We reach neurological disease at its genetic source

Joanne brings to Arexera extensive executive and life science experience, including most recently as cofounder and CEO of Jnana Therapeutics. She led the company from an early discovery platform stage through the transition to clinical stage. Jnana was acquired by Otsuka Pharmaceutical in 2024 for ~$1B following the demonstration of positive clinical proof of concept for the company’s lead rare disease program. Prior to Jnana, Joanne held leadership roles at FBRI, F-Prime Capital’s initiative to enable therapeutic breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s disease and related brain disorders, and at the Broad Institute. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Chordoma Foundation. Joanne received her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Florida. She conducted postdoctoral research at Genentech and at the Necker Children’s Hospital in Paris.

Bob brings more than 30 years of experience in RNAi and oligonucleotide research and development to Arexera, including from discovery through drug approval and across a wide range of clinical indications and regulatory jurisdictions. Most recently, Bob served as CSO and EVP of R&D at Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, an RNAi-focused therapeutics company that was acquired by Novo Nordisk. At Novo, he served as President and Head of the Dicerna Transformation Research Unit and SVP. Prior to Dicerna, Bob held various R&D leadership positions at Genta, a clinical-stage antisense oligonucleotide therapeutics company, and previously was a co-founder of Oasis Biosciences, which was acquired by Gen-Probe. Bob earned a Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of California, Berkeley and B.S. degrees in chemistry and biology from the University of Washington, Seattle.

Pedro is a physician-scientist who brings more than two decades of experience in neurology, neurogenetics, and the development of novel therapies for neurological diseases. Pedro came to Arexera from Spark Therapeutics where he was SVP, Head of Gene Therapy Research and led preclinical research in all therapeutic areas. Prior to Spark, he was a faculty member in Department of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was the founding Director of the Huntington Disease Center of Excellence and the Neurogenetics Therapy Translational Center of Excellence. He was also Director of Clinical Programs at the Raymond G. Perelman Center for Cellular & Molecular Therapy at the Children Hospital of Philadelphia. Pedro received his MD and PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Malaga, Spain, followed by neurology residency and fellowship training in Movement Disorders and Neurogenetics at the University of Iowa. He subsequently joined the University of Iowa faculty, where he spent more than a decade. Throughout his academic career, he provided clinical care to patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease, Huntington disease, ataxia and other neurogenetic disorders.

With over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Evan has played a key role in securing regulatory approval for multiple products across a broad range of therapeutic areas. His work has spanned treatments for infectious diseases, dermatological conditions, and central nervous system disorders, including panic disorder, major depressive disorder, sleep disorders, pain, as well as opioid-induced constipation, and rheumatoid arthritis. Previously, he held executive leadership roles including COO and EVP of R&D at Neuraptive Therapeutics, EIR at New Rhein Healthcare Investors, where he supported deal sourcing and diligence on investment and portfolio companies, and CDO at Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He also served as Head of Development Operations and Biometrics at Endo Pharmaceuticals, where he led clinical and project management functions. Earlier in his career, Evan held positions of increasing responsibility at Pfizer and Wyeth.

Adam brings to Arexera over a decade of deal-making experience from private and public biotech and global pharmaceutical companies. Prior to joining Arexera, he held BD leadership roles in the gene therapy space, most recently serving as VP, Head of Business Development at Spark Therapeutics. Prior to Spark, Adam held BD leadership roles within the gene therapy group at Novartis, culminating ultimately in his role as Head of Gene Therapies Business Development at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research where he led in-and out-partnering activities broadly across the gene therapy platform. Earlier in his career, Adam was an initial member of the Roivant Sciences business development team where he worked on asset acquisitions that formed the basis of new company formation. Adam holds a B.A. in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina and Chapel Hill and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University.

As a research leader at both biotech and large pharmaceutical companies, Charlie has expertise across a broad range of therapeutic areas including neurology, neuromuscular, cardiovascular, ophthalmology and oncology. Charlie currently serves as CSO of Affinia Therapeutics. Prior to Affinia, he was CSO at Editas Medicine where his research group advanced the pioneering CRISPR gene-editing platform and medicines from program inception to IND application. Previously, he was Vice President of genetically defined diseases and genomics at Bristol Myers Squibb, where he was responsible for developing the group’s strategy and building a pipeline of novel therapeutics with a focus on CNS and cardiovascular rare diseases. Before joining the industry, Charlie held academic positions at Vanderbilt University and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. Charlie earned a Ph.D. in biology and a B.S. in chemical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Whitehead Institute.