BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chris Nave, PhD, MBA
Chairman
Chris is a founding partner of Brandon Capital Partners and Chief Executive Officer of the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund.
Chris was previously the Director of Commercialisation at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia. Prior to this, Chris was the Manager of the Biotechnology Team at Melbourne Ventures, the commercialisation company of the University of Melbourne. Concurrently he was an Investment Manager for, and on the investment committee of, Uniseed Pty Ltd. Chris has international experience working for the business development group of Leiras Pharmaceuticals in Finland, a wholly owned subsidiary of Schering AG.
Chris is currently a director of; Azura Ophthalmics, Certa Therapeutics, EBR Systems, Global Kinetics Corporation, OccuRx, Osprey Medical, PolyActiva and Que Oncology. Chris was the former Chairperson of Fibrotech Therapeutics (acquired by Shire in 2014) and a former director of Spinifex Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Novartis in 2015).
Chris has a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from The University of Melbourne and a PhD in Endocrinology and Physiology from The University of Melbourne.
Dennis Liotta, PhD
Over the past three decades Dr. Dennis Liotta’s research has focused on the discovery and development of novel antiviral, anticancer and anti-inflammatory therapeutic agents. He is recognized as one of the world’s premier discoverers of novel therapeutics, having been one of the inventors associated with 18 FDA approved combination therapies including Epivir, Combivir, Trizivir, Epzicom, Triumeq, Dutrebis, Epivir-HBV, Emtriva, Truvada, Atripla, Complera, Stribild, Genvoya, Odefesey, Descovy, Biktarvy, Delstrigo and Symtuza. Dennis has authored over 300 peer reviewed publications and is an inventor on 100 issued US patents.
While Professor Dennis Liotta’s biggest impact has come from the HIV/AIDS therapeutics he has developed, he has also made many important contributions to cancer research. He is, for example, the lead inventor of Q-122, a safe, orally available clinical agent for controlling hot flashes in women with breast cancer who are being treated with tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors. Dr. Liotta also co-discovered CT7001, a CDK7 inhibitor for treating various cancers, which is currently in Phase II clinical trials. He is currently developing a series of potent, orally available CXCR4 antagonists that could be used in conjunction with immunotherapies to potentially treat many cancers that are poorly treated by existing agents. In the preclinical arena his research group discovered the first potent, dual tropic (CCR5/CXCR4) HIV entry inhibitor. In addition, in his current role as Executive Director of the Emory Institute for Drug Development, Dennis oversaw the discovery and development of a novel nucleoside analogue, EIDD-2023, for treating several single stranded RNA virus infections.
A company he co-founded, Pharmasset (acquired by Gilead Sciences) developed Sofosbuvir, which has become the first line therapy for curing hepatitis C. In addition to QUE, he has founded numerous other companies including Altesa Biosciences, (therapies for emerging viral infections), NeurOp (therapies for treating ischemic conditions, such as stroke) and DRIVE (Drug Innovation Ventures at Emory), a non-profit drug development company focused on the development of therapies for treating single stranded RNA virus infections, such as Dengue Fever, hepatitis C, influenza A and B, respiratory syncytial virus and various equine encephalitis viruses. DRIVE utilizes an innovative model that seeks to extract maximum value from therapeutic innovations discovered at Emory or elsewhere by efficiently advancing them into clinical trials. More recently, DRIVE’s Molnupiravir, formerly known as EIDD-2801, is in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2.
Dean Moss, PhD
Dr Dean Moss has over 25 years' experience in science, academia, business, management and commercialisation in Australia, USA and the UK. He has been managing director or senior business development executive of several health and biotech companies worldwide, including Agen Biomedical, Launch Diagnostics and United Drug. He established his own successful start-up business in the UK, York Medical Technologies before joining UniQuest Pty Limited, the commercialization company of the University of Queensland in 2006 as General Manager.
Prior to moving into the commercial world, Dean was principal R&D scientist at Agen Biomedical. He also worked as an NH&MRC research scientist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, the Royal Brisbane Hospital and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research. He is a recipient of the Campion-Ma-Playoust Memorial Award for Medical Research.
Dean is a board member of AusBiotech, Vaxxas Pty Ltd, QUE Oncology Inc and NuNerve Pty Ltd and has contributed to raising more than $200m in venture capital investment.