Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Christopher Locher, PhD

Dr. Locher is the CEO and Co-Founder and has over 20 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience developing new vaccines and therapeutics for multiple diseases. Prior to Versatope, he was a Senior Director at Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston where he held leadership and management roles in large infectious disease R&D programs and international collaborations. 
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Jim Kuo, MD, MBA

Dr. Kuo has over 25 years of experience in senior leadership roles in pharmaceutical business development. He has played key roles in leading venture capital financing, strategic partnerships, licensing and strategic planning in the genomics, small molecule, biotherapy, monoclonal antibody and inflammatory disease. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Immunoprecise Antibodies and Monarch Labs. 


Matt DeLisa, PhD

Dr. DeLisa is a Co-Founder of and the William L. Lewis Professor of Engineering at Cornell University. His research team focuses on the molecular machines of protein biosynthesis both as a toolbox for the discovery, design and manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals and as targets for reprogramming cellular physiology.


Dave Putnam, PhD

Dr. Putnam is also a Co-Founder of Versatope Therapeutics and Professor of Bioengineering at Cornell University. He has worked in the field of drug delivery and formulation of biomaterials for over 20 years. He and his collaborators have pioneered the development of probiotic exosomes and generated the strong preliminary data to support our preclinical development.


Edward P. Jordan, MBA

Edward P. Jordan, MBA is the Chief Commercial Officer for XSpray Pharma, a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on advancing oncology care. He leads the USA-based efforts inclusive of commercial operations, supply, manufacturing and medical affairs for the anticipated approval and launch of advanced oncology products. The first of these is Dasynoc, which aims to bolster the clinical efficacy of the chronic myeloid leukemia drug Dasatinib while benefiting a wider patient population. Previously, Ed held various Chief Commercial and Operations Officer roles at Humanigen, DBV Technologies, AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and Merck (Schering-Plough). He received dual Bachelor of Science Degrees from the University of Rhode Island and his MBA from Southern New Hampshire University. 


Sam Rasty, PhD, MBA

Sam Rasty, PhD, MBA is currently serving as Chief Business Officer at Sensorium Therapeutics, a Boston area biotech focused on the discovery and development of first-in-class therapies for neuropsychiatric and neurological diseases. Previously, he was Interim Chief Executive Officer of Sequence Bio, a genomics and precision medicine company ​in Canada​, and President and Chief Executive Officer of PlateletBio, a pioneering cell therapy biotech company in the Boston area. He served as Chief Operating Officer ​and one of the early employees of​ Homology Medicines. ​His earlier career spanned a variety of​ leadership roles at Shire plc, Endo Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline, focused on R&D, new product planning, commercial strategy, marketing and business development. Dr. Rasty earned a PhD in Biochemistry / Molecular Virology from Louisiana State University, completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in Molecular Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and received an MBA from Villanova University.

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