Team
The Faces Behind GlycoMira
Executive Leadership
William P. Tew, Ph.D.
William P. Tew has over 40 years of entrepreneurial leadership experience in biopharmaceutical and medical device commercialization, FDA regulatory affairs, cGMP control, and university technology licensing. He founded Chesapeake Biological Laboratories (CBL) to advance pharmaceutical concepts in degenerative joint disease, leading to two successful FDA approvals and acquisition by Cangene Corp. Dr. Tew went on to found Glycosan BioSystems (acquired by OrthoCyte/BioTime) to commercialize medical devices and cell delivery products based on BioTime’s hyaluronan-based hydrogel technology, HyStem®. Dr. Tew also served as an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, Associate Provost, and Assistant Dean of Licensing and Technology Development at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Glenn D. Prestwich, Ph.D.
Glenn D. Prestwich co-founded GlycoMira Therapeutics and is a serial entrepreneur and internationally-recognized expert in the development and commercialization of hyaluronan-based technologies. He is the Presidential Professor of Medicinal Chemistry (Emeritus) at the University of Utah and President’s Distinguished Professor (Emeritus) of Washington State University. During his >45-year career in academia, publishing >650 papers and chapters, Dr. Prestwich co-founded nine additional companies, including Echelon Biosciences, Glycosan BioSystems, Sentrx Animal Care, Deuteria Biomaterials, Maana Discoveries, and Spinout Space in Spokane (sp3nw), and is an inventor on over 49 issued patents. His many professional awards include: 2018 Fellow of the AAAS; 2013 Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors; 2008 Volwiler Research Award and 1998 Paul Dawson Award of the AACP; 2006 Utah Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology; 2014 Distinguished Innovation and Impact Award of University of Utah.
Thomas P. Kennedy, M.D., M.P.H.
Thomas P. Kennedy is a serial entrepreneur with over 40 years of experience in discovering and developing novel, mechanism-based cancer therapies. In addition to GlycoMira, Dr. Kennedy co-founded JSK Therapeutics and Cantex Pharmaceuticals (current CSO) that has advanced a low anticoagulant heparin mimetic, dociparastat sodium, to Phase 3 clinical evaluation for acute myeloid leukemia. Dr. Kennedy is a leading expert on sulfated glycosaminoglycan biology, currently practices critical care and pulmonary medicine, and advises several pharmaceutical companies and academic laboratories. During his career in academic medicine, he held faculty positions at the University of Utah, Wake Forest University, Tulane, Duke, and the University of North Carolina and became an inventor on over 30 issued patents.
Senior Leadership
Justin R. Savage, Ph.D.
Dr. Savage has been directing operations at GlycoMira for the past 12 years. Prior to joining the GlycoMira team, Dr. Savage worked at Prolexys Pharmaceuticals where he was instrumental in the preparation of the company’s IND submission to the Drug Oncology Products Division of the FDA and in supporting the development of oncology compounds from preclinical studies through a Phase I clinical trial. He has deep technical expertise in biochemistry, proteomics, and pharmaceutical research and has been instrumental in developing and validating the analytical assays to measure the potency and stability of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Dr. Savage has extensive experience in directing, coordinating and managing the technical and operational activities of the Company. He is an inventor on multiple patents and has served as the Principal Investigator on several SBIR grant awards totaling over $2M. Dr. Savage earned a doctorate degree in Biochemistry from Brigham Young University.
Abby Pulsipher, Ph.D.
Abby Pulsipher has over 9 years of experience in the discovery and preclinical development of glycosaminoglycan-based candidate drugs for oncology and respiratory diseases. She secured $5.1M in SBIR/STTR awards (NIAID/NIH), oversees the chronic rhinosinusitis drug and diagnostics programs, and serves as a Member of the Board of Directors at GlycoMira. Dr. Pulsipher operates cross-functionally to manage and unify team input across industries while considering resource efficiency to achieve milestones. In 2022, she joined the University of Utah faculty in the Departments of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Molecular Pharmaceutics. Dr. Pulsipher is also Director of the Basic Science and Translational Rhinology Research Program at the University of Utah and an Associate Member of the Experimental Therapeutics and Head & Neck Cancers Center groups at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. She received a doctorate degree in chemistry from UNC-Chapel Hill and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in chemical glycobiology at CalTech.
Key Advisors
Stephen T. Sonis, D.M.D., D.M.Sc.
Stephen T. Sonis is Professor of Oral Medicine at Harvard, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and a world-renowned expert in epithelial injury associated with cancer therapy. His development of predictive models has enabled the investigation of the biological basis of cancer regimen-related adverse effects and has stimulated the development of potential therapies. Dr. Sonis served as President of Triad, which focused on the adverse health and economic outcomes of cancer treatment toxicities and founded Biomodels and Primary Endpoint Solutions to catalyze the development of drugs, devices, and biologicals for a variety of indications. He is a special government employee of the FDA, holds several patents, and has authored more than 300 original publications.
Bhaumik Patel, M.D.
Bhaumik Patel is a Professor of Medicine and practicing oncologist with over 20 years of specializing in the care of gastrointestinal and hematologic cancers. He has appointments at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center and Massey Cancer Institute, as well as the the Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center-Richmond, where he currently serves as the Cancer Center’s Deputy Director. Dr. Patel additionally oversees an academic laboratory program focused on mechanisms of cancer stem cells in mediating tumor recurrence and development of new anti-tumor therapeutics. He received his medical degree from B. J. Medical College Ahmedabad and has been in practice for more than 20 years.
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