About

WHO WE ARE

Developing New Therapeutic Agents for Patients Affected by HIO Suppression

Our past clinical research experience has informed us about the way tumor micro-environment negatively affects humoral immunity in cancer patients.

Thus, we have channeled our efforts in the discovery of tumor-produced Humoral Immuno-Oncology (HIO) factors that are associated with suppressed humoral immunity, poor prognosis and limited therapeutic response of immune-mediated anti-cancer therapies to create innovative therapeutic agents to overcome the suppressive effects of these factors.

A Creative Team with Extensive Experience in Biotechnology

Navrogen’s co-founders, Nicholas Nicolaides, PhD, (President & CEO) and Luigi Grasso, PhD, (SR VP & CSO) each have decades of experience in biopharmaceutical operations and product development and are inventors of several biopharmaceuticals patents.

Drs. Nicolaides and Grasso co-founded Navrogen in 2018 to pioneer the development of first-in-class agents that can overcome the immunosuppressive effects of HIO factors by employing proprietary screening and engineering technologies as well as diagnostic assays that can identify patients whose tumors produce HIO factors.

  • Leadership
  • Board of Directors

Lonnie Moulder

Tellus BioVentures

Lonnie Moulder is the Founder and Managing Member of Tellus BioVentures, an early-stage life sciences investment fund. He is the Founder and Executive Chair for Zenas BioPharma and the founding investor and board Chair for Interius BioTherapeutics, Dianthus Therapeutics and TamuroBio. He previously served as CEO and Director of Tesaro, a biotechnology company he cofounded that was acquired by GSK in 2019. Lonnie earlier served as President and CEO of Abraxis BioScience before the company’s eventual acquisition by Celgene Corporation and as Vice Chairman of Eisai Corporation of North America following Eisai’s acquisition of MGI PHARMA where he served as President and CEO.

Lonnie began his career as a clinical pharmacist followed by a seventeen-year career at predecessor companies of Sanofi. Lonnie is a Temple University Trustee, Chair of the Trustee Committee for Research, Chair of the Temple University Japan (TESS) Board and serves on the board of the Fox Chase Cancer Center. He is a Council Member for both the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Lonnie also serves on the boards of Zai Lab, Helsinn Healthcare, Aegle Therapeutics, and as board Chair for Trevena. He received a Pharmacy degree from Temple University and an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

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Lonnie Moulder

 

Allan Bedwick

Investor

Allan Bedwick is a 30+ year veteran of the Asian capital markets who spent the first two decades of his career at global investment banks including Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, Greenwich NatWest and Lehman Brothers, where he built and managed proprietary trading desks focused on the pan-Asian markets. From 2009, Allan has launched two successful hedge funds with assets well over USD $1B and served as COO, head of risk and board member of three others.

Over the past 25 years, he has been an active investor in private companies with a primary focus on early-stage investments in high growth biotech and fintech opportunities in Asia and the US. He currently serves as an advisor to a number of early-stage ventures in Asia and Europe and has extensive governance experience in both private companies and funds/asset management. Allan received his BS in biology from University of Scranton and attended Thomas Jefferson Medical College. 

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Allan Bedwick

 

Nick Nicolaides

Chief Executive Officer

Nicholas (Nick) C. Nicolaides, Ph.D. is the President, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Navrogen™ Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer and immune-related disorders. From 2000 to 2018 he was the President, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Morphotek® Inc., a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of first-in-class antibody based products for the treatment of cancer, inflammatory and infectious diseases. 

He is a trained molecular geneticist and has authored over 70 peer-reviewed scientific papers on the molecular and genetic basis of cancer, respiratory disease and drug development and is an inventor on 80 issued patents. He received a B.S. in Biology from St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA; a Ph.D. in Human Genetics from Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA; and a Fellowship in Oncology from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. While at Johns Hopkins,

his research resulted in the discovery of the genetic cause of one of the most common forms of inherited cancer and the development of Morphotek’s founding platform technology called morphogenics. He has been recognized by R&D Directions’ as one of the Top 20 Most Notable People in Research and Development and received the Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award. In 2013, he received the Pennsylvania Governor’s Entrepreneur Impact Award for his successful biotechnology accomplishments and bringing international investment into the Pennsylvania Common Wealth.

He currently serves as an ad hoc reviewer for several immunology and cancer research journals; is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research and New York Academy of Sciences; is on the Board of Directors at Cage Pharma and is a member of several philanthropic organizations supporting the advancement of education and individuals with disabilities.

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Nick Nicolaides

 

Luigi Grasso

Chief Scientific Officer

Luigi Grasso, Ph.D. is the Sr Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of Navrogen Inc. Prior to co-founding Navrogen, he was Vice President, CSO and co-founder of Morphotek Inc., a private biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of antibody-based therapies for cancer, which was acquired by Eisai, Co. Ltd. in 2007. From 2007 to 2018, he remained at Morphotek as VP and CSO and oversaw the global R&D of antibody and next gen antibody-based products for the treatment of various cancer indications. Prior to co-founding Morphotek, he was Associate Director of Research at Magainin Pharmaceuticals Inc where he oversaw the development of antibody-based therapeutics for inflammatory diseases. 

Luigi is a trained molecular biologist and has authored over 40 peer-reviewed scientific papers on the molecular and genetic basis of cancer, respiratory disease and drug development and is an inventor on 65 issued patents.

Luigi received a B.S. and Ph.D. in Pathology from the University of Catania, Italy; and a Fellowship in Oncology from Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA. While at Thomas Jefferson, his research resulted in the elucidation of how mutated tumor suppressor genes transform cells to become malignant. He currently serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the privately held oncology-focused biopharma Cage Pharmaceuticals.

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Luigi Grasso

 

Steven Kyriakos

VP of Finance

Steven Kyriakos is the Vice President of Finance and Operations of Navrogen Inc. Prior to Navrogen, he was the Executive Director of Accounting and Finance at Morphotek Inc., a private biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of antibody-based therapies for cancer, which was acquired by Eisai, Co. Ltd. in 2007. From 2007 to 2018, he remained at Morphotek, a subsidiary of Eisai, and led its global financial operations. In addition, he has held various operational roles with increasing responsibilities over the course of his tenure at Morphotek including human resources, facilities and government grant management. 

Steve received a B.S. in Accounting from West Chester University. He has successfully undertaken managerial leadership programs at Penn State University and International Business Elite Training programs for the Pharmaceutical Industry.

Prior to Morphotek, he was a Senior Accountant at Liberty Property Trust (REIT) where he managed a 120 project portfolio. He brings over 26  years of accounting and finance experience with an emphasis in startup operations and mergers and acquisitions.

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Steven Kyriakos

 

Brad Kline

Senior Director of Research and Development

Brad Kline, Ph.D. is the Senior Director of Research and Development at Navrogen Inc.  Prior to joining the Navrogen team, he was responsible for overseeing antibody discovery and development at Morphotek Inc. During his tenure at Morphotek, he oversaw the engineering and development of several experimental antibodies that advanced to clinical trials as well as published on the underlying biological mechanisms of humoral immuno-suppression. 

Brad is a trained molecular biologist and immunologist with over 25 peer-reviewed scientific papers in the fields of antibody engineering, oncology, and immunology and an inventor several issued patents covering antibody engineering, antibody therapeutics and disease-target discovery. He received a B.A. in Biology from the University of Virginia, a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Miami, and a post-doctoral fellowship in molecular endocrinology at the University of Pennsylvania.

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Brad Kline

 
The Meaning Of Navrogen

WHERE WE COME FROM

The Meaning of ‘Navrogen’

Our company name was created from the word “na vro,” which means “to find” or “to navigate” in Greek.

This idea, combined with the fragment “gen” from “genesis”/“generate”/”generation,” creates a name that represents finding solutions and moving forward through clinical advancements. Navrogen’s theme is immunity mediated by antibodies and the complement system, and we are dedicated to translating clinical knowledge into innovation.