About Us
Enabling the activation and enhancement of the human immune system with synthetic vector-based therapeutics
OVERVIEW
Welcome to the DevaCell revolution. We are a transformative biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of high impact, synthetic vector-based therapeutics that offer the potential to revolutionize patient care and improve outcomes for patients across a wide range of therapeutic indications. While current therapeutic approaches have improved outcomes for some patients, many patients unfortunately do not adequately respond. At DevaCell, we believe we can enable therapies that can treat a significantly larger patient population utilizing the company’s revolutionary ONCoat™ synthetic vector platform.
DevaCell’s lead product development program is focused on the development of a product pipeline of synthetic, oncolytic virus therapies that can activate and enhance a patient’s own immune response by the repeat administration of a systemically delivered therapeutic, targeting multiple cancer indications. Each product candidate is designed to selectively target, attack and kill cancer cells by the activation and enhancement of the immune system using synthetic vectors engineered to express novel combinations of transgenes that include immunomodulators, checkpoint inhibitors, ligands for T-cell costimulation or coinhibitory receptors.
MISSION
Our mission is to fully realize the potential of our ONCoat™ synthetic vector platform technology, which we believe will enable a broad range of novel product candidates across three key segments: Oncolytic virus therapy, vaccines, and gene therapy/gene editing applications.
We must also be clear and state that our mission is both professional and personal. We are all too well aware of the devastating effects serious disease and disorder have on our friends, family and each and every one of us. Recognizing the significant, unmet medical need, DevaCell’s mission is driven by an urgency to discover, develop and bring game changing new therapeutics to patients in need. This mission is with us, each and every day, providing inspiration and motivation to do more and to do more faster in order to transform patient care as quickly as possible. That is our promise and commitment.
VISION
Our vision is to continue to move down the path to a cure for cancer and other serious diseases.
Leadership Team
Inanç Ortaç, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer, Co-founder
- Inventor of ONCoat™ & SHELS™ Technology
- Experienced technical and business leader
- Multiple Award Winning Scientist/Inventor
- Founder of DevaCell, DevaNano, Innovasion Labs, Sarmal, Innovasion Labs PINC, Synestha
- PhD / MS, University of California, San Diego
Jeff Sturgis
Chief Operating Officer
- Executive Corporate & Business Development, International business development for Japan/Asia Pacific and Director Clinical Programs for Biomagnetic Technologies. V.P. of Business Development Asia/Pacific at Inflow, Inc. (acquired by SunGard Technologies).
- B.S. in Applied Physics, A.A.S Aviation, Ohio Univ.
Board of Directors
Larry G Stambaugh
Chairman of the Board
- CEO & Chairman of multiple global public companies
- Raised over $500 million in private/public financings, taking companies public in both the U.S. and Europe, completing multiple large strategic partnerships
- Corporate governance expert
Inanç Ortaç, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer, Co-founder
- Inventor of ONCoat™ & SHELS™ Technology
- Experienced technical and business leader
- Multiple Award Winning Scientist/Inventor
- Founder of DevaCell, DevaNano, Innovasion Labs, Sarmal, Innovasion Labs PINC, Synestha
- PhD / MS, University of California, San Diego
Jennifer Cayer
Director
- Ms. Cayer has over 25 years of biotech and pharmaceutical experience
- She co-founded several venture backed biotech companies that were acquired by global pharmaceutical companies or became publicly traded companies.
- She brings deep corporate and business development expertise including multiple alliances with pharmaceutical and biotech companies
Gala Yayla
Board Member
- Since the inception of DevaCell, Gala has established the financial and administrative processes
- Coming from a family wealth management office background, Kohlberg & Company, Gala is well versed in dynamic and challenging environments
- Gala, President of a local non-profit, has had the pleasure working with many children as a volunteer in the juvenile court system.
Scientific Advisory Board
Dennis Carson, MD/Ph.D.
- Professor Emeritus, Medicine, UC San Diego
- Entrepreneur and founder of DynavaxTechnologies Corp.,
- Member of National Academy of Sciences, Member of American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Member of Institute of Medicine, Member of Association of American Physicians, Member of American Association for Cancer Research, Member of American Society of Hematology, Member of American Society for Clinical Investigation.
Steve Mento, Ph.D.
- Formerly; President & CEO of Conatus Pharmaceuticals
- Board of Directors of BIOCOM, BIO. Board of Histogen Inc, BIOCOM And BIOCOM Institute.
- Over 35 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.
- Ph.D. – Microbiology from Rutgers
Designer Encapsulated Vector Assembly