Team

Leadership Team

Founded by ex-Pfizer R&D executives and healthcare entrepreneurs, Thetis is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases.

Gary Mathias
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Mathias has more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry as an entrepreneur, investor and banker. Over the course of his career, he has raised over $250 Read More
Gary MathiasCo-Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Mathias has more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry as an entrepreneur, investor and banker. Over the course of his career, he has raised over $250 million in debt and equity for pharmaceutical and healthcare technology and services companies. For 15 years prior to joining Thetis full-time as CEO, Mr. Mathias was a senior partner at the investment bank Carter Morse & Mathias (Southport, Connecticut), where he led the bank’s Healthcare Group. He previously was a senior vice president in the Healthcare Group at GE Equity Capital, Chief Operating Officer of Diabetes Support Systems, and executive vice president of Premier Healthcare, a healthcare focused private equity firm.

He has served on the board of various organizations in the healthcare space, including the Connecticut Venture Group, Western Connecticut Health Network, Diabetes Support Systems and Dome Imaging Systems. He also served as Chairman of the Alliance of International Corporate Advisors (AICA), a network of investment banks in the Americas, Europe and Asia focused on mid-market M&A transactions and capital raises.

Mr. Mathias has an MBA from the Yale School of Management, a BA in Economics from Harvard College, and was a Fulbright Fellow in economic development.

Frank C. Sciavolino, PhD
Co-Founder, President and Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Sciavolino has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including a distinguished 35 year career at Pfizer Global R&D. At Pfizer, Dr. Sciavolino held various management roles and responsibilities in Read More
Frank C. Sciavolino, PhDCo-Founder, President and Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Sciavolino has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including a distinguished 35 year career at Pfizer Global R&D. At Pfizer, Dr. Sciavolino held various management roles and responsibilities in drug discovery, development, registration and licensing, culminating in a role as Vice President of R&D Operations, in which he oversaw a team of 1,000 scientists in the United States, Europe and Asia. He was the enabling force behind two of Pfizer’s most notable franchises, Zithromax and Celebrex. After leading the discovery chemistry team responsible for the initial macrolide antibiotic research, he served as principal investigator leading the Phase I evaluation of 11 compounds in first-in-human (FIH) studies, which led to the identification and development of Zithromax, an antibiotic considered one of the most important new drugs of the 20th century. He also played a major role in the licensing of Celebrex, a COX-2 inhibitor that reached $3 billion in peak annual sales globally.

Dr. Sciavolino has served on numerous editorial boards including Annual Reports in Medicinal Chemistry, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy and the Journal of Antibiotics. Dr. Sciavolino has more than 30 issued patents and has a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Michigan and B.S. in Pharmacy from St. John’s University.

John Parkinson, PhD
Senior Director, R&D
Dr. Parkinson is a senior research scientist with 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and a deep background in drug discovery and development for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Read More
John Parkinson, PhDSenior Director, R&D

Dr. Parkinson is a senior research scientist with 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and a deep background in drug discovery and development for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Prior to joining Thetis, Dr. Parkinson was the Senior Scientific Director and Head of IBD Drug Discovery at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in his career, he led the discovery and development of the Lipoxin analog IBD program at Berlex Laboratories in collaboration with Professor Charles Serhan’s lab at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. Based on his extensive research, Dr. Parkinson is internationally recognized as an expert in inflammation resolution and Resolvin pharmacology with over 60 publications and 20 patents filed. He has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Bristol and conducted a postdoctoral fellowship in hematology and oncology at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

Wayne Klohs, PhD
Senior Medical Director, Chair of SAB
Dr. Klohs is an R&D executive and scientist with thirty-five years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry with increasing levels of responsibility held in positions across the drug development and Read More
Wayne Klohs, PhDSenior Medical Director, Chair of SAB

Dr. Klohs is an R&D executive and scientist with thirty-five years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry with increasing levels of responsibility held in positions across the drug development and discovery spectrum. He is currently a consultant for several companies including the SAB for Aeglea Therapeutics, SAB and DOB for MAIA Biotechnology, Chairman of the BOD for Xennials Therapeutics. He also serves as a consultant for Tieos Therapeutics, Kymeris Therapeutics, Petra Pharma, Third Coast Therapeutics, RJS Biologics, and Alacrita Consulting. Dr. Klohs retired from Astellas Pharma Inc. as a Senior Vice President and Therapeutic Area for Oncology for Astellas Pharmaceutical, Inc in June, 2013. In five years, he built Astellas Oncology from 5 people in oncology to ~ 500 and built the oncology pipeline at Astellas from zero compounds to a robust pipeline through internal discovery, in-licensing of key compounds, and the acquisition of OSI Pharmaceuticals. Headed the Global Oncology Strategy team that set the global direction and strategies for oncology at Astellas.

He successfully filed NDAs and MAAs for Xtandi (enzalutamide) and Tarceva. Previously, he served as acting head of Oncology Clinical Sciences at Takeda Global R&D and Executive Director of Drug Development at Pfizer, Inc. At Takeda, he lead both early and late-stage Development Teams in Oncology and was a member of Takeda’s Global Oncology Licensing Team. At Pfizer, he led development from mid-Discovery through POC with additional experience in NDA filings including pentostatin/Nipent and suramin/Metaret. During that time, he led development teams to more than 14 successful IND filings and Phase 1 starts including a pan-erbB irreversible tyrosine kinase inhibitor, two MEK inhibitors for both oncology and inflammation, a cell cycle inhibitor, several P38 inhibitors among others. Prior to heading up drug development for oncology and inflammation at Pfizer, he led discovery efforts at Warner-Lambert/Parke Davis Pharmaceutical Research in oncology in a number of areas including antiangiogenic agents, multiple drug resistance, histone deacetylase inhibitors, and antifolates.

Dipak Panigrahy, MD
Cancer pharmacology lead
Dr. Panigrahy is the world’s leading expert in Resolvin pharmacology in cancer. He is an Assistant Professor of Pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), a teaching hospital affiliated Read More
Dipak Panigrahy, MDCancer pharmacology lead

Dr. Panigrahy is the world’s leading expert in Resolvin pharmacology in cancer. He is an Assistant Professor of Pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), a teaching hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School. His laboratory, which is located in the Center for Vascular Biology Research at BIDMC, has deep expertise in multiple animal models of cancer including pancreatic cancer. From 1996 to 2008, Dr. Panigrahy led angiogenesis and cancer animal modeling in the Judah Folkman laboratory. The Panigrahy Laboratory has won 50+ awards for its studies on lipid autacoids in cancer. Dr. Panigrahy was awarded the 2015 ASIP Cotran Early Investigator Award and a Young Investigator Award in 2015 at the 14th International Conference on Bioactive Lipids in Cancer, Inflammation, and Related Diseases (Budapest, Hungary). Dr. Panigrahy’s seminal research regarding apoptosis in cancer and tumor dormancy escape provides the mechanistic foundation for our understanding of Resolvin pharmacology in cancer. In collaboration with the Serhan Laboratory, Dr. Panigrahy conducted the initial proof-of-concept studies for RvE1 in cancer.

Aaron Mathias
Senior Director, Operations & Business Development
Aaron Mathias has been working at Thetis since 2016. Prior to joining, he was a life science strategy consultant at the Monitor Group (Deloitte Consulting), where he focused on R&D Read More
Aaron MathiasSenior Director, Operations & Business Development

Aaron Mathias has been working at Thetis since 2016. Prior to joining, he was a life science strategy consultant at the Monitor Group (Deloitte Consulting), where he focused on R&D strategy, project management and analytics in the pharmaceutical industry. He received a master’s degree in biomedical engineering at Yale University.

Technical Experts

Seasoned pharmaceutical executives across key disciplines.

Chris Cimarusti, PhD
API & Synthesis
Dr. Christopher Cimarusti brings strong leadership experience in pharmaceutical discovery, development and manufacturing gained over a 37 year career at Squibb Corporation and Bristol-Myers Squibb. As a discovery chemist, Dr. Read More
Chris Cimarusti, PhDAPI & Synthesis

Dr. Christopher Cimarusti brings strong leadership experience in pharmaceutical discovery, development and manufacturing gained over a 37 year career at Squibb Corporation and Bristol-Myers Squibb. As a discovery chemist, Dr. Cimarusti synthesized the anti-hypertensive nadolol and the antibiotic aztreonam for the first time and designed their commercial processes. As a discovery leader, he co-led the antibiotic effort with Richard Sykes and became Director of Organic Chemistry for the Squibb Institute for Medical Research. Subsequently, he was responsible for all biological and chemical process development within Squibb Corporation, including technology transfer directly to manufacturing, monitoring ongoing production and optimization of existing processes. After the merger with Bristol-Myers, he became Vice President of Process R&D within the Pharmaceutical Research Institute. He was appointed Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development and led a global staff of 1,200 engaged in the CMC disciplines for small and large molecules. He also had responsibility for global Clinical Supply Operations, Project Management and Portfolio Management.

Robert Guttendorf, PhD
PK & ADME
Dr. Guttendorf has over 25 years of experience directing preclinical and clinical DMPK programs, including regulatory interactions, in large pharmaceutical and small biotech companies. He has directed ADME/PK/Clinical Pharmacology from discovery Read More
Robert Guttendorf, PhDPK & ADME

Dr. Guttendorf has over 25 years of experience directing preclinical and clinical DMPK programs, including regulatory interactions, in large pharmaceutical and small biotech companies. He has directed ADME/PK/Clinical Pharmacology from discovery through NDA, across therapeutic areas, with numerous regulatory submissions. He held leadership positions at Parke-Davis and Pfizer, and most recently was Vice President at Advancis and Sequoia Pharmaceuticals. He has expertise in developing unique strategies to most efficiently and cost-effectively selects and develop drug candidates.

Robert Lipper, PhD
Formulation
Dr. Lipper has 30+ years of experience in research and development in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to his present consulting work, Dr. Lipper held international line-management responsibility for Pharmaceutics R&D Read More
Robert Lipper, PhDFormulation

Dr. Lipper has 30+ years of experience in research and development in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to his present consulting work, Dr. Lipper held international line-management responsibility for Pharmaceutics R&D with Bristol Myers Squibb over a 24 year career. His experience spans the entire R&D pipeline, from compound selection through technology transfer and marketed product support. Dr. Lipper began his industrial career with Pfizer Central Research, Groton, CT, where he was primarily involved with liquid and sterile product development for human and veterinary pharmaceutical products. Dr. Lipper has a PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Michigan and B.S. in Pharmacy from Purdue University.

Pushpa Singh, PhD
CMC Regulatory
Dr. Singh is a Pharmaceutical R&D executive with over 30+ years of experience in all phases of product development including discovery, development, technology transfer, and product life-cycle management. As a Read More
Pushpa Singh, PhDCMC Regulatory

Dr. Singh is a Pharmaceutical R&D executive with over 30+ years of experience in all phases of product development including discovery, development, technology transfer, and product life-cycle management. As a Vice President, Quality Operations & CMC Regulatory at Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, she was responsible for the overall strategic and operational activities in ensuring quality and regulatory compliance in the production and analysis of clinical trial materials. She was also responsible for all aspects of CMC documentation and regulatory activities in support of investigational and registrational submissions.

As an Executive Director at Bristol-Myers Squibb, she led a diverse organization requiring detailed and thorough review of technical information for Quality and GMP Compliance, CMC Technical Documentation, and Environment, Health & Safety.  She provided strategic thinking and long range planning for groups involved in strategic planning and development portfolio analysis.

Dr. Singh has extensive experience in the preparation of CMC section of global investigational (IND/CTA), registrational (NDA/MAA/BLA) and LCM submissions for small molecules and biologics, regulatory agency interactions such as end-of-phase 2 and pre-NDA meetings with the FDA, and regulatory agency inspections.

Dr. Singh received her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and subsequently did postdoctoral work at Oxford University.  She has published 17 papers and holds 5 patents.

Heath Thomas, DVM, PhD, DACVP
Non-clinical Toxicology
Dr. Thomas the President of Aclairo Pharmaceutical Development, a consultancy focused on drug discovery and development. Dr. Thomas is a board-certified veterinary pathologist with over 20 years of experience in Read More
Heath Thomas, DVM, PhD, DACVPNon-clinical Toxicology

Dr. Thomas the President of Aclairo Pharmaceutical Development, a consultancy focused on drug discovery and development. Dr. Thomas is a board-certified veterinary pathologist with over 20 years of experience in drug development from time spent with SmithKline Beecham, Dupont Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline as well as several years of consulting experience with Experimental Pathology Laboratories. He served as VP of Safety Assessment and Head of Pathology for many years at GSK covering multiple different therapeutic areas. He also served as Head of the IACUC at GSK for several years. He has directed or consulted on numerous drug development projects from early discovery through filing along with due diligence exercises.

Michael Van Zandt, PhD
Senior CMC Lead
Dr. Van Zandt is an accomplished synthetic organic and medicinal chemist with more than 20 years of experience in large and small pharmaceutical company environments. Before founding New England Discovery Read More
Michael Van Zandt, PhDSenior CMC Lead

Dr. Van Zandt is an accomplished synthetic organic and medicinal chemist with more than 20 years of experience in large and small pharmaceutical company environments. Before founding New England Discovery Partners through which he supports Thetis, Michael was a department head for The Institute for Pharmaceutical Discovery (IPD), where he co-led the aldose reductase project team which ultimately resulted in the identification and clinical development of lidorestat for treatment of diabetic complications (Phase II). Before joining IPD, Michael was a medicinal chemist at the pharmaceutical division of Bayer, where he played a prominent role in the discovery of tanomastat, a first-in-class MMP inhibitor for treatment of osteoarthritis and cancer that progressed through Phase III clinical development. Michael is an inventor on more than 30 issued patents and author on more than 20 publications in peer-reviewed journals. He is a frequent reviewer for the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry and Bioorganic Medicinal Chemistry Letters. Michael received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry with a minor in Biochemistry while working with Professor Carl R. Johnson at Wayne State University.