OUR PEOPLE LEADERSHIP
Natalie Mount
Chief Executive Officer,
Board Director
Natalie Mount
Chief Executive Officer,
Board Director
Dr. Natalie Mount MA, PhD, is the Chief Executive Officer and a Board Director at Cytospire Therapeutics. Natalie was previously CEO of Adaptate Biotherapeutics from inception until its successful acquisition by Takeda Pharmaceuticals in 2022. Adaptate specialized in the discovery and development of novel engagers. Prior to Adaptate, Natalie was Chief Scientific Officer of GammaDelta Therapeutics (also acquired by Takeda), building an allogeneic cell therapy platform for Immuno Oncology. Prior to GammaDelta, she was part of the founding management and the Chief Clinical Officer at the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult. Natalie began her career at Pfizer, where she spent 16 years leading development activities, including Pfizer’s late pre-clinical and clinical portfolio of cell therapies.
Natalie has previously served on the Boards of several cell and gene therapy companies, including GenSight and Rinri Therapeutics and is currently an Independent Director at Wugen. She is a Venture Partner with the specialist life science venture investment firm Abingworth and serves on the Translational Advisory Board at the Crick Institute in London.
Natalie holds a first-class degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from University College, London.
Mark Uden
Chief Technology Officer
Mark Uden
Chief Technology Officer
Dr. Mark Uden, PhD, is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Cytospire Therapeutics. Mark was previously CTO of Adaptate Biotherapeutics until acquisition by Takeda. Preceding this he was V.P. Pharmaceutical Sciences at GammaDelta Therapeutics – also successfully acquired. Prior to this, Mark was a Senior Director, Product Development at GSK where he spent 17 years progressing GSK’s portfolio of early-stage Biopharmaceuticals from Discovery through CMC to the clinic. Mark also spent 4-years at Oxford Biomedica during its spin-out from Oxford University where he co-developed novel Lentiviral technologies and multiple Gene Therapy assets. Mark holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Imperial College, London.
James Legg
Chief Scientific Officer
James Legg
Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. James Legg Ph.D is the Chief Scientific Officer at Cytospire Therapeutics. James was previously SVP Research and Early Development at Mestag Therapeutics, joining soon after its inception and helping to build its portfolio of biologics targeting specialised fibroblast populations in oncology and stromal checkpoint agonism in inflammatory and autoimmune disease. Prior to Mestag, James was SVP Research and Development at Crescendo Biologics, responsible for Crescendo’s Immuno Oncology Portfolio from research through to preclinical development including initiation and delivery of CB307, a CD137 x PSMA Humabody® into preclinical development as well as leading the biology/pharmacology functions.
James started his career at Cambridge Antibody Technology/AstraZeneca/MedImmune and has also consulted for a number of early stage biotechnology companies.
James holds a first class degree in Applied Biology from Bath University, a Ph.D in Molecular Cell Biology from Imperial College, London and undertook PostDoctoral research at Imperial Cancer Research Fund (Now CRUK) in London.
Andrew Fadden
Chief Business Officer
Andrew Fadden
Chief Business Officer
Dr. Andrew Fadden, PhD, MBA, is the Chief Business Officer (CBO) at Cytospire Therapeutics. Andrew was previously CBO at Enara Bio, where he led the company’s corporate development function, helping to raise >$65m in equity capital and securing partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies.
Prior to this, Andrew was a Development Program Leader at Immunocore, where he led multiple early-phase programs from discovery research into clinical development. He was also a key part of the team that agreed a clinical-stage, co-development partnership with Genentech. Prior to Immunocore, Andrew was the Global Regulatory Affairs Lead for the Oncology Portfolio at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and held positions of increasing responsibility in Global Regulatory Affairs and Global Development Teams at UCB and GlaxoSmithKline.
Andrew holds an M.Biochem degree in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Biochemistry from University College London following research at Cancer Research UK’s London Research Institute. Andrew also holds an Executive MBA (with Distinction) from Warwick Business School.
Robert Good
Head of Biology
Rob Good
Head of Biology
Dr Rob Good, PhD, is the Head of Biology at Cytospire Therapeutics. Rob has over 10 years’ experience in biotech and big pharma in the fields of Oncology, Immunology and Respiratory drug discovery. In his previous role, Rob was a program lead at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, responsible for leading immune cell engager programs from early discovery through preclinical development towards IND. Prior to Takeda, Rob joined Adaptate Biotherapeutics as one of the founding members of the R&D team and lead a number of novel immune cell engager programs from early discovery to candidate selection before the successful acquisition of Adaptate by Takeda in 2022. Prior to Adaptate, Rob also held other scientific roles at GSK, Novartis and University College London as a postdoc in the Translational Research Office.
Rob holds a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacology from the University of Bath, and a Ph.D in Cell and Molecular Biology from University College, London.
Mohana Suppiah-Coll
Head of Clinical Operations
Mohana Suppiah-Coll
Head of Clinical Operations
Mohana Suppiah-Coll, MSc, is the Head of Clinical Operations at Cytospire Therapeutics, where she leads the strategic planning and execution of global clinical development programs. With over 14 years of experience in clinical research, she has led and contributed to more than 25 global Phase I–III clinical trials advancing innovative therapies across rare diseases, cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, and oncology. Her expertise spans clinical strategy, operational leadership, regulatory compliance, and global study execution across EMEA, Americas and APAC. Mohana is responsible for overseeing clinical operations strategy, CRO partnerships and global trial delivery, ensuring high-quality, compliant, and efficient development of novel therapeutics.
Throughout her career, Mohana has steadily advanced from clinical research and trial management roles to leadership roles. Prior to joining Cytospire, Mohana has held roles of increasing responsibility at ARTBIO, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Zogenix, and Cancer CTU/Imperial College London. Recognized for her strategic mindset and collaborative leadership style, Mohana is passionate about translating scientific innovation into patient-focused clinical solutions that accelerate the development of life-changing medicines.
Marta Lewandowska
Head of Project Management
Marta Lewandowska
Head of Project Management
Marta Lewandowska is Head of Project Management with extensive experience leading cross-functional drug discovery and development programs. She has a strong track record of advancing complex therapeutic projects from early discovery and proof-of-concept through clinical development.
Prior to this role, Marta was at Mestag Therapeutics, where she led a key therapeutic program from discovery and proof-of-concept through to clinical trial approval. She coordinated multidisciplinary teams across research, translational science, and development, playing a central role in translating novel biology into a clinical-stage therapeutic program.
Marta brings deep expertise in program leadership within innovative biotech environments, with a focus on efficient execution and advancing transformative therapies toward the clinic.
OUR PEOPLE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Peter Goodfellow
Chair of Board of Directors
Peter Goodfellow
Chair of Board of Directors
Peter was formerly Senior Vice President for Discovery Research at GlaxoSmithKline. Most recently he Chaired the Boards of GammaDelta Therapeutics and Adaptate Biotherapeutics. He has also held the Balfour chair in genetics at Cambridge University and research positions at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. Peter holds doctorates from Oxford and Bristol Universities and is a Fellow of EMBO, the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Royal Society.
Bali Muralidhar
Non-Executive Director, Abingworth
Bali Muralidhar
Non-Executive Director, Abingworth
Bali Muralidhar is Managing Partner, Chief Investment Officer and COO of Abingworth, a transatlantic Life Sciences venture firm, based in London. Bali has over 15 years professional experience in healthcare across a range of functions including venture investing, R&D, clinical practice and teaching. He represents Abingworth on a number of portfolio company boards, both public and private and has been a member of the BVCA Venture Capital Committee since 2021. Prior to joining Abingworth, Bali was a senior partner at MVM Partners LLP in London and in 2018, was named among Financial News’ Rising Stars in Private Equity, which celebrated 25 men and women under the age of 40 standing out in the European private equity industry. Before MVM, Bali was a member of Bain Capital’s healthcare deal team. Bali obtained a degree in clinical medicine from the University of Oxford and practiced general surgery at the John Radcliffe and Addenbrooke’s Hospitals in Oxford and Cambridge, respectively. He has a PhD in translational cancer research from the MRC Cancer Cell Unit, University of Cambridge, and has published over a dozen peer reviewed papers. He was also a Bye-Fellow in Medical Sciences at Downing College, Cambridge where he taught pathology, surgery and medicine.
Owen Smith
Non-Executive Director, 4BIO Capital
Owen Smith
Non-Executive Director, 4BIO Capital
Owen is a Partner at 4BIO Capital, an international venture capital firm investing in advanced therapies and other emerging technologies to unlock the treatments of the future.
Since joining 4BIO Capital in 2018, Owen has been instrumental in supporting the fund in seeding companies as well as finding and growing potentially transformative innovations. Owen began his investment career at life science venture capital firms Arthurian Life Sciences and Arix Bioscience plc, giving him significant experience working with early-stage biotechnology companies. Owen holds an MSc in Experimental and Translational Therapeutics from the University of Oxford and is also qualified as an accountant, having spent several years working in assurance and advisory roles at Grant Thornton with public and private clients.
Owen is currently a Board Director at 4BIO portfolio companies SparingVision and Entact Bio, and is actively involved in several other investments. He previously acted as an Observer on the boards of LogicBio and Depixus while at Arix.
Natalie Mount
Chief Executive Officer,
Board Director
Natalie Mount
Chief Executive Officer,
Board Director
Dr. Natalie Mount MA, PhD, is the Chief Executive Officer and a Board Director at Cytospire Therapeutics. Natalie was previously CEO of Adaptate Biotherapeutics from inception until its successful acquisition by Takeda Pharmaceuticals in 2022. Adaptate specialized in the discovery and development of novel engagers. Prior to Adaptate, Natalie was Chief Scientific Officer of GammaDelta Therapeutics (also acquired by Takeda), building an allogeneic cell therapy platform for Immuno Oncology. Prior to GammaDelta, she was part of the founding management and the Chief Clinical Officer at the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult. Natalie began her career at Pfizer, where she spent 16 years leading development activities, including Pfizer’s late pre-clinical and clinical portfolio of cell therapies.
Natalie has previously served on the Boards of several cell and gene therapy companies, including GenSight and Rinri Therapeutics and is currently an Independent Director at Wugen. She is a Venture Partner with the specialist life science venture investment firm Abingworth and serves on the Translational Advisory Board at the Crick Institute in London.
Natalie holds a first-class degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from University College, London.
Anna Gran
Non-Executive Director,
Sound Bioventures
Anna Gran
Non-Executive Director,
Sound Bioventures
Before joining Sound Bioventures, Anna worked in pharma business development and external innovation at Novo Nordisk and Johnson & Johnson Innovation, where she spent 10 years in innovation scouting, dealmaking, post-merger integration, and strategic alliances.
Anna also has prior experience from drug launch management, commercial operations, and medical affairs at Johnson & Johnson; and she spent nearly a decade in biomedical research in institutions in Finland and the Netherlands.
Anna holds an MBA from Cambridge University, Judge Business School, a PhD in biochemistry focusing on cancer and inflammation, and an MSc from the University of Helsinki.
Based in Copenhagen, DK.
Alexis Vandier
Non-Executive Director,
Servier Ventures
Alexis Vandier
Non-Executive Director,
Servier Ventures
Alexis is the Global Head of Servier Ventures, the corporate venture fund of Servier, which aims to advance science and unlock tomorrow’s breakthrough therapies for the benefit of patients.
With a 25-year experience in biopharma, Alexis has built his career at the intersection of science and business, including business development, P&L responsibility, and asset development, across global affiliate and corporate roles at Sanofi, Ipsen and Servier. Alexis has acted as a senior advisor to venture funds and acquired a strong deal-making expertise including in-licensing transactions across diverse markets.
Carmine Circelli
Non-Executive Director,
British Business Bank
Carmine Circelli
Non-Executive Director,
British Business Bank
Carmine joined British Business Bank in January 2021 from the Northern VCTs, a generalist scaleup investor, where he focused on life sciences investments. Prior to this Carmine was an Investment Executive in the technology ventures team at the Development Bank of Wales. He also has university intellectual property commercialisation experience from his time with Cambridge Enterprise. Carmine holds a PhD in Cardiovascular Medicine from the University of Manchester. Within his current role as Investment Director, Life Sciences in the Bank’s Direct and Co-investment team, he has led the development of direct life sciences investment at the Bank, building a portfolio of 18 companies.
OUR PEOPLE BOARD OBSERVERS
Jonathan Nash
Jonathan Nash
Jonathan joined LifeArc as an Investment Principal at LifeArc Ventures in 2024. He is responsible for new investments and managing existing portfolio companies.
Prior to joining LifeArc, Jon was an Associate with the Biotechnology team at M Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Merck KGaA, where he was responsible for new investments and existing portfolio companies with a focus on therapeutics and life sciences. Prior to this, he was an Associate at UBS in the Healthcare Investment Banking Group in London, as well as a Life Science Specialist at L.E.K. Consulting.
Jon started his career as a doctor in London and holds Degrees in Medicine and Neuroscience from Imperial College London.
Graham Mills
Graham Mills
Graham joined Abingworth’s London office in January 2022 working with the transatlantic team in evaluating new investment opportunities and to support existing portfolio companies in a therapeutic area-agnostic approach.
Previously, Graham was Founder & Managing Director at healthcare-focused tech startup techspert.io, where he built significant experience in scaling early stage ventures and navigating the challenges through development. Before & alongside this, Graham worked actively in the investment teams of JJDC and Seroba Life Sciences, developing broad investment theses through new opportunity evaluation and detailed therapeutic landscape analyses.
Graham holds a PhD in Medical Biology from the University of Cambridge, an MRes in Translational Cancer Medicine from King’s College London, a BA in Genetics from Trinity College Dublin, and an MBA from the Quantic School of Business & Technology.
Natalie Johnston
Natalie Johnston
Natalie Johnston, PhD, Principal at 4BIO Capital
Natalie joined the 4BIO Capital as an Analyst in 2019. She works in the investment team sourcing and accessing deals alongside acting as a Board Observer for Ray Therapeutics and ViaNautis. Before joining the firm, she worked within financial services at Gerson Lehrman Group providing diligence assistance to investment banks, hedge funds and venture capital firms operating in the healthcare sector. Natalie holds PhD from Imperial College London, and a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Glasgow.
Pablo Cironi
Carmine Circelli
Pablo Cironi, Managing Director at Criteria BioVentures
Pablo Cironi is Managing Director at Criteria Bio Ventures, the life sciences venture capital arm of Caixa Capital Risc, where he focuses on building and investing in innovative biotechnology companies.
He brings deep expertise in early-stage investing, company creation, and technology transfer. Prior to joining Criteria Bio Ventures, he was Director of the Technology and Business Development Office at the Center for Genomic Regulation, where he led the translation of cutting-edge academic research into successful spin-out companies.
Pablo has extensive experience as a board member and investor in both preclinical and clinical-stage biotech companies. He has served on the boards of companies including SpliceBio, iProteos, Aptatarget, Glycardial, Aelix (recently acquired by Gilead) and Sanifit (acquired by Vifor Pharma), and currently serves on the boards of AbolerIS Pharma, Adaptam Therapeutics, Tolerance Bio, and Minoryx Therapeutics. He is also a Board Observer at NRG Therapeutics.
He holds a degree in Chemistry from the University of Buenos Aires and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Barcelona. He was a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University’s Department of Systems Biology.
OUR PEOPLE SCIENTIFIC AND CLINICAL ADVISORS
Lewis Lanier
Lewis Lanier, PHD
Prof. Lewis Lanier is J. Michael Bishop MD Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Microbiology and Immunology, and founding Director Emeritus of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at University of California San Francisco. Prof. Lanier is a world expert on natural killer (NK) cells and is renowned for his contributions to the characterization of how NK cells recognize and deal with virus-infected tissues, and how they can be activated against cancer cells. For his contributions, he received the 2002 William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic and Tumor Immunology and earned membership in the National Academy of Sciences. Prof. Lanier received his PhD in Immunology from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
Ana Anderson
Ana Anderson, PhD
Prof. Ana Anderson is currently the Albert H. Coons Professor of Neurology in the Field of Immunologic Diseases at Harvard Medical School, Senior Scientist at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Institute Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and core faculty member of the Gene Lay Institute of Immunology and Inflammation. Her laboratory identified the inhibitory molecule Tim-3 as a key regulator of T cell dysfunction in cancer. Prior to working in the field of cancer immunology, Prof. Anderson worked in the field of autoimmunity. She currently serves on the scientific advisory boards for Tizona Therapeutics, Zumutor Biologics, and Compass Therapeutics, and is on the editorial board for OncoImmunology and The Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer. She obtained her B.S. summa cum laude in microbiology and immunology from the University of Miami and her Ph.D. in immunology from Harvard University.
Carlos Paya
Carlos Paya, MD, PhD
Dr. Carlos Paya’s career spans over 30 years as a leading physician-scientist in immunology and a senior executive in the biopharmaceutical industry. He is a Venture Partner at Abingworth LLP. Dr. Paya currently serves as the Board Chairman for Vaxcyte, Inc. and Highlight Therapeutics S.L. He serves as a Senior Advisor to Ysios Capital and Launch Therapeutics. Dr. Paya previously served as a member of the board of directors and Chairman of Standard BioTools, Inc. and of Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. Most recently, Dr. Paya was the CEO and President of Immune Design Corp. until Merck’s 2019 acquisition. Previously, he was the President of Elan Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Paya also spent a number of years at Eli Lilly in roles of increasing responsibility, including Global Head for the Diabetes and Endocrine Franchise. He started his career in academics as a Professor of Medicine, Immunology and Pathology at the Mayo Medical School. During his tenure at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Paya served as the Vice Dean for the Clinical Investigation Program. Dr. Paya has a M.D. and Ph.D. from Complutense University of Madrid and underwent postdoctoral training at the Institute Pasteur, Paris, France.
Domenico Mavilio
Domenico Mavilio, MD, PhD
Prof Domen Mavilio leads the Unit of Clinical and Experimental Immunology at Humanitas Research Hospital, in Milan. He is also Professor of Translational Medicine at the Department of Medical Biotechnologies & Translational Medicine of the Medical School of the University of Milan. After graduating in Medicine at the University of Genova, Prof. Mavilio received a PhD in Clinical and Experimental Immunology through a joint program between the University of Genova and the National Institutes of Health in the United States. As a translational scientist, his group studies the pathogenesis and the cure of immunologic diseases, solid and haematologic malignancies with a focus on innate immune responses. Prof Mavilio also serves as Adjunct Investigator at NIH and is a board member of Ph.D. Program in Experimental Medicine of Milan University. He is affiliated with several national and international scientific societies and is on the editorial boards of several international scientific journals (https://www.labmavilio.it)
Nadia Guerra
Nadia Guerra, PhD
Dr Nadia Guerra is an Associate Professor and Head of the Inflammation and Cancer Immunity laboratory in the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London. Her research aims to elucidate the physiologic relevance of Natural Killer (NK) cell receptors in the development of immunopathologies and cancer.
Her work pioneered the understanding of NKG2D function in tumor surveillance and uncovered a novel role for NKp46 in regulating the expression of a death-inducing ligand. Her research also focuses on developing nanotechnologies to transform cancer diagnostics, treatment, and disease monitoring.
Dr. Guerra received her Ph.D from Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris VI, and completed her postdoctoral research training at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a CRI – Esther M. Baird Technology Impact Award Investigator.
Loren Michel
Loren Michel, MD
Loren Michel, MD, is Member of the Department of Medicine, Division of Solid Tumor Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr Michel is Board certified in Medical Oncology and specializes in caring for people with head and neck cancers, including squamous cell carcinoma and thyroid cancer.
Dr. Michel is actively involved in translational research and clinical trial development, with a particular interest in targeted therapies for genetically defined tumours. He has contributed to early clinical studies evaluating novel treatment approaches in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
He received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and has been in practice for more than 20 years.
Tiago Biachi
Tiago Biachi de Castria, MD, PhD
Tiago Biachi de Castria, MD, PhD, is an Associate Member in the Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center. Dr. Biachi de Castria received his MD degree from Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Brazil. He also obtained a Doctorate degree in Internal Medicine and Therapeutics from São Paulo Federal University. He completed his Residency in Internal Medicine at São Paulo Federal University and his Clinical Oncology Fellowship at the São Paulo University – São Paulo Cancer Institute. Dr. Biachi de Castria was an attending in the Gastrointestinal Oncology Service at the São Paulo Cancer Institute and Sírio-Libanês Hospital. In 2021, he obtained the title of Associate Professor in Gastroenterology Service (São Paulo University) and Associate Professor in Postgraduate Course in Medical Oncology (São Paulo University). Dr. Biachi de Castria most recently completed a one-year Advanced Fellowship in Gastrointestinal Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Dr. Tiago Biachi de Castria’s clinical and research interest are in colorectal and hepatobiliary cancers, including biomarkers and drug development.
Jim Cassidy
Jim Cassidy, MD, PhD
Jim Cassidy, MD, PhD, is an experienced pharmaceutical physician scientist with a demonstrated history of working in the academic sector and industry. Dr. Cassidy’s most recent position in industry was as Chief Medical Officer at Spring Works Therapeutics, where he drove delivery of its oncology pipeline culminating in a $3.4bn acquisition by Merck. Prior to this, Dr Cassidy held senior executive positions in oncology drug development at Regeneron, Celgene, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Hoffmann La-Roche. Before joining Roche, Dr. Cassidy had been a leading academic physician-scientist, most recently having served as Professor of Oncology, Head of the Department of Cancer Research and Head of the Division of Cancer Sciences and Molecular Pathology at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Dr. Cassidy received his medical degree and doctorate from the University of Glasgow.
INVESTORS
