Clinical Research Institute, and Chief Medical Officer and Head of Research & Development for North America at Serono Laboratories Inc., an international biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Breitmeyer served as a founding collaborator and scientific advisor to Immunogen Inc., a biotechnology company, and held clinical and teaching positions at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Breitmeyer earned his B.A. in Chemistry from the University of California, Santa Cruz and his M.D. and Ph.D. from Washington University School of Medicine and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Oncology. He holds an active California medical license.
Michael G. Carter, MD, ChB, FRCP
Director
Dr. Carter has served as a member of our board of directors since June 2019. Dr. Carter was a non-executive director of Santarus, Inc. from 2004 to 2013, served as a non-executive director of Micromet AG from 2001 to 2005 and of MICROMET, Inc. from 2006 to March 2012, and served as a non-executive director of Fulcrum Pharma, PLC from 2005 to 2010. Dr. Carter was a member of the Advisory Board of Paul Capital Royalty Fund from 2005 to 2008, and was a venture partner with SV Life Sciences Advisors, LLP from 1998 to 2016. He has served as a member of the strategic advisory board of Healthcare Royalty Partners (HCRP) since September 2009 and a member of the HCRP Investment Committee since 2015. Dr. Carter was the non-executive chairman of Metris Therapeutics, Ltd., a biotechnology firm specializing in women’s healthcare from 1999 to 2008. He was also a non-executive director of ONCOETHIX from June 2013 until its sale to Merck & Co., in December 2014. Dr. Carter served on the Pharmaceutical Board of I.C.I. Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, a predecessor company of AstraZeneca, and held various positions with I.C.I. Zeneca from 1984 to 1998, including International Medical Director and International Marketing Director. From 1985 to 1995, Dr. Carter served as a member of the U.K. Government’s Medicines Commission. Dr. Carter is an Elected Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, and of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. Dr. Carter holds a degree in pharmacy from London University (U.K.) and a medical degree from Sheffield University Medical School (U.K.).
Jill DeSimone
Director
Ms. DeSimone was most recently President of U.S. Oncology at Merck & Co., Inc., where she built the company’s oncology division, growing it to over a $9 billion business in just eight years. She led three key product launches and more than 45 indication launches, including Keytruda®. Prior to joining Merck, she served as senior vice president of Global Women’s Health at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd from 2012 to 2014. Prior to her time at Teva, Ms. DeSimone served in several roles of increasing responsibility at Bristol Myers Squibb from 1980 to 2012, including senior vice president of U.S. Oncology & Commercial from 2010 to 2012 and senior vice president of U.S. Virology/HIV from 2006 to 2010. Ms. DeSimone currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc. and Affini-T Therapeutics Inc. She also serves as a board member for the Florida Cancer Specialists Foundation, a nonprofit organization that delivers non-medical aid for individuals undergoing cancer treatment. Ms. DeSimone received a B.S. in pharmacy from Northeastern University and completed a fellowship with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Bill LaRue
Director
William R. LaRue has served as a member of our board of directors since December 2017. Mr. LaRue currently serves as an independent board member for multiple public and private companies in the life science industry. He served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, starting in June 2006, and expanded his role to serve as Assistant Secretary at Cadence in April 2007, serving in both capacities until the company’s acquisition by Mallinckrodt plc in March 2014. At Cadence, Mr. LaRue was a member of the Executive Committee with direct responsibility for the company’s financial leadership including corporate financing, investor relations, financial planning and reporting, SEC reporting, accounting, treasury, risk management, tax and information technology. During his tenure, Cadence raised over $375 million in public and private equity and senior debt, including an IPO in October 2006 as the company transitioned from a development stage to a commercial stage company. Prior to joining Cadence, Mr. LaRue served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of CancerVax Corporation, a biotechnology company, from 2001 until its merger with Micromet, Inc. in May 2006. Mr. LaRue currently serves as a member of the board of directors and chair of the Audit Committee of Tracon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Conatus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Alastin Skincare, Inc. He previously served on the boards of directors of Applied Proteomics, Inc., Neurelis, Inc. and Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Mr. LaRue received a B.S. in business administration and an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California.
Charles Theuer, MD, PhD
Director
Dr. Theuer has served as a member of Oncternal’s board of directors since March 2018. He was President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of TRACON Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from July 2006 until July 2024. From 2004 to 2006, Dr. Theuer was the Chief Medical Officer at TargeGen, Inc., a biotechnology company. Prior to joining TargeGen, Inc., Dr. Theuer was Director of Clinical Oncology at Pfizer, Inc., a pharmaceutical corporation, from 2003 to 2004. Dr. Theuer has also held senior positions at IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corp. from 2002 to 2003 and at the National Cancer Institute from 1991 to 1993. In addition, he has held academic positions at the University of California, Irvine, where he was Assistant Professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology and Department of Medicine. Dr. Theuer currently serves as a director at 4D Molecular Therapeutics, a position he has held since January 2016. Dr. Theuer received a B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine. He completed a general surgery residency program at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and was board certified in general surgery in 1997.
Robert J. Wills, PhD
Director
Dr. Wills has served as a member of our board of directors since June 2019. Dr. Wills has over three decades of experience as a leader in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Dr. Wills joined GTx as the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors and as Chairman of the Board’s Scientific and Development Committee on March 2, 2015. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of CymaBay Therapeutics, as Board member at Parion Sciences, Inc, as Board member at Go Therapeutics and as a member of the Emerging Companies Section Governing Board of Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). Prior to these roles, Dr. Wills spent over 25 years at Johnson & Johnson. Most recently he was Vice President, Alliance Management, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. He also served as Senior Vice President Global Development, where he was responsible for the R&D pipeline and a member of the R&D Board of Directors. In addition he served on several of the commercial Operating Company Boards and key pharmaceutical group decision-making committees. Dr. Wills began his career at Hoffmann-LaRoche where he spent 10 years in several roles of scientific responsibility. He holds a BS in Biochemistry and an MS in Pharmaceutics from the University of Wisconsin and a PhD in Pharmaceutics from the University of Texas.
Daniel Kisner, MD
Director
Dr. Kisner has served as a member of our board of directors since June 2019. Dr. Kisner currently serves as an independent consultant in the life science industry. He was a partner at Aberdare Ventures from 2003 to 2011. Dr. Kisner served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Caliper Life Sciences from 2002 to 2008, and as President and CEO of its predecessor company, Caliper Technologies, from 1999 to 2002. He held positions of increasing responsibility at Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., from 1991 to 1999, most recently as President and COO. Dr. Kisner previously served in pharmaceutical research and development executive positions at Abbott Laboratories from 1988 to 1991 and at SmithKline Beckman Laboratories from 1985 to 1988. He held a tenured faculty position in the Division of Medical Oncology at the University of Texas, San Antonio School of Medicine until 1985 after a five-year advancement through the Cancer Treatment Evaluation Program of the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Kisner is board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology. Dr. Kisner holds a B.A. from Rutgers University and an M.D. from Georgetown University. Dr. Kisner currently serves as a director at Dynavax Technologies Corporation, and has extensive prior private and public company board experience, including serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Tekmira Pharmaceuticals.
