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About

Overview

Cidara is developing targeted immunotherapies designed to save lives and improve the standard of care for patients facing serious diseases. The Company’s proprietary Cloudbreak® platform enables development of novel drug-Fc conjugates (DFCs) that inhibit specific disease targets while simultaneously engaging the immune system.

Cidara is headquartered in San Diego, California and is built on the core values of collaboration, integrity, accountability, urgency and courage which foster a unique and award-winning atmosphere.

Leadership

Management

President and Chief Executive Officer

Jeffrey Stein, Ph.D.

Dr. Stein has been President, CEO and Director of Cidara since January 2014. His team at Cidara developed the novel antifungal drug, Rezzayo, from preclinical stage to approval in the US and EU and also developed CD388, a once-per-season universal preventative for influenza, through successful Phase 2a data in partnership with Janssen Pharmaceuticals. Previously he was CEO of Trius Therapeutics, Inc. from 2007 until its acquisition by Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in September 2013. During his tenure, Trius developed the antibacterial drug tedizolid, which received marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June 2014. Tedizolid is now marketed by Merck under the name Sivextro. Dr. Stein currently serves as a Director Ideaya Biosciences where he chairs the compensation committee and sits on the audit committee. He was also founding Chairman and President of the Antimicrobials Working Group, an industry leading 501(c)(6) organization. Previously, Dr. Stein was a Venture Partner and Kauffman Fellow with Sofinnova Ventures and opened the firm’s San Diego office in 2005. Prior to joining Sofinnova Ventures, Dr. Stein was co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Quorex Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals in 2005. He has also served as a Principal Scientist with Diversa Corporation and the Agouron Institute. Dr. Stein conducted his postdoctoral research as an Alexander Hollaender Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow at the California Institute of Technology and his graduate work as a NASA Graduate Student Researcher Fellow at the University of California, San Diego.
Senior Vice President, Translational Research & Development

Nicole Davarpanah, M.D., J.D.

Dr. Davarpanah joins the Cidara team with over 10 years of experience in immuno-oncology drug development and early and late-stage clinical trial design. Prior to joining the company, she served as a Clinical and Translational Lead in Oncology at Genentech/Roche, leading the development strategy of immunotherapy combinations in bladder cancer. Prior to that role, she was the Senior Medical Director of Genitourinary (GU) Immuno-Oncology and Medical Affairs at Genentech/Roche, where she was responsible for the launch of GU oncology products, as well as cultivating strategic partnerships with disease area experts, academic institutions, regulatory agencies and professional societies.

Dr. Davarpanah is a medical oncologist and clinician who has broad experience working in multiple health care systems including academic medicine, government, and private practice. Earlier in her career, she served as a research fellow focusing on immuno-oncology and GU Cancers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI/NIH) and as a faculty member at Georgetown University School of Medicine, lecturing on the intersection of medicine, law, and technology, and serving as a national speaker and advisor to medical centers and corporations to expand health care access to life saving treatments. Dr. Davarpanah received her Doctor of Medicine degree from Boston University and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Senior Vice President, People and Culture

Allison Lewis, SPHR, CCP

Ms. Lewis joined Cidara in February 2015 and serves as Vice President, Human Resources responsible for all aspects of people and culture including employee engagement, compensation, organizational design, talent management, and strategic HR initiatives. She has over 15 years of diverse Human Resources experience primarily in the life sciences industry, across all stages of development and commercialization. Prior to joining Cidara, she was on the Human Resources teams at Cadence Pharmaceuticals and, subsequently, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals after its acquisition of Cadence in 2014. Ms. Lewis also held HR management roles of increasing responsibility at PPD, Applied Technology and Management and IGY.

Ms. Lewis received her bachelor’s degree in Business from University of Florida and holds designations as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), and a Certified Compensation Professional (CCP). She leverages her expertise in service on the board of LifeHR, a San Diego Life Sciences HR association.

Chief Medical Officer

Taylor Sandison, M.D., M.P.H.

Dr. Sandison has been with Cidara since October 2015. He has extensive experience in anti-infective clinical trials and drug development in both academia and industry. Prior to joining the company, he served as senior medical director at Merck and prior to that held the same position at Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Sandison has also held positions at Trius Therapeutics and Novartis Diagnostics, and served as a member of the faculty in the Department of Medicine at both Stanford University and the University of Washington. He received B.S. and B.A. degrees from Dartmouth College, M.D. and M.P.H. degrees from the University of Washington, and a Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (DTM&H) from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He completed internal medicine residency training at the University of Colorado and infectious diseases fellowship training at the University of Washington. Dr. Sandison currently holds board certifications in Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine.
Chief Financial Officer

Preetam Shah, Ph.D., MBA

Dr. Shah joined Cidara Therapeutics Inc. on September 1, 2021, as its Chief Financial and Business Officer and brings over 20 years of health care industry experience in corporate finance, business development, and strategy. Recently, Dr. Shah transitioned to serve as Cidara’s Chief Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer. Before joining Cidara, he served as EVP, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BCLI), a publicly listed biotechnology company, where led the development and implementation of key financial and capital strategies and contributed to its corporate initiatives. Prior to Brainstorm, he spent over 6 years, from 2013- 2019, as an investment banker, advising healthcare companies on equity, debt and M&A transactions holding senior roles at leading banks including Barclays Capital PLC. from 2016-2019, and Canaccord Genuity Inc. from 2013-2016. From 2010-2013, he founded Saisarva LLC. a healthcare consulting firm, where he executed and negotiated numerous licensing deals with pharmaceutical companies and was also responsible for the alliance management of those deals. During this period, he also acted as a consultant for healthcare-focused private equity firms and hedge funds. From 2006-2009, he served as Vice President, U.S. Operations and Investments at Reliance Capital USA Ventures LLC, an affiliate of Reliance ADA Group Companies, where he was responsible for making early stage venture investments in healthcare companies and other fund of funds. Dr. Shah completed his post-doctoral fellowship in Infectious Diseases from Stanford University School of Medicine, holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and a M.B.A. in Finance from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Chief Scientific Officer

Les Tari, Ph.D.

Dr. Tari has over 19 years of experience in early stage drug discovery in both industry and academia. He has led a number of discovery programs and is an author or inventor on over 50 publications and patents. Previous to Cidara, Dr. Tari held positions of increasing responsibility at Trius Therapeutics from 2007 until its acquisition by Cubist Pharmaceuticals in 2013. At Trius, Dr. Tari led the efforts to generate and advance a novel class of dual-targeting broad spectrum antibacterial agents. Prior to Trius, Dr. Tari was a co-founder and Director of Structural Biology from 2003 to 2007 at ActiveSight Inc., where he led all research efforts in inflammation and oncology. From 2001 until 2003, Dr. Tari was a member of the scientific staff during the start-up phase of Syrrx Inc., where he participated in the design and development of the first industrial high-throughput structural genomics platform that aided in the discovery of Alogliptin, subsequently approved for the treatment of type II diabetes. Previous to his career in industry, Dr. Tari held an academic position as an Alberta Heritage Foundation Scholar for Medical Research at the University of Calgary, where he conducted research focused on antibiotic discovery. Dr. Tari holds a B.Sc. in Chemistry, and a Ph.D. in Chemistry and Structural Biology from the University of Manitoba.
Chief Operating Officer

Shane Ward

Mr. Ward joined Cidara in 2021 as Chief Legal Officer and was appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2022. He has more than 25 years of biopharmaceutical industry legal, operations, strategy, and finance experience. In his current role, he is responsible for a range of Cidara's corporate functions including Legal, IP, Healthcare Compliance, Technical Operations, Quality, and IT. As Corporate Secretary, he also coordinates board and committee activities and oversees corporate governance. Prior to joining us, Mr. Ward was Chief Legal and Strategy Officer for Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage cell therapy company developing controllable CAR-T products for the treatment of solid tumor cancers. He previously held leadership roles with commercial and development-stage biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies including Gilead Sciences, Human Genome Sciences, Dynavax, and Abbott. He began his legal career in the FDA regulatory practice group of Sidley Austin, an international law firm. Mr. Ward holds an M.B.A. from Cornell University, a J.D. from Georgetown University, and a B.A. from the University of Virginia.
Chief Business Officer

Jim Beitel

Mr. Beitel joined Cidara in August 2024 and brings over 20 years of experience in life science corporate development including strategy, business development, commercialization, and finance roles for a variety of companies including biotech, commercial-stage specialty pharma, early-stage venture-backed companies, and multi-national pharmaceutical companies. Most recently, Mr. Beitel was Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Fate Therapeutics where he served as a member of the executive team with responsibility for strategic partnering in oncology and autoimmune diseases. Prior to Fate, Mr. Beitel was Vice President of Corporate Development and Operations at Avanir Pharmaceuticals where he facilitated the company’s growth into a multi-product organization and the subsequent acquisition by Otsuka. Prior to Avanir, Mr. Beitel held various positions with increasing responsibility at Amgen, La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company, Azur Pharma, and Zacharon Pharmaceuticals. During Mr. Beitel’s career in business development at Fate and other companies, he has successfully sourced and executed partnering activities which significantly expanded company pipelines, generated over $4 billion in upfront payments and collaboration revenues, and contributed to the ability to raise over $1 billion in equity financings. Mr. Beitel holds a M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Kansas.

Board of Directors

Chairperson

Dan Burgess

Mr. Burgess has more than 20 years of executive level experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Mr. Burgess is currently a venture partner at SV Health Investors, and serves as the Acting President, Chief Executive Officer, and a director of Therini Bio, Inc., a private vascular biology company.In 2011, he was one of the founding members of Rempex, which was subsequently acquired by The Medicines Co. in 2013 for $140M upfront, with a total potential deal value of $474M. Prior to Rempex, Mr. Burgess was President and Chief Executive Officer of Mpex Pharmaceuticals, which he joined in 2007. During his tenure as Chief Executive Officer, Mpex advanced its lead product Aeroquin from Phase 1 into Phase 3 clinical trials, raised substantial venture capital funding and ultimately achieved a successful exit in 2011 with its acquisition by Aptalis. The transaction with Aptalis was named by Scrip magazine as a finalist for “Deal of the Year”. Before joining Mpex, Mr. Burgess was Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company focused on biodefense, infectious disease and immune system disorders. Previously, he spent ten years at Gensia Sicor, Inc., which is a specialty pharmaceutical firmand was acquired by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited, where he held a variety of executive level positions with responsibility for overall finance for the company as well as a number of different operating units. Mr. Burgess received his B.A.in Economics from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Mr. Burgess was a member of the Board of Directors of Santarus, Inc. until its acquisition by Salix for $2.6B in 2013.

Bonnie Bassler, Ph.D.

Dr. Bassler currently serves in several roles at Princeton University, including Chair of the Department of Molecular Biology since 2013, associated faculty member of the Department of Chemistry since 2010, Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute since 2005, Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology since 1994, and associate faculty member of the Princeton Environmental Institute since 1996. Previously, Dr. Bassler served as the Director of the Council on Science and Technology at Princeton University from July 2008 to June 2013. Dr. Bassler has served as a board member of Royalty Pharma plc since June 2020, as a board member of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since 2016, and as a Trustee of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation since 2014, and previously served as a board member of Sanofi from November 2014 to September 2016. Dr. Bassler served as a board member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science from January 2012 to December 2016. She was a member of the National Science Board from January 2010 until May 2016. Dr. Bassler has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the Royal Society, among other honorific organizations. She received a B.S. in biochemistry from the University of California-Davis and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the John Hopkins University.

Carin Canale-Theakston

Ms. Canale-Theakston currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Canale Communications Inc., a life sciences communications company that she founded in May 2010. Prior to founding Canale Communications, Ms. Canale-Theakston served as President of the life sciences division of Porter Novelli, an international public relations firm, from May 2005 until May 2010. Prior to Porter Novelli, Ms. Canale-Theakston was a Partner and Managing Director of Atkins + Associates, a life sciences communication firm, from February 2000 until it was acquired by Porter Novelli in May 2005. She has also served as a member of the CONNECT (previously San Diego Venture Group), board since January 2007, including Chair in 2011-2012. Since January 2007, Ms. Canale-Theakston has served as a member and vice chair of the board of directors of BIOCOM and is currently chair of the nominating-governance committee. Ms. Canale-Theakston also serves on the advisory board for Abintus Bio and Epitracker Inc. Ms. Canale-Theakston holds a B.A. in communications and marketing from the University of Tulsa.

James Merson, Ph.D.

James Merson, Ph.D., is the Chief Virology Officer at a stealth oncology biotechnology company. He is a member of the R&D Leadership Team, leading the viral vector platform. As the former Global Therapeutic Head of Infectious Diseases at Janssen, James lead R&D that resulted in approval of Cabenuva, line extensions of Symtuza & Juluca, 5 Ph3, 10 Ph2, and 8 Ph1 studies, 9 NMEs, and in-licensing of JNJ-0953 (antiviral drug conjugate for influenza PrEP) and JNJ- 3989 (siRNA for HBV for combination with HBV a therapeutic vaccine and anti-PD1 mAb).

James held more than 30 years of R&D experience in antivirals, vaccines and immuno-oncology at Pfizer, becoming SVP and CSO of Vaccine Immunotherapeutics Research Unit. As a member of the Vaccines leadership, he contributed to the approval of Prevnar 13 & 20 and ABRYSVO, and oversaw 4 Ph1/2 studies with oncology vaccines or oncolytic viruses combined with tremelimumab and sasanlimab, 2 Ph1 studies for ant-IgE vaccine and anti-nicotine vaccine. James was responsible for starting Pfizer vaccines in 2005 with the acquisition of PowderMed and Coley Pharmaceuticals, that resulted in the acquisition of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. James was also responsible for Pfizer’s first build-to-buy partnership with Ignite Pharmaceuticals that generated a novel armed oncolytic vaccinia virus and was evaluated in combination with sasanlimab in a Ph1 study. As Therapeutic Head, Antivirals at Pfizer, he oversaw approval of Selzentry, 4 Ph2 studies, Pfizer’s first gene therapy program for HIV with Immusol, and the in-licensing of dalbavancin and anidulafungin.

He holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Texas and a B.A. in Biology from Bellarmine College, Louisville, KY. James has held multiple SAB and Advisor positions, consulted for several Venture Capital companies, holds 5 patents and has 48 publications.

Chrysa Mineo

Ms. Mineo led corporate development at Receptos, Inc., from 2009 to 2015, where strategic partnering efforts for Phase 3 immunology candidate ozanimod resulted in the company’s acquisition by Celgene for $7.2 billion. During her tenure,she played a key role in the Receptos initial public offering (IPO) and established product and technology collaborations with AbbVie, Ono, Lilly and Janssen. Prior to Receptos, Ms. Mineo held roles of increasing business development responsibilityat Neurocrine Biosciences from 1997 to 2009, where she led or played a primary role in negotiating and closing more than 25 transactions, including worldwide or regional product candidate collaborations from Phase 1 to registration and product in-licensing transactions. Prior to Neurocrine, Ms. Mineo served in various capacities in research, marketing and business development for such companies as Amgen, DNAX Research Institute, Schering Plough and Baxter Biotech. Ms. Mineo holds a B.S. in Zoology from theUniversity of California, Davis and received her MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Additionally, Ms. Mineo is a Co-Founder of Alume Biosciences, a member of the Director’s Council at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and a member of the Board of Directors of the San Diego Natural History Museum.

Ted Schroeder

Mr. Schroeder is currently Chief Executive Officer and a director of Nabriva Pharmaceuticals, a role he has held subsequent to the 2018 acquisition of Zavante Therapeutics, a company that he co-founded and served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors. Prior to that, he was one of Cadence Pharmaceutical’s co-founders and served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors member since its inception in May 2004 until its acquisition by Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals for $1.4 billion in 2014. From August 2002 to February 2004, he served as Senior Vice President of North American Sales and Marketing of Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a neuroscience-based pharmaceutical company. From February 2001 to August 2002, Mr. Schroeder served as General Manager of the Hospital Products Business Unit at Elan, a position he also held at Dura Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty respiratory pharmaceutical and pulmonary drug delivery company, from May 1999 to November 2000 until its acquisition by Elan. Prior to joining Dura, Mr. Schroeder held a number of hospital-related sales and marketing positions with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, a global pharmaceutical company. Mr. Schroeder is the former Chairman of Biocom, the California life sciences trade association. Additionally, Mr. Schroeder is the current Chairman of The Antimicrobials Working Group (AWG), a trade association focused on improving the prospects for innovation in antimicrobials. Mr. Schroeder is also a current director of Otonomy, Inc. Previously Mr. Schroeder served on the board of Collegium Pharmaceuticals until May 2021 and he also served on the boards of Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Incline Therapeutics, Hyperion Therapeutics and Trius Therapeutics until their respective acquisitions. Mr. Schroeder holds a B.S. in Management from Rutgers University.

Ryan Spencer

Ryan Spencer is Chief Executive Officer of Dynavax, and a member of its board of directors, where he leads the vaccine company’s mission to help protect the world against infectious diseases. He first joined Dynavax in 2005 and, during his fourteen-year ascent to CEO, served in various positions with increasing responsibility across commercial, finance, investor relations, and corporate strategy. As Senior Vice President of the commercial organization, Mr. Spencer led the successful commercial launch of the industry’s first and only two-dose hepatitis B vaccine – HEPLISAV-B® – in 2018. In December 2019, he was appointed CEO and, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, led the supply of Dynavax’s CpG 1018® adjuvant for nearly 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to vaccine developers around the world. Under Mr. Spencer’s tenure as CEO, the company has established HEPLISAV-B® as the leader of the adult hepatitis B vaccine market in the U.S., secured product approvals in the European Union and Great Britain, advanced three novel vaccine clinical candidates, and grown its employee base by more than 75 percent.

Prior to joining Dynavax, he served as Assistant Controller at QRS Corporation and as a member of the audit practice at Ernst & Young. Mr. Spencer is an active member of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and serves as a member of the board of directors for Dynavax. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics from University of California, Santa Barbara.

Laura Tadvalkar, Ph.D.

Laura Tadvalkar is a Managing Director on the Venture Team at RA Capital Management. Laura works on new company creation and early-stage investments, and serves as a Board Director for Mariana Oncology, Be Biopharma, Expansion Therapeutics, Hemab Therapeutics, Hyku Biosciences, Typewriter Therapeutics, and Aliada Therapeutics. Laura has a BS in Chemistry from Yale University and a PhD in Chemical Biology from Harvard University. Prior to RA, Laura was a Principal at MP Healthcare Venture Management. Prior to MP, she was a Consultant at Clarion Healthcare.

Jeffrey Stein, Ph.D.

Dr. Stein has been President, CEO and Director of Cidara since January 2014. Previously he was CEO of Trius Therapeutics, Inc. from 2007 until its acquisition by Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in September 2013. During his tenure, Trius developed the antibacterial drug tedizolid, which received marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June 2014. Tedizolid is now marketed by Merck under the name Sivextro. Dr. Stein currently serves as a Director of Paratek Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: PRTK) and Ideaya Biosciences. He is also founding Chairman and President of the Antimicrobials Working Group, an industry leading 501(c)(6) organization. Previously, Dr. Stein was a Venture Partner and Kauffman Fellow with Sofinnova Ventures and opened the firm’s San Diego office in 2005. Prior to joining Sofinnova Ventures, Dr. Stein was co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Quorex Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals in 2005. He has also served as a Principal Scientist with Diversa Corporation and the Agouron Institute. Dr. Stein conducted his postdoctoral research as an Alexander Hollaender Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow at the California Institute of Technology and his graduate work as a NASA Graduate Student Researcher Fellow at the University of California, San Diego.

Scientific Advisors

Rick Bright, Ph.D.

Rick Bright, Ph.D. is former chief executive officer of the Pandemic Prevention Institute (PPI) at The Rockefeller Foundation. He led the development of the Foundation’s pandemic data-to-action platform that integrates modern technology, data analytics and global partners to help the world detect, prevent, and mitigate pandemic threats to achieve containment as quickly as possible. Prior to this role, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and the Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Dr. Bright has also gained extensive experience in the biotechnology industry where he served in senior leadership and executive management roles. He has held senior scientific leadership positions in non-governmental organizations where he championed innovative vaccine development and expanded vaccine manufacturing capacity to multiple developing countries. He also spent a decade in vaccine, therapeutics, and diagnostics development at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention where he received the Charles C. Shepard Science Award for Scientific Excellence for his work.

Dr. Bright serves as an international subject matter expert in biodefense, emergency preparedness and response, pharmaceutical innovation, vaccine, drug and diagnostic development and served as an advisor to the Biden Administration, World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering & Medicine Forum on Microbial Threats.

Additionally, he serves as an Executive Board Member for the NY Academy of Sciences International Science Reserve, a Sr. Fellow at the Foreign Policy Association, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Bright received a Ph.D. in Immunology and Molecular Pathogenesis from Emory University and a B.S., magna cum laude in Biology and Physical Sciences from Auburn University at Montgomery.

Philip Krause, M.D.

With over 30 years of experience at the Food and Drug Administration, Philip Krause, M.D. has a unique combination of scientific, regulatory, clinical, and public health experience. He is a long-time supporter of CASSS and WCBP and has co-chaired the meeting several times. Dr. Krause is a physician with board certification in internal medicine and infectious diseases and a researcher with over 100 publications on topics spanning clinical evaluation of vaccines, viral pathogenesis and immunology, and biological product development.

He currently serves as an independent consultant, providing strategic and regulatory advice related to biological product development. Previously, he was a deputy director of FDA’s Office of Vaccines Research and Review, where he led assessments of biological products for evaluation and licensure and helped to oversee the development and evaluation of all vaccines authorized and licensed in the US over the past 10 years.
Dr. Krause received an M.D. from Yale Medical School, an MBA from Florida State University, and a B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois.

Mario Barro, Ph.D.

Mario Barro, Ph.D. is a Venture Partner and Head of the Infectious Disease Team at RA Capital Management, where he spearheads early-stage investment, company creation, and leads the Infectious Diseases team in advancing the company's evidence-based investment strategy. In this capacity, Mario collaborates closely with several portfolio companies, serving as a Board Member or Technical Advisor. With over three decades of experience in vaccinology, virology, and immunology across large pharma, government, academia, and biotech sectors, he brings a wealth of expertise to his roles.

In addition to his work at RA Capital, Mario is the CEO and co-founder of GIVAX, a vaccine development startup focused on eradicating preventable Gastrointestinal infections in children and adults. As CEO, he drives the development of a novel groundbreaking vaccine solution aimed at addressing a critical unmet medical need.
Before joining RA Capital, Mario was Associate Vice President for Advanced Research at Sanofi Pasteur, where he led a team responsible for integrating influenza vaccine development with cutting-edge technologies like machine learning and antigen design. He also held a pivotal role as Project Director at BARDA, where he managed the technical selection and successful execution of multiyear, multimillion-dollar vaccine development programs, including efforts toward a Universal Flu Vaccine.

Mario completed his postdoctoral training at the NIH/NIAD and Mount Sinai School of Medicine and received a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Chile.

Frederick G. Hayden, M.D., FACP

Frederick Hayden, MD, FACP is Stuart S. Richardson Professor Emeritus of Clinical Virology and Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville, Virginia. Dr. Hayden joined the faculty of the University of Virginia in 1978, became Richardson Professor in 1990, and transitioned to emeritus status in 2015. From 2006-2008, he served as a medical officer in the Global Influenza Programme at the World Health Organization, Geneva and as influenza research coordinator at the Wellcome Trust, London from 2008-2012.

His principal research interests have been on respiratory viral infections with a particular focus on the development and application of antiviral agents for influenza, rhinovirus, and coronavirus infections. He has contributed to the development of seven influenza antivirals and two vaccines approved for clinical use in one or more countries. During the COVID-19 pandemic he collaborated with colleagues in China to conduct the first controlled trials of candidate antivirals in hospitalized patients and has served as a consultant to platform studies (UK CTAP, ACTIV, AGILE), academic groups, and industry regarding the selection of therapeutics for clinical trials. He has published over 450 peer-reviewed papers, chapters, and other articles, and co-edited the textbook Clinical Virology. In 2019, Dr. Hayden received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Influenza Research from International Society for Influenza and Other Respiratory Viral Diseases.

He received an MD from Stanford University School of Medicine in 1973 and completed his clinical training in internal medicine and infectious diseases at Strong Memorial Hospital, University of Rochester, New York.

Contact Us

Cidara Therapeutics, Inc.
6310 Nancy Ridge Drive, Suite 101
San Diego, CA 92121

p: (858) 752-6170
e: info@cidara.com

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