Team - Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

About

Eledon Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage biotechnology company using its immunology expertise to develop therapies to protect transplanted organs and reduce the risk of organ rejection, as well as to treat autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The company’s lead compound in development is tegoprubart, an anti-CD40L antibody with high affinity for CD40 Ligand, a well-validated biological target with broad therapeutic potential.

With tegoprubart as the cornerstone of our pipeline, Eledon is poised to rapidly leverage our knowledge of anti-CD40 Ligand biology to accelerate clinical research that can bring patients a more durable and positive result after organ and cellular transplant compared to current standard of care. We are also studying use of tegoprubart in xenotransplantation procedures and advancing our work in autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

We are committed to making a positive difference by developing and delivering next generation therapies to manage the immune response for patients in need of potentially life-saving medicines.

Eledon has built a team of proven professionals and industry leaders with deep expertise and impressive track records in developing novel therapeutics, advancing them through the clinic and creating true value for both patients and stakeholders.

David-Alexandre C. Gros, MD

Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Gros has served as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly Novus Therapeutics, Inc.) since September 2020. He joined Eledon Pharmaceuticals from Imbria Pharmaceuticals Inc., where he served as Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors. Prior to Imbria, Dr. Gros was President and Chief Operating Officer of Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc., Chief Business and Principal Financial Officer of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Chief Strategy Officer of Sanofi, S.A. Before joining Sanofi, Dr. Gros held leadership positions in healthcare investment banking at Centerview Partners, LLC, and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc., and in healthcare consulting at McKinsey & Company. He previously served on the Board of Directors of Eliem Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company which he co-founded, and of Saint Jean Groupe, S.A., a leading French manufacturer of pasta products since 1935. Dr. Gros earned his Doctor of Medicine from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, and a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College.

Steven Perrin, PhD

President and Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Perrin was the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Anelixis Therapeutics, Inc. before joining Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly Novus Therapeutics, Inc.) He has 20 years of drug development experience, having held R&D positions at the Hoechst-Ariad Genomics Center, Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Biogen Idec, Inc. Over the past decade, Dr. Perrin has worked with the ALS Therapy Development Institute to develop the world’s largest ALS drug development program, bridging preclinical and clinical programs. Dr. Perrin earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Boston University Medical Center, where he also started his career as Associate Professor of Medicine, and a Bachelor of Science from Boston College.

Marina Escudero

Vice President, and Head of Clinical Operations

Ms. Escudero has served as Vice President, and Head of Clinical Operations since January 2024. Ms. Escudero has over 20 years of R&D experience in the pharmaceutical industry, where she has been involved in various stages of drug development, from early phase 1 trials to registrational phase 3 studies, which led to the successful registration of multiple small and large molecule pharmaceutical products. Prior to joining Eledon, Ms. Escudero served as VP of Clinical Development Operations at Leap Therapeutics, overseeing all operational facets of the clinical programs. Before Leap Therapeutics, she founded Caliber Clinical Consulting, LLC, providing independent consultation services to biopharmaceutical companies. Prior to Caliber Clinical Consulting, Ms. Escudero served as VP of Clinical Development Operations at Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, where she managed multiple clinical programs at various stages of development. Ms. Escudero earned her B.S. in Behavior Neuroscience from Northeastern University.

John Herberger

Vice President, Technical Operations

Mr. Herberger has served as Vice President, Technical Operations of Eledon since May 2022. Prior to joining Eledon, Mr. Herberger served as Senior Director, Manufacturing Science & Technology of Spark Therapeutics. Prior to joining Sparks Therapeutics, he served 21 years at Amgen where he held numerous leadership roles in drug delivery & formulation, device development, technology transfer and global operations. Mr. Herberger previously served on the University of Rhode Island College of Environmental & Life Sciences Dean’s Advisory Council and Bio Science Leaders Forum. Prior to joining Amgen, Mr. Herberger was a Research Scientist at Alkermes Inc., where he contributed to the development of novel drug delivery systems and authored several publications and patents in the field. Mr. Herberger began his career as a founding member of the Institute of Molecular Biology. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Albany, State University of New York.

David Hovland, PhD

Chief Regulatory Officer

Dr. Hovland has served as Chief Regulatory Officer of Eledon since April 2021. In this role, he is responsible for Eledon’s Regulatory, Quality, and Safety functions. He has over 20 years of R&D experience in the pharmaceutical industry, and has contributed to the global development and registration of multiple small and large molecule pharmaceutical products. Dr. Hovland joined Eledon from Urovant Sciences, where he served as Senior Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs and Quality. Before Urovant Sciences, Dr. Hovland held leadership roles within the Global Regulatory Affairs organization at Allergan, most recently serving as the Regulatory Affairs Therapeutic Area Head for Neurology, Urology, and Dermatology, with a previous role as Head of the Global Regulatory Operations function. Before Allergan, Dr. Hovland worked in Amgen’s Global Regulatory Affairs and Safety organization, serving as a global regulatory strategy leader on pharmaceutical development teams. Dr. Hovland earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences from the School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles, and his B.S. in Bioresource Sciences from the College of Natural Resources at the University of California, Berkeley.

Eliezer Katz, MD, FACS

Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Katz has served as Chief Medical Officer of Eledon since November 2023. He joined Eledon Pharmaceuticals from eGenesis where he served as Chief Medical Officer. Prior to eGenesis, Dr. Katz was Vice President of Clinical Development first at Viela Bio and then at Horizon Therapeutics following its acquisition of Vielo Bio. At Horizon and Viela Bio, Dr. Katz led the clinical development of inebilizumab in multiple autoimmune indications and oversaw the regulatory submission and approval of UPLIZNA®(inebilizumab). Prior to Viela Bio, Dr. Katz served as Senior Director of Clinical Development at MedImmune Inc. and Senior Director of Transplantation with the Medicine Development Group at Pfizer. Before joining industry, Dr. Katz spent two decades as a transplant surgeon. He was director of the abdominal transplantation division at Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City, and an associate professor of surgery and the director of the liver transplantation division at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Worcester, MA. Dr. Katz earned his M.D. at Hadassah Hebrew University Medical School in Jerusalem.

Paul Little

Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Little has served as Chief Financial Officer of Eledon since March 2021. Mr. Little has over 30 years of financial, operations, business strategy and leadership experience in global public companies. Before joining Eledon in March 2021, Mr. Little served as Chief Financial Officer of Sientra Inc., where he led finance, investor relations, information technology, and manufacturing. During his tenure at Sientra, Mr. Little successfully led multiple public financing rounds while strengthening the balance sheet and driving organizational and operational efficiencies to accelerate revenue growth while improving cash flow. Prior to Sientra, Mr. Little served as Chief Operating Officer for Candela Medical (formerly Syneron-Candela) where he led the Company’s global supply chain and service organization and helped lead the execution of the growth strategy culminating in the sale of the company. Before Candela Medical, Mr. Little served as Vice President, Finance and Commercial Operations for Allergan PLC’s Medical Aesthetics division and as a key member of the senior leadership team, helped build Allergan into the global market leader for medical aesthetics. In this role, Mr. Little built the commercial finance, commercial operations and customer operations functions from the ground up and led the financial assessment and integration of over $3B in M&A activities. He joined Allergan from ConAgra Brands, and began his career in public accounting at KPMG. Mr. Little holds a B.A. in Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Bryan Smith

General Counsel

Mr. Smith has served as General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer of Eledon since April 2021. In this role, he is responsible for the Company’s legal, compliance, and corporate governance functions. Prior to joining Eledon, Mr. Smith served as General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer of Urovant Sciences. Before Urovant Sciences, Mr. Smith held leadership roles at Allergan, most recently serving as Associate Vice President and chief counsel to the company’s urology, neurology, aesthetics, and dermatology business units. Prior to joining Allergan, Mr. Smith was a litigator at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Mr. Smith received his B.A. in Political Science from Brigham Young University and his J.D. from the University of Southern California Law School. After graduating from law school, Mr. Smith was a law clerk to the Honorable Cormac J. Carney in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Keith A. Katkin

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Mr. Katkin has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since the acquisition of Otic Pharma, Ltd. by Eledon Pharmaceuticals (formerly Novus Therapeutics, Inc.) in May 2017. Prior to the acquisition, Mr. Katkin served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Otic Pharma from 2015 to 2017. Mr. Katkin served as the Principal Executive Officer and as a member of the board of directors of Urovant Sciences Ltd, a public biopharmaceutical company from September 2017 until March 2020. Mr. Katkin served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly-traded biopharmaceutical company, from 2007 to 2016. Mr. Katkin led the growth and ultimate sale of Avanir to Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for $3.5 billion. Mr. Katkin joined Avanir in 2005 as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing and a member of Avanir’s executive management team. Prior to joining Avanir, Mr. Katkin served as Vice President, Commercial Development for Peninsula Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, playing a key role in the concurrent initial public offering and ultimate sale of the company to Johnson and Johnson. Additionally, Mr. Katkin’s employment experience includes leadership roles at InterMune, Inc., Amgen, Inc. and Abbott Laboratories. Mr. Katkin currently serves on the Board of Directors of Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Emergent BioSolutions, Inc. Mr. Katkin served on the board of Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. until May of 2022. Mr. Katkin has an M.B.A. from the Anderson School of Business at UCLA and earned a B.S. in Business and Accounting from Indiana University. Mr. Katkin is also a certified public accountant.

David-Alexandre C. Gros, MD

CEO and Director

Jan Hillson, MD

Director

Dr. Hillson has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since July 2021. Dr. Hillson currently serves as Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at Provention Bio (a Sanofi Company), a clinical stage biotech, purchased by Sanofi for $2.9 billion in 2023, focused on debilitating and life-threatening immune-mediated disease a position held since November 2021. Prior to Provention, Dr. Hillson was Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at Alpine Immune Sciences. Prior to Alpine Immune Sciences, Dr. Hillson was Senior Vice President of Drug Development for ChemoCentryx, and, before that, served as Vice President of Clinical and Translational Research at Momenta Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in her career, she served in senior roles at ZymoGenetics/Bristol Myers Squibb and Xcyte Therapies. Dr, Hillson also served as a member of the Clinical Faculty at Harvard Medical School (Cambridge Health Alliance), Assistant Professor at the University of Washington, and Division Head at Virginia Mason Medical Center. Dr. Hillson is a licensed rheumatologist and continues to care for patients. She received her MD from Stanford School of Medicine, an MS from the California Institute of Technology, an MS in Marine Chemistry from Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and a BS from Michigan State University.

Allan Kirk, MD, PhD

Director

Dr. Kirk has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since October 2023. He is currently David C. Sabiston Jr. Distinguished Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the Duke University School of Medicine, and Surgeon-in-Chief for the Duke University Health System. Dr. Kirk also holds joint faculty appointments in the Duke Departments of Integrative Immunobiology and Pediatrics, is on the core faculty for the Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship program, and is a member of the Duke Cancer Institute. Prior to Duke, Dr. Kirk was Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at Emory University as well as scientific director of the Emory Transplant Center and vice chair for research of the Emory Department of Surgery. Before Emory, Dr. Kirk served as the inaugural Chief of the Transplantation Branch for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). He spent 18 years in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps reaching the rank of commander and principal investigator at the Naval Medical Research Center. Dr. Kirk’s research is directed toward understanding transplant rejection and translating this understanding into improved therapies for transplant recipients, and he helped pioneer the use of co-stimulation pathway blockade to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients. Dr. Kirk has been a principal investigator for multiple clinical trials including the first-in-human experience with novel immunosuppressive agents, has co-authored hundreds of peer-reviewed publications, and previously served as Editor-in-Chief for the American Journal of Transplantation. He earned an M.D. from Duke University School of Medicine, a Ph.D. from Duke University and a Bachelor of Science from Old Dominion University.

June Lee, MD

Director

Dr. Lee has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly Novus Therapeutics, Inc.) since December 2020. From February 2021 to November 2021, Dr. Lee was founder and Chief Executive Officer at Esker Therapeutics, Inc. From January 2017 until June 2020, Dr. Lee was Chief Development Officer and Chief Operating Officer of MyoKardia, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company with a focus on precision cardiovascular medicines. At MyoKardia she built and led a world class development organization culminating in the company’s $13.1 billion acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb in November 2020. Prior to MyoKardia, Dr. Lee was Professor of Medicine at UCSF School of Medicine, where she served as Director of Translational Research and built the Catalyst Program, an internal accelerator at UCSF for early-stage technologies in therapeutics, devices, diagnostics, and digital health. She is also the founding chair of the University of California Drug, Device, Discovery and Development Group. Previously, she was therapeutic area head in early clinical development in cardiovascular, metabolism, respiratory, and infectious diseases at Genentech. Dr. Lee is a member of the Board of Directors of the Council of Korean Americans, of which she previously served as Chair. She is a founding member of the Translational Research Advisory Council of South Korea’s MOGAM Research Institute, and the MTRAC for Life Sciences Innovation Hub Therapeutic/Diagnostic Oversight Committee, a unit associated with the University of Michigan Medical School. She is a Board Director for Abivax, CinCor Pharma, GenEdit and Tenaya Therapeutics, serves on Johns Hopkins University Center for Therapeutic Translation’s Advisory Board, and on the Scientific Advisory Board for Foresite Labs. Dr. Lee completed a Bachelor of Science in chemistry at the Johns Hopkins University, an M.D. at the School of Medicine at University of California, Davis, and her clinical training in internal medicine and pulmonary & critical care at UCLA and UCSF.

John S. McBride

Director

Mr. McBride has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly Novus Therapeutics, Inc.) since May 2017. Mr. McBride previously served as Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and interim Chief Financial Officer of Tokai Pharmaceuticals from 2014 until 2017. Prior to Tokai, Mr. McBride founded and served as President of Alliance Life Science Advisors, Inc., a consulting firm focused on assisting life science companies with strategic planning, business development and financing projects from 2012 to 2014. Prior to founding Alliance Life Science Advisors, Inc., Mr. McBride was an independent consultant from 2009 to 2012. In addition, Mr. McBride previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Gloucester Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Global Head of Oncology Licensing at Pharmacia Corporation, Executive Vice President, Business Operations and Chief Financial Officer at CytoTherapeutics, Inc., Vice President, Business Development and Treasurer at Phytera, Inc., Vice President, Commercial Development at Sparta Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Vice President, Business Development at U.S. Bioscience, Inc. Mr. McBride holds a B.S. in Biochemistry and an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Steven Perrin, PhD

CSO, President and Director

Dr. Perrin has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly Novus Therapeutics, Inc.) since September 2020. He was the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Anelixis Therapeutics, Inc. before joining Eledon Pharmaceuticals as President and Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Perrin has 20 years of drug development experience, having held R&D positions at the Hoechst-Ariad Genomics Center, Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Biogen Idec, Inc. Over the past decade, Dr. Perrin has worked with the ALS Therapy Development Institute to develop the world’s largest ALS drug development program, bridging preclinical and clinical programs. Dr. Perrin earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Boston University Medical Center, where he also started his career as Associate Professor of Medicine, and a Bachelor of Science from Boston College.

James Robinson

Director

Mr. Robinson has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since October 2023. Mr. Robinson currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and Director of A2 Biotherapeutics, a clinical-stage cell therapy company developing cell therapies to address unmet needs in cancer. Prior to A2 Biotherapeutics, Mr. Robinson served as Chief Executive Officer and Director of Urovant Sciences from March 2020 to July 2023, guiding the company through its first product launch, and subsequent acquisition by Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma. From April 2019 to March 2020, Mr. Robinson was President and Chief Operating Officer of Paragon Biosciences. From March 2018 to April 2019, Mr. Robinson served as President and COO of Alkermes, leading operations that generated more than $1 billion in annual revenue. Prior to Alkermes, Mr. Robinson spent over 12 years at Astellas Pharma, one of the leaders in the field of solid organ transplant, where he served as President of the Americas and was responsible for $4 billion in revenue generation. Mr. Robinson currently serves on the Board of Directors of UroGen Pharma (Nasdaq: URGN) and Petauri Health. Mr. Robinson currently serves on the Board of Directors of UroGen Pharma (Nasdaq: URGN). He previously served on the Board of Directors for Neos Therapeutics and for AGTC before the company was sold to Syncona. Mr. Robinson also previously served on the Board of Directors of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), where he served as Chairman of PhRMA’s State Committee. He earned a Bachelor of Science in marketing from DePaul University.