Leadership

Dr. Hood is Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Executive Chairman of Endeavor BioMedicines. A veteran of the California life sciences community, Dr. Hood has founded and led several successful biotechnology companies throughout his 20-year career. He previously served as the Founder and CEO of Impact Biomedicines (now owned by Bristol Myers Squibb), the company that developed fedratinib, which is now approved worldwide for the treatment of myelofibrosis. Dr. Hood began his career in 2001 as Director of Research at TargeGen, where he co-discovered fedratinib and led a team identifying small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and eye disease. He is an inventor on 100+ patents and the author of 50+ scientific articles. Dr. Hood earned his PhD in Medical Physiology and a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Texas A&M University.

Dr. de los Rios is Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of Endeavor BioMedicines. An entrepreneur focused on developing novel therapeutics to satisfy unmet needs in human medicine, he has more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to co-founding Endeavor, Dr. de los Rios was Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Rift Biotherapeutics, a therapeutic antibody company focused on cancers, as well as Vice President of Research and Development at Sevion Therapeutics (formerly Fabrus, Inc.), a clinical-stage therapeutics company focused on oncology and autoimmune disorders. In 2003 while working to complete his PhD, he founded Chimeros, Inc., a venture-backed biologics therapeutic company. He is the lead author or inventor on 50+ publications, patents and patent applications. Dr. de los Rios earned his PhD in Biophysical Chemistry and a Bachelor of Science in Cell Biology, both at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Dr. Kariuki is President of Endeavor BioMedicines and has more than 15 years of experience in healthcare strategy, life sciences investment banking, venture capital and business development. Most recently, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Lengo Therapeutics (acquired by Blueprint Medicines). Previously, Dr. Kariuki served as the Chief Financial Officer of VelosBio (acquired by Merck), where he led all finance-related and investor relations functions. Prior to joining VelosBio, he served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, at Synthorx, where he led the company’s IPO, managed relationships with bankers, sell-side equity analysts and investors, and headed the business development process that concluded with the sale of Synthorx to Sanofi. Earlier in his career, Dr. Kariuki was Vice President at H.I.G. Capital, a $50 billion+ private equity firm, where he invested in and served on the boards of multiple life sciences companies. Dr. Kariuki earned his PharmD from Texas Southern University and his MBA from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

Mr. Turakhia is Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Endeavor BioMedicines and has 15 years of investment banking experience. Prior to joining Endeavor, he served as a Managing Director in the Healthcare Investment Banking Group at Piper Sandler, where he advised management teams and boards of biopharma companies on a range of financing and strategic transactions. Prior to Piper Sandler, Mr. Turakhia served as Vice President in the Healthcare Investment Banking Groups at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and RBC Capital Markets, and an Equity Research Analyst in the Healthcare Group at Goldman Sachs, where he covered SMID-cap biopharma companies. During his career, he has executed more than 80 transactions, including over $50 billion in equity and debt financings and M&A. Mr. Turakhia earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Accounting from Ithaca College, and a Master of Science in Finance from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester.

Dr. Frohna is Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at Endeavor BioMedicines. A physician-scientist for more than 20 years, he has established a deep expertise in all facets of drug development from the bench to bedside and applied this expertise to the development of novel small molecules, biologics, peptides and cell therapies in immuno-oncology, immunology, hematology and neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Frohna previously served as CMO and Chief Scientific Officer for ImCheck Therapeutics, in senior development roles at Bioniz Therapeutics (CMO), Receptos (VP) and Genentech (Sr. MD), and currently serves as an Independent Director for Accure Therapeutics (Barcelona, SP) and on the scientific advisory board of IAMA Therapeutics (Genoa, IT). Dr. Frohna earned his MD from Georgetown University, a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Pennsylvania and a PharmD from the University of Texas at Austin.

Mr. Krueger is Chief Operating Officer at Endeavor BioMedicines. He has nearly 25 years of experience in the life science industry with operational responsibility and leadership for multiple functional areas, including business and corporate development, legal affairs and intellectual property, accounting and finance, human resources, alliance management and operations. Mr. Krueger has negotiated a broad range of equity and debt financings, strategic partnerships, mergers and acquisitions and licensing transactions. His extensive industry experience includes serving as a founder and executive officer at Ventyx Biosciences, Oppilan Pharma, Zomagen Biosciences, Escalier Biosciences, Vimalan Biosciences and Akarna Therapeutics (acquired by Allergan). Earlier in his career, he was a corporate lawyer at Cooley LLP representing emerging technology companies. Mr. Krueger earned his JD and MBA in Finance from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, San Diego.

Ms. DiFrancesco is Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations at Endeavor BioMedicines. Over her 25 years in the biotech industry she has designed and managed numerous clinical trials from Phase 1 to Phase 3 in therapeutic areas including oncology, pulmonology, musculoskeletal disorders and pain. Ms. DiFrancesco previously served as Vice President of Clinical Operations at Samumed, LLC, and served as a team member at Huya Bioscience, Cypress Bioscience and Chiron Corporation. She earned her Bachelor of Science from Georgetown University.

Mr. Adams is Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing and Communications at Endeavor BioMedicines. Prior to joining Endeavor, he was a consultant supporting multiple clinical-stage biotech companies in the areas of strategic marketing and communications. Mr. Adams’ extensive commercial leadership experience includes serving as Vice President of Commercial at Equillium, where he led strategic planning related to the company’s lead drug candidate; Senior Vice President of Commercial at Impact Biomedicines, where he managed commercial readiness activities to support the launch of fedratinib (now owned by Bristol Myers Squibb) for the treatment of myelofibrosis; and Executive Vice President and a founding partner at Carling Communications, where he was instrumental in building a global strategic consulting and medical communications agency. Additionally, he previously served as Director of Marketing at Allergan, where he was responsible for leading a $1 billion dry eye portfolio. Mr. Adams earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Georgia College & State University.

Dr. KC is Vice President of Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) at Endeavor BioMedicines. An experienced chemist with over 20 years of experience in drug discovery and CMC, he has a proven track record of successfully leading medicinal chemistry and CMC projects in every stage of drug discovery and development processes. His experience spans from HTS to process validation and cGMP manufacturing of registration/PPQ batches of drug substance to support approval and post-approval commercialization. Dr. KC served as Vice President of Chemistry at Samumed, LLC and Associate Director of Chemistry at Avanir Pharmaceuticals. He is an author of 21 peer-reviewed scientific publications and inventor of more than 400 pending and issued patents. Dr. KC earned his PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Regensburg, Germany and Master of Science in Organic Chemistry from Tribhuvan University, Nepal.

Mr. Humphreys is Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Endeavor BioMedicines. He is an experienced regulatory professional with over 15 years of increasing responsibility for programs in all phases of product development, from pre-IND to NDA submission and post-approval lifecycle management. Mr. Humphreys served in expanding regulatory leadership roles at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Therapeutics, Inc., Samumed, LLC and Intercept Pharmaceuticals. He currently serves as an adjunct faculty member at the Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) in Claremont, CA, teaching a course on current issues in regulatory affairs. Mr. Humphreys earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering at the University of Kansas. After college, he spent five years as a nuclear-trained submarine officer in the US Navy, serving onboard the USS Helena, homeported in Pearl Harbor, HI, and San Diego, CA. Following military service, he attended KGI, earning a Master of Bioscience degree prior to entering the pharmaceutical industry.

Ms. Tobal is Vice President of Business Development at Endeavor BioMedicines. She has over 25 years of industry experience in the life sciences with a career spanning research, business development, corporate venture capital, alliance management and organizational culture. Ms. Tobal has served in business development and alliance management at Everest Medicines and held similar roles at La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company, The Scripps Research Institute and Amgen. Ms. Tobal earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of California, Santa Cruz; her Master of Science in Marine Biology from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego and an MBA from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.