Leadership

Irene Susantio, MS, MBA - Chief Executive Officer
Ms. Susantio started her career at ExxonMobil, where she led an operations team in managing oil production. In this role, she solved several major, decades old operational issues, resulting in millions of dollars in savings and profitability. Ms. Susantio also participated in a medical device start-up and secured angel funding for prototype development. She holds an MS degree in Chemical Engineering from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and an MBA in Venture Capital Management from The Wharton School.
Brian W. Smith, PhD, MBA - Chief Science Officer
Dr. Smith is the inventor of HotDot™ radiolabel technology. His scientific research has led to five patents, two textbook chapters, and 15 scholarly articles in leading academic journals. His work has appeared in Nature and was featured on the cover of Science. Prior to starting Solixia, Dr. Smith was one of the youngest principal investigators at the Fox Chase Cancer Center, where he launched the Center's first cancer nanotechnology research program. He has also worked in the business development group of Centocor, where he led the US market assessment for co-promotion of a Phase III asset. In 2008, Dr. Smith was recognized by the Philadelphia Business Journal as one of the region's "40 Under 40" dynamic young business leaders. Dr. Smith holds BSE, MSE, and PhD degrees in Materials Science from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in Health Care Management from The Wharton School.
Howard Sands, PhD - Senior Director of Research
Dr. Sands joins Solixia with 35+ years of pharmacology experience and 20+ years of radiopharmaceutical experience. He has an extensive publication record in the area of antibody-based therapeutics and has taken compounds from preclinical studies through IND. While Group Leader of Pharmacology at New England Nuclear (later acquired by DuPont), Dr. Sands was involved with the development of Cardiolite, one of the most successful nuclear imaging compounds ever launched. After retiring from DuPont, Dr. Sands joined a series of biotechnology start-ups in progressive scientific leadership roles including Vice President of Drug Development at Morphotek.

Scientific Advisory Board

Gregory P. Adams, PhD - Member with Tenure, Fox Chase Cancer Center
Dr. Adams is a widely recognized authority on the development and use of antibody based molecules, especially in the areas of radioimmunotherapy and immunotoxin therapy. Dr. Adams received his BA in Biology at the University of California at Santa Cruz. After receiving his PhD in Immunology in 1991 at University of California, Davis, he joined the Fox Chase Cancer Center where holds the rank of Member with tenure. His current research focuses on optimizing tumor targeting by engineered antibody-based molecules. His laboratory also provides support for on-going radioimmunotherapy clinical trials at the Fox Chase Cancer Center. Dr. Adams is currently on the Scientific Advisory Boards of Viventia Biotech, Inc. and Avipep. He is also on the Editoral Board of MAbs.
Michael D. Becker - President & Chief Executive Officer, MD Becker Partners LLC
Mr. Becker has been a member of the life sciences community for more than a decade. Before establishing MD Becker Partners LLC in 2008, he was president and chief executive officer of several publicly-traded biotechnology companies. Mr. Becker joined VioQuest Pharmaceuticals, Inc. as President and Chief Executive Officer in November 2007. Previously, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer at Cytogen Corporation, a pioneer in the area of radiopharmaceuticals, since December 2002. Mr. Becker joined Cytogen in April 2001 and held positions of increasing responsibility, including Chief Executive Officer of AxCell Biosciences, a subsidiary of Cytogen focused on signal transduction pathways, and Vice President of Business Development and Industry Relations. During his tenure at Cytogen, Mr. Becker raised in excess of $130 million in new capital through both public offerings and private placements. Prior to joining Cytogen, Mr. Becker was with Wayne Hummer Investments LLC, a Chicago-based regional brokerage firm from July 1996 to April 2001, where he held senior positions as a biotechnology analyst, investment executive and portfolio manager. Mr. Becker was also the founder and Executive Editor of Beck on Biotech, a monthly biotechnology investment newsletter published from July 1998 through March 2001. Mr. Becker attended DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Becker is Chairman of BioNJ, which was founded in 1994 by New Jersey biotechnology industry CEOs to serve as the voice of and advocate for the biotechnology industry in New Jersey.
Susan Knox, MD, PhD - Associate Professor, Stanford University Cancer Center
Dr. Knox is an Associate Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine in the Department of Radiation Oncology and co-founder of a venture-backed company, RadioRx. She brings more than 20 years of experience working in the medical field, focusing on radiation oncology, radioimmunotherapy, and transitional medicine. Dr. Knox has a BA from UC Berkeley, a PhD from UC Davis, and an MD from Stanford University School of Medicine. She is a consultant with InterWest Partners, a leading diversified venture capital firm with more than $2 billion under management.