Are you working on an innovation you think should be spun out into a startup? What resources are available to help? How can you become involved in the innovation ecosystem in St. Louis?
Join us for “OTM Office Hours”, a program series from the Washington University Office of Technology Management covering the latest topics in tech transfer and innovation.
The OTM Office Hours series is back on March 13th with “Idea to Drug”. The seminar will consist of a panel discussion on drug discovery exploring the translation of idea to clinical drug validation and the roles of scientists from target validation to clinical proof of concept. We will hear from scientists with years of drug hunting experience that will touch on the challenges of biopharma drug discovery from resources to competition.
OTM is pleased to welcome:
Shripad Bhagwat, PhD
As a drug discovery expert, Shripad Bhagwat brings 38 years of successful experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, most recently as the Chief Scientific Officer at AltiBio Inc., overseeing the discovery and preclinical development programs focused on genetic diseases.
Between 2013-2021, Shripad was the Vice President of Drug Discovery at BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., managing the small molecule and oligonucleotide discovery programs resulting in the identification of four clinical candidates. From 2010-2012, Shripad was the Chief Scientific Officer at Zacharon Pharmaceuticals where he managed the scientific strategy and drug discovery programs and facilitated its acquisition by BioMarin.
Prior to joining Zacharon, Shripad served as the Senior Vice President of Drug Discovery and Preclinical Development at Ambit Biosciences, where he built and led all of drug discovery research as well as IND-enabling activities including CMC, toxicology, and IND-filing. Under his leadership, Ambit’s drug discovery group identified four clinical candidates in as many years with the most advanced compound, Quizartinib (AC220, Vanflyta), currently approved in the US and Japan for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia.
From 1998-2004, Shripad was Vice President of Drug Discovery at Signal Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Celgene) where he was responsible for managing the screening, medicinal chemistry, structure-based drug design, PK/ADME, and in vivo pharmacology activities. While at Signal, he supervised multiple drug discovery programs in cancer and inflammation with a focus on kinases and helped identify six drug candidates, two of which advanced to clinical development.
From 1994-1998, Shripad served as Senior Group Leader, Neuroscience Research at Abbott Laboratories, where he managed medicinal chemistry, combinatorial chemistry, and structure-based drug design activities. Beginning in 1985, Shripad contributed to the cardiovascular drug discovery research at Ciba-Geigy Corporation, where his work led to the identification of three candidates for clinical development.
Shripad’s work has contributed to the publication of over 70 peer-reviewed papers and over 60 issued or pending patents.
Shripad’s depth and breadth of experience in drug discovery programs from early-stage research through preclinical development will be critical for managing the discovery and development programs for the Needleman Program for Innovation and Commercialization (NPIC) at the Washington University School of Medicine.
Juliane Bubeck Wardenburg, MD, PhD
Dr. Juliane Bubeck Wardenburg is the Donald B. Strominger Professor and Executive Vice Chair of Pediatrics and Chief of Pediatric Critical Care at Washington University. She received her M.D. and Ph.D. degrees in Immunology from Washington University, subsequently pursuing clinical training in General Pediatrics and Pediatric Critical Care at the University of Chicago.
Her laboratory has made seminal contributions to understanding the molecular pathogenesis of S. aureus infection, shaping the approach toward vaccine development within the field. As the founder of Forward Defense, LLC, she is currently advancing a novel S. aureus vaccine designed for infants and children.
She is the recipient of the Society for Pediatric Research Young Investigator Award and the University of Chicago Distinguished Investigator Award. In 2012, she was named a Burroughs Welcome Investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Diseases. She has been elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the American Academy of Physicians, and was selected as a recipient of the Harrington Scholar-Innovator Award in 2024.
Aaron DiAntonio, MD, PhD
Dr. Aaron DiAntonio grew up in St. Louis, attended Clayton High School, and received his undergraduate degree summa cum laude in Biochemistry from Harvard College. His graduate work included a Master’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge, MD and PhD degrees from Stanford University, and postdoctoral studies at the University of California at Berkeley.
In 1999, Aaron returned to St. Louis to take a faculty position in the Department of Developmental Biology at the Washington University School of Medicine. In 2014, Aaron received an endowed chair as the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professor of Developmental Biology. His laboratory investigates how axons, which connect neurons to their targets, degenerate following injury or disease.
In collaboration with his close colleague Dr. Jeff Milbrandt, Aaron, Jeff, and their teams identified the molecule SARM1 as the central driver of pathological axon loss and demonstrated that inhibition of SARM1 was profoundly beneficial in many diverse models of neurodegenerative disease. Most importantly, they discovered both how SARM1 causes axon loss and how to develop drugs that inhibit SARM1 in order to maintain axons in the diseased nervous system.
This fundamental insight was the impetus for Aaron and Jeff to co-found Disarm Therapeutics with Atlas Ventures in 2017 in order to develop drugs to inhibit SARM1. In 2020, Disarm Therapeutics was acquired by Eli Lilly, who have taken SARM1 inhibitors into clinical trials for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.
Dr. DiAntonio holds a Javits Neuroscience Award from the NIH, is a fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science, and a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors.
Ron Dolle, PhD
Roland E. “Ron” Dolle, PhD, is Director of the Center for Drug Discovery (CDD) and Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at the Washington University School of Medicine. CDD is the university’s premier preclinical research enterprise with a single focus on translating basic research in disease biology to breakthrough therapeutics for patients in need of new medicines. Dr. Dolle is responsible for administrative oversight and operations of CDD, drug development consulting and project management, and therapeutic pipeline development. CDD currently manages over 30 active collaborations with WashU investigators in drug finding (High Throughput Screening) and drug optimization (medicinal chemistry and pharmacokinetics).
Prior to his academic appointment, Dr. Dolle spent three decades in the pharmaceutical industry as a medicinal chemist, research director, project manager, and executive. He advanced 18 molecules from discovery into IND-enabling studies, clinical evaluation, and developed Entereg®. His expertise in drug hunting spans the therapeutic areas of infectious disease, inflammation, gastrointestinal disorders, and CNS conditions (pain, affective, neurology).
Dr. Dolle earned his PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania. He has authored more than 150 scientific publications and is an inventor on 81 issued U.S. patents. A recent publication: Experiences in Academic and Industry Partnerships – Forging a Path to Translational Drug Discovery. Dolle, R. E. In Burger’s Medicinal Chemistry, Drug Discovery and Development, 8th Edition; D. J. and Myers M., Eds.; John Wiley: New York, U.S.A.; 2021, Vol 3, Chapter 2.
Jeffrey Milbrandt, MD, PhD
Jeffrey Milbrandt, MD, PhD, is the James S. McDonnell Professor and Executive Director of the McDonnell Genome Institute, Co-Director of the Needleman Center for Neurometabolism and Axonal Therapeutics, and a Professor of Pathology & Immunology, Medicine, and Neurology.
Major discoveries from his lab include the identification and characterization of the GDNF neurotrophic factor family, establishing the molecular link between metabolism and axon health, and discovering that SARM1, the executioner of damaged axons, is an enzyme that breaks down NAD and is a promising drug target for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.Jeff is the co-founder of Pierian DX and Disarm Therapeutics. He has published nearly 300 papers and holds more than 30 U.S. patents, along with multiple foreign patents that have been licensed to more than 10 companies. He has served on multiple scientific advisory boards and has won numerous awards throughout his career.
