About us

Lance Baldo, M.D. brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in biopharmaceuticals including the successful launch of two new indications and a new formulation for Lucentis while at Genentech.

Abraham brings 25 years of experience in gene therapy, ranging from discovery research to early-stage clinical trials.

Most recently, he was Chief Scientific Officer at AGTC leading the ophthalmology & neuroscience research programs. Prior to that, Abraham was Chief Science Officer at IVERIC Bio. Before his tenure at IVERIC Bio, he served as Vice President and Head of Ophthalmology/Gene Editing at Casebia Therapeutics, where he built out the ophthalmology R&D group from the ground-up. Prior to Casebia, he served as the Head of Gene Therapy Research at Sanofi Genzyme, where he was responsible for all aspects of gene therapy discovery and pre-clinical research. Abraham earned his Ph.D. in molecular biology at the Indiana University School of Medicine followed by post-doctoral training in molecular virology at St. Louis University School of Medicine and gene therapy at University of Washington School of Medicine. Abraham has over 50 publications and 20 patents and currently serves on several committees for the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy.

Before joining Beacon’s Executive Leadership Team, Ben worked with Syncona’s investment team supporting the due diligence for the AGTC acquisition and leading the set-up of the UK arm of the company in London.

Ben spent the majority of his career with GlaxoSmithKline where he has over a 20 years’ experience across the full breadth of business environments, from target identification to marketed product, and enjoyed the personal and professional growth gained from working and living around the world. Latterly Ben worked with GlaxoSmithKline’s senior R&D management to build a new functional genomics department at GSK in partnership with Boston Consulting Group, defining the group’s remit, operational structure and initial portfolio. Ben held various strategy, operations and internal consultancy roles leading business innovation projects, developing strategy and delivering change programs. Earlier in his career Ben worked in small molecule development and manufacturing roles, building deep CMC expertise. Ben holds a Master’s in Medicinal Chemistry.

Duncan is a chartered UK and European patent attorney with 20 years’ experience in life science intellectual property matters.

Before joining Beacon in 2023, he spent seven years building up and leading the IP department of liver-directed AAV gene therapy developer Freeline as it progressed from start-up to NASDAQ-listed clinical phase biotech. He also directed IP efforts during the early stages of ocular gene therapy-focused companies NightStaRx Therapeutics and Gyroscope Therapeutics, which were later acquired by Biogen and Novartis respectively. Valuable prior experience was gained as part of GSK Vaccines’ IP department, where he had responsibility for the core paediatric vaccine franchise, during the highly strategic and contentious period which preceded GSK’s acquisition of Novartis’ vaccines business. Duncan obtained a PhD in molecular genetics from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland for research performed at the MRC Human Genetics Unit, and subsequently gained his professional IP qualifications while working in private practice at Dehns in London, UK, before moving in-house at GSK.

Tom is a biopharmaceutical industry veteran with over 25 years of financial and operational leadership experience, predominantly within ophthalmology.

During his career, he has assisted numerous companies in raising capital, and establishing clinical and commercial operations. As one of the first employees of Ophthotech Corporation, he helped the company evolve from a pre-clinical venture backed startup to a publicly traded biotech company. He also played a crucial role in the successful launch of the first pharmacologic treatment for macular degeneration at Eyetech Pharmaceuticals. Tom holds an M.B.A. from New York University, and Bachelor of Science degrees in both Mechanical Engineering and Economics from Rutgers University.

Natasha is a regulatory affairs professional with over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry.

Most recently, Natasha was regulatory head of the Immunology, Infectious Disease, Ophthalmology, Neuroscience and Established Products portfolio at Roche, leading a team of >100 regulatory professionals to deliver multiple NME submissions & approvals plus dozens of line extensions, INDs/CTAs & special designations in new disease areas and modalities, including gene therapy.  Natasha has also held roles in portfolio and project governance, people and site management, alliance and collaboration steering committees, and change management. During her career, she has been privileged to work in Europe, UK and US and to have collaborated with many small and mid-size partners to deliver multiple new medicines to patients.

David Fellows, who has served as CEO since Syncona Limited’s acquisition of AGTC in November 2022, joins the board of directors. David will assist during the CEO transition and assume the role of non-Executive Chairman of the Board in January 2025. During his tenure, he oversaw the launch of Beacon Therapeutics in June 2023, initiation of the Phase II DAWN trial and registrational VISTA trial for AGTC-501 for the treatment of X-Linked Retinitis Pigmentosa (XLRP), and the recent closing of the $170 million Series B.

David has more than 40 years of experience in various leadership roles within the ophthalmic
pharmaceutical industry and is currently the Board Chairman of Oxular and a Board member of the
Glaucoma Foundation.

He was previously CEO of Nightstar Therapeutics, a private biopharmaceutical company specialising in
developing ocular gene therapies for patients with inherited retinal dystrophies with David leading the
company through a successful NASDAQ listing and M&A transaction. He was previously Vice President of
Johnson & Johnson’s Vision Care Franchise, and, prior to that, held several roles at Allergan for 25 years,
including Regional President. Mr. Fellows holds a B.A. in Psychology from Butler University.

Chris Hollowood, PhD is the Chairman of our Board of Directors.

He also serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Syncona Investment Management Limited, part of Syncona Limited, a leading healthcare investment company focused on creating, building and scaling a portfolio of global leaders in life science.

In his role at Syncona, Dr. Hollowood has been instrumental in the foundation and development of Syncona’s gene therapy strategy. In addition to Beacon, Dr. Hollowood is also Chairman at three other Syncona gene therapy companies, of Freeline, Purespring, and Forcefield and was also previously Chairman of retinal gene therapies Nightstar, which was sold to Biogen in 2019 for $877 million, and Gyroscope, which was sold to Novartis for up to $1.5 billion in 2022.

Previously, Chris was a partner of Apposite Capital LLP, a venture and growth capital healthcare investment company. Before Apposite, Chris had roles with Bioscience Managers Ltd, Neptune Investment Management Ltd and in the pharmaceutical industry. Chris holds a degree in natural sciences and a PhD in organic chemistry, both from the University of Cambridge.

Elisa Petris, PhD is a Lead Partner of Syncona Investment Management Ltd.

Dr Petris is a Director on the Board of Quell Therapeutics, Beacon Therapeutics and Forcefield Therapeutics and was previously on the Board of former portfolio companies Blue Earth Diagnostics and Neogene, and of current portfolio company Achilles Therapeutics. Dr Petris was closely involved in the foundation of Quell, Blue Earth, Achilles and Beacon including their operational and strategic set-up.
 
Previously, Elisa was a Senior Associate at Michel Dyens & Co. working on transactions covering the healthcare space, and a member of the Life Science team at L.E.K. Consulting based in London. While at L.E.K. Elisa worked on projects for biotech, pharma and private equity clients. Elisa has a PhD in Molecular Biology from Imperial College and an MBA from London Business School.

Dmitrij Hristodorov is General Partner at Forbion, a leading European life sciences venture capital firm.

Before joining Forbion, he held roles in R&D Ophthalmology and Business Development at Bayer Pharma. His current portfolio covers various stages, treatment modalities and disease areas. To date, he serves as a board member for ARMGO Pharma, Complement Therapeutics, Seamless Therapeutics, AAVantgarde Bio, Kynexis, Rampart Bio, and Progentos Therapeutics. He previously served as a board observer of VectorY Therapeutics, and as a board observer and R&D committee member of Gyroscope Therapeutics that was acquired for up to $1.5Bn by Novartis in December 2021. In 2013 he received his PhD degree summa cum laude from the University of Aachen (RWTH) for the work he performed at Fraunhofer Institute in immunology.

Mr. Joustra is a General Partner at Forbion, a leading European life sciences venture capital firm.

At Forbion, he is responsible for deal origination, general portfolio management and divestment strategies, and focuses on Forbion’s Growth Opportunities Funds, which concentrates on investing in late-stage life sciences companies. Prior to joining Forbion in 2019, Mr. Joustra previously was a Senior Trader, as well as Executive Board member of the Life Sciences franchise at Kempen, a European boutique investment bank. In this role he managed Kempen’s trading portfolio and was involved in deal structuring and equity capital markets transactions, as well as larger block trades.

Mr. Joustra also served as a member of the board of directors of Gyroscope Therapeutics until the closing of its acquisition by Novartis in February 2022 for up to $1.5 billion, the board of directors of VectivBio (NASDAQ: VECT) from December 2022 until the closing of its $1.2 billion acquisition by Ironwood Pharmaceuticals in December 2023, the board of directors of Aiolos Bio until the closing of its acquisition by GSK plc in February 2024 for up to $1.4 billion and the board of Forbion European Acquisition Corporation, a special purpose acquisition company, until its completion of the business combination with enGene in October 2023.

Currently Mr. Joustra serves on the board of directors of VectorY Therapeutics and holds a position as a board observer at NewAmsterdam Pharma N.V. (NASDAQ: NAMS). He holds an M.Sc. in Business Administration from the University of Groningen, and a B.Sc. in International Business and Management from this same university.

Cariad Chester is a Managing Partner at TCGX.

Founded in 2021, TCGX partners with intrepid innovators who can translate cutting-edge science into products that will make a meaningful difference for patients. TCGX manages ~$2 billion in capital and operates offices in San Francisco, Palo Alto, and New York City. Prior to joining TCGX, Cariad was a Managing Director at Aquilo Capital. His past investments include Icosavax (acquired by AstraZeneca), Iveric Bio (acquired by Astellas), Gracell Biotechnologies (acquired by AstraZeneca), Versanis (acquired by Eli Lilly), Akouos (acquired by Eli Lilly), VectivBio (acquired by Ironwood), Carmot (acquired by Roche), and Structure Therapeutics (NASDAQ: GPCR). He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Pheon, Obsidian Therapeutics, Plexium, Vicebio, and Adcendo. Prior to investing, Cariad was a research scientist at Stanford University studying tumor-immune system interactions during cancer progression and treatment. Cariad received his B.A. from Swarthmore College, where he double majored in Neuroscience and Comparative Religious Studies.

Katya joined Oxford Science Enterprises in September 2021, an experienced venture capitalist with over 20 years’ experience in the biotechnology industry.

At OSE, Katya leads the Life Sciences team, overseeing investments, the creation of new companies and the scale up of existing businesses, providing hands-on guidance and support to academic founders from early scientific-development to go-to-market strategies.

Katya started her VC career in 2002 with Alta Partners, a healthcare focused USA fund, followed by Capricorn Partners in Belgium. She has been a director of a number of public and private companies in Europe and is the past Vice-Chair of InvestEurope. She has a global network across the Life Sciences, finance, and healthcare industries.

Katya holds a PhD in Cellular & Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, followed by a post-doc in Microbiology & Immunology from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Dominic Schmidt is a Managing Partner at Advent Life Sciences, a leading trans-Atlantic venture investor focused on building innovative Life Sciences businesses in the UK, Europe and the USA.

Dominic joined Advent Life Sciences in April 2022, bringing a rich background in biochemistry, genomics, molecular oncology, strategy consulting, and life science venture capital.

Before joining Advent, he dedicated eight years as a Partner in the investment team of Syncona, a publicly listed healthcare investment company. Dominic played a pivotal role in the founding, funding, and growth of several life science businesses. He served on the Boards of multiple preclinical and clinical stage biotech companies, including Orbit Biomedical (merged with Gyroscope) and Gyroscope Therapeutics (acquired by Novartis for up to $1.5 billion).

Dominic earned a German Diplom Degree in Biochemistry from the Free University of Berlin and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics. Subsequently, he attained a PhD from the Department of Oncology at the University of Cambridge. His doctoral research, supported by a Cancer Research UK scholarship, resulted in publications in eminent journals including Cell, Nature, and Science. Dominic’s outstanding contributions were acknowledged with prestigious awards, namely the Pontecorvo and Science & SciLife Lab Prizes.

Dr. Kaplan served as the Executive Vice President and President, Research & Development and Global Botox, and a board member of Allergan.

During his tenure heading Allergan’s R&D function, more than 20 major pharmaceutical products and new indications were approved by the FDA, the European Union, Japan and major Ministries of Health around the world.

Dr. Kaplan serves as a director of Nicox Inc. which acquired Aciex Therapeutics, Inc. in 2014 when he was Executive Chair. He is an independent board member of AiViva Biopharma. Dr. Kaplan has served on the boards Acadia Pharmaceuticals, Acucela Inc., Altheos (Executive Chair), Neurotech, Oculex and National Neurovision Research Institute (FFB). He is a former trustee of the Keck Graduate Institute and former member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Bay City Capital. Dr. Kaplan received his PhD in organic chemistry from UCLA.