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 $4.5M in SBIR awards (NIAID/NIH), oversees GlycoMira’s chronic rhinosinusitis drug program, and is an inventor on multiple patents. Dr. Pulsipher operates cross-functionally to manage and unify team input across industries while considering resource efficiency to achieve milestones. She is Director of Basic and Translational Rhinology Research and a Core Member of the Utah Center for Nanomedicine at the University of Utah. Prior to receiving a doctorate degree in chemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill and completing a postdoctoral fellowship (HHMI) in chemical glycobiology at CalTech, Dr. Pulsipher aided the discovery of novel candidate drugs at Adenosine Therapeutics, which was acquired by Clinical Data (now Allergan) to clinically advance stedivaze as a cardiac stress agent for diagnosing coronary artery disease.
Won Yong Lee, D.V.M., M.S., Ph.D.
Won Yong Lee has over 18 years of experience in drug discovery and development with extensive expertise in radiation biology, toxicology, pharmacology, experimental pathology, and immunology. He has been directing GlycoMira’s research for the past 10 years. Dr. Lee secured $5.2M in highly competitive SBIR and CRP awards (NIDCR/NIH) and oversees GlycoMira’s drug programs in oncology. Dr. Lee played important roles in developing radionuclide/chemotherapy-based anticancer drugs at Dong Wha Pharmaceutical (Korea). His early research describing breakthrough discoveries in ion-channel biology was published as two Nature articles. Prior to receiving a Ph.D. degree in molecular neuroscience from Mayo Clinic, Dr. Lee earned a M.S. degree in toxicology and a D.V.M. degree at Konkuk University. He also received toxicology and pathology training at the National Institute of Safety Research in Korea, is an inventor on multiple patents, and has consulted for Jade Therapeutics/Eyegate (now Kiora Therapeutics), Echelon Biosciences, and Progenitor Life Sciences.
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.
Caleb Bell III, Ph.D.
Caleb Bell is a seasoned entrepreneur, executive, director, and investor with international experience. He was involved in over $550 million biotech financings and partnering transactions, ranging from the raising CEO to the lead investor to financial advisor. Caleb is a Managing Director at CTIC Capital and previously worked at Arcline Investment Management, G4S Capital, Beyond Next Ventures and Prime Movers Lab. He sits on selected Boards and serves pro bono for some startup accelerators/incubators (Stanford’s StartX, Blockbuster Tokyo, FAST, Jlabs) and industry associations (Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, CLSI, BIO) with the goal of growing the bio venture ecosystems in the U.S. and Asia through strengthening collaborative bridges.
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