H3 Biomedicine is a leading company in cancer genomics based drug discovery, delivering on the promise of precision medicine. The company was launched in 2011 with an unprecedented $200 million funding commitment from Eisai plus additional funding for clinical programs. As a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, we uniquely leverage our distinct insights from cancer genomics and real-life patient data to advance our projects to clinical proof of concept and beyond. H3 embraces a novel business model in which it collaborates with Eisai, a leading global pharmaceutical company to create a prolific drug discovery engine and partnership platform.
About Us
Who we are
Leadership
Markus Warmuth, M.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Markus Warmuth became President and Chief Executive Officer of H3 Biomedicine in 2011 and is responsible for the overall scientific and business direction of the company. Prior to joining H3, Markus was Head of Oncology Drug Discovery for the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research (NIBR), Cambridge (U.S.) Site where he led a significant portion of NIBR’s global oncology drug discovery portfolio. From 2002 to April 2008, he served as Director of Kinase Biology, Head of the Oncology Pharmacology Program and as a member of the Research and Drug Discovery Steering Committee for the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF), San Diego.
Markus received his doctorate in medicine from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Germany, where he trained in Internal medicine and oncology.
Yutaka Ishizaka, J.D.
Chief Operating Officer
Yutaka “Ish” Ishizaka serves as H3 Biomedicine’s Chief Operating Officer and provides leadership in all aspects of the company’s business, including legal, finance, business development, communications and operations. Previously, Ish was Vice President of Eisai Inc.’s largest US-based R&D site in Andover, MA and led business planning, operations and legal affairs. During his tenure, he guided the Andover group’s growth from a mid-sized research laboratory of 50 employees to its peak level of engagement of approximately 300 employees, and also led the development of a new $65 million research facility.
Ish received his J.D. from Columbia University Law School and is a member of the New York and Massachusetts Bar Associations. He earned a B.A. from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.
Peter Smith, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Peter Smith joined H3 Biomedicine in 2011 as the Director of Target Biology and has since become Vice President, Drug Discovery Biology. Within this capacity, he leads a multidisciplinary team of scientists towards the identification and early development of novel small molecule oncology therapeutics. Under his leadership, the team has delivered 3 development candidates that are now in Phase I clinical trials.
Peter came to H3 Biomedicine from Millennium Pharmaceuticals/Takeda Oncology in Cambridge, MA where he held positions of increasing scientific and management responsibility in the oncology discovery group. His work spanned projects from discovery to early clinical development for multiple novel target classes and indications.
Prior to Millennium, Peter served as a post-doctoral researcher at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School; at the Molecular Medicine Unit, St James’s University Hospital, University of Leeds, U.K.; and at the Cancer Research Unit, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K. Peter earned a Ph.D. from the Cancer Research Unit at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K. and a B.S. in pharmacology from the University of Sheffield, U.K.
Edward Garmey, M.D.
Acting Chief Medical Officer
Edward Garmey, M.D. is an oncology drug development consultant affiliated with Alacrita Consulting, LLC. (London, U.K.) and based in Cambridge, MA. Dr. Garmey was formerly Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President at Cerulean Pharma, Inc., a clinical-stage oncology company. Under his tenure at Cerulean, the company completed a successful IPO NASDAQ:CERU) in April, 2014, and its clinical group, while increasing in size from one to 12 employees including three oncologist M.D.s, launched eight clinical trials and brought its second experimental drug into the clinic. Dr. Garmey also served as Vice President for Clinical Development at ArQule, Inc. (2008–2011), a cancer-focused biotechnology company where he developed and oversaw multiple international clinical trials of its lead product, ARQ 197 (tivantinib). A pediatric hematologist-oncologist by training, Dr. Garmey is a graduate of Harvard and New York Universities and completed his medical training at the Mount Sinai Medical Center (N.Y.); the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles; and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (N.Y.). Dr. Garmey completed additional research fellowships at the National Institutes of Health (1998–99) and Botswana-Harvard Partnership for H.I.V. Research in Gaborone, Botswana (1999–2000) and he is a recipient of young investigators awards from the American Society of Hematology and the American Heart Association. Dr. Garmey has presented at numerous international conferences and is an author on over 50 peer-reviewed abstracts and manuscripts. He resides near Boston, Massachusetts, where he serves as an adjunct instructor at Harvard Medical School’s Therapeutics Graduate Program and additionally as a member of the Board of Overseers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Lihua Yu, Ph.D.
Chief Data Science Officer
Dr. Lihua Yu is H3 Biomedicine’s Chief Data Science Officer. In this role, she is driving the expanded use of data and technology by developing a leading data science, cancer genomics, and information sharing engine. Dr. Yu has spent more than 17 years in computational biology and bioinformatics, and has deep experience in the area of cancer genomics and predictive biomarkers. Her expertise and keen interest in addressing problems — be it a drug target or an operational challenge — with computational means, has enabled her to integrate the bioinformatics discipline into drug discovery and translational science continuums.
Before coming to H3 Biomedicine, Dr. Yu spent 12 years with AstraZeneca’s research and development unit, helping to build and deliver the multinational pharmaceutical company’s oncology bioinformatics capabilities. During her time there, she provided bioinformatics support to key areas of oncology drug discovery programs, including target identification and patient selection initiatives.
Lihua received a B.E. in biomedical engineering and a B.E. in automation from Tsinghua University in Beijing. She earned her master of engineering from Tsinghua University and a Ph.D. from Boston University. Lihua is a two-time recipient of the AstraZeneca Global Scientific and Technical Achievement Award, and is an active member of the American Association for Cancer Research. She is a recipient of PharmaVoice 100, 2015.
Dominic Reynolds, Ph.D.
Chemistry
Dominic Reynolds, Ph.D., joined H3 Biomedicine in 2011 and has held positions of increasing scientific and management responsibility. Currently, as, Executive Director of Chemistry he leads a team of chemists towards identification and development of novel, small molecule oncology therapeutics. For each project, Dominic and his team of chemists establishes mutually agreeable research plans and timelines, coordinates resources across multiple sites and time zones, mediates and resolves conflicts, and collaborates with internal and external leadership to gain support for critical project needs. Under his leadership, Dominic’s team has delivered a pre-clinical candidate in a highly competitive area of oncology by employing a de-novo design strategy. The molecule is currently undergoing GLP toxicity assessment.
Dominic joined H3 from Forma Therapeutics where in addition to Medicinal Chemistry project leadership he was heavily involved in scientific collaborations targeting over 100,000 novel, stereochemically- complex, small molecules according to the principles of Diversity Oriented Synthesis.
Prior to Forma, Dominic worked at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA where he was involved in select oncology research and development projects from lead discovery to candidate delivery for multiple target classes. Dominic also served as a post-doctoral researcher at Glaxo Welcome, UK as well as Harvard University with Professor David Evans; Dominic earned his Ph.D. with Professor Steven Ley, and a B.A. in natural sciences both at the University of Cambridge.
Andrea Gerken, M.B.A.
Business Development
Andrea Gerken leads the Business Development department at H3 Biomedicine, a position she has held since 2012. Under Andrea’s leadership H3 has established an open and collaborative environment which aligns best-in-class scientists and research, with H3’s capabilities and integrates this expertise, insight and resources into novel scientific partnerships. Andreas’s effort has led to the establishment of a host of strategic development partnerships with companies such as Selvita (2013) and Foundation Medicine (2015). Prior to joining H3, Andrea held the position of Manager of Research Operations in Ophthalmology and prior to that as Alliance Manager in the External Drug Discovery group at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR). At NIBR she was responsible for global alliances which delivered multiple clinical candidates to the NIBR pipeline.
Andrea began her career in industry at Triad Therapeutics and GNF (The Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation) as a researcher in drug discovery biology. Andrea received her M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and her B.S. degrees in physics and mathematics from the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina.
Aijalon Pyrtel, M.S.
Human Resources
Aijalon is an accomplished senior Human Resources professional with 15 years of experience within the biopharmaceutical industry in escalating management roles, supporting executives and managers on strategic and tactical HR issues. In her current position at H3 Biomedicine, she is responsible for leading HR business transformations, building organizational capabilities, and helping to shape the company’s performance culture. Prior to joining H3, Aijalon held the position of Human Resources Director, Oncology Translational Medicine unit of Novartis Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, MA. Within this capacity Aijalon provided HR guidance to the Leadership team and Business Partner support to global employee population of 400+ associates; while also disseminating advice and coaching on employee relations issues, salary planning, and retention strategies, and leading the performance management, annual compensation planning & employee development processes for this business division. Aijalon also served in senior HR management position at Merck & Co., Inc.; including Change Manager, HR Operations & Integration, Senior Human Resources Business Partner, Merck Research Laboratories, Human Resources Business Partner, HR Leadership Program, and Compensation Analyst, Merck Manufacturing Division, HR Leadership Program.
Aijalon received a Masters of Labor Relations from the University of Illinois and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Illinois State University.
Business Development
H3 Biomedicine continues to build and grow its preclinical and clinical portfolio. We are actively engaged in partnering and business development with a goal to advance and build its pipeline through continued collaboration with Eisai as well as with additional partners that can strengthen H3’s ability to quickly deliver novel precision cancer therapies to patients.
H3 is creating novel cancer therapies that will have the potential to impact the disease state and quality of life for those patients who are living with cancer. Our scientists are dedicated to designing a group of best-in-class cancer therapeutics with broad therapeutic potential. In order to accomplish this goal, we are actively seeking partners to advance and expand the H3 pipeline.
H3 has created a culture of “open and innovative collaboration,” which brings together the best scientists, groups and companies and harnesses their expertise, insights and resources through novel working relationships and alliances. In the short time since its inception in 2011, H3 has entered into collaborative relationships with:
In February 2015, Foundation Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMI) and H3 Biomedicine Inc. announced a multi-year collaboration for the discovery and development of precision medicines in oncology. The collaboration marries Foundation Medicine’s comprehensive genomic knowledgebase of more than 40,000 genomic profiles, FoundationCORE™, with H3 Biomedicine’s drug discovery engine and computational biology platform. The approach aims to identify potential drug targets based on the unique genomic dependencies of individual cancers, rapidly accelerate clinical development, and lead to the commercialization of new, safe and effective precision medicines for individuals living with cancer.
Read Press Release
H3 Biomedicine and Selvita (PL: SLV), one of the largest drug discovery companies in Eastern Europe, entered into a strategic collaboration (2013) to validate the importance and druggability of several kinase targets in specific genomic contexts, and to generate multiple novel drug candidates against those targets. Working together, the two companies leverage the strengths of both partners in target validation, precision chemistry, cancer genomics and target biology to advance novel therapies through discovery and in to the clinical setting.
Read Press Release
I am H3
At H3, each team member has a unique role to play in the quest to develop new cancer drugs. Yet we also operate in the spirit of collaboration and camaraderie encouraged by the corporate culture. H3 is made up of dedicated and passionate individuals who recognize that our potential as a team is much greater than if any one of us was working alone.
“My name is Dominic. I am a scientist, a husband, and a father. I whistle, I drink tea, and I synthesize molecules that target cancer.Read More »
I am H3.”
As part of the Medicinal Chemistry group at H3 Biomedicine, I oversee the chemistry components of several of our early-stage programs. For me, the opportunity to be a part of H3 is exciting because of the overall scientific approach to cancer drug discovery: start with the actual patient and drive the science from there.
I’ve had more than 10 years of experience in biopharmaceuticals, and it occurs to me that our work in the laboratory is a bit like playing with LEGOs:
- The rational design and synthesis of a molecule (or spaceship if you are using LEGOS) requires both creativity and rigorous planning.
- We only have a limited toolbox with which to tackle the problem - like the different LEGO blocks. Thus, it is essential that we embrace any opportunities to expand that set of reactions.
H3’s concept of building a hypothesis for a cancer therapy based on a defined patient population, and then using that information as the basis for all development, intuitively makes sense to me. More traditional cancer treatment research tended towards the ‘chemo-centric:’ developing chemistry first, and then trying to force the capabilities of that solution into the cancer context. This approach, while sometimes successful, has led to high failure rates in Phase 2 clinical trials due to lack of efficacy. At H3, we rigorously validate a hypothesis for a target first, and use that data to drive pre-clinical activities. We want to work on the right targets in the right context to give the patients – and the treatment options – the best shot for success. This vision really resonates for me: encouraging creative approaches to solving problems while still adhering to the utmost scientific standards.
Unfortunately, you would be hard-pressed to find someone who has not had a personal run-in with cancer. My father died too young after a long battle with acute myeloid leukemia. Despite my professional experience in oncology drug discovery, I was shocked to see the archaic nature of his treatment. “Targeted therapies” were largely a myth, and life expectancies were low because physicians simply did not have many options. At H3 we aim to develop viable, novel therapies for physicians, providing them with treatment options for diseases that are currently ‘undruggable.’
People here at H3 know me for whistling a little and drinking a lot of tea. When I’m not working, I spend time with my family, coaching my daughters’ soccer teams, and playing outside on my bike or skis. Or building a superstructure out of LEGOs.
"My name is Dominic. I am a scientist, a husband, and a father. I whistle, I drink tea, and I synthesize molecules that target cancer. I am H3.”
Medicinal Chemistry
Dominic Reynolds, Ph.D.
“My name is James. I’m a normal guy with heart-pumping hobbies. I keep H3 Biomedicine’s labs well equipped. For me, there is nothing more exciting than being part of this team.Read More »
I am H3.”
All in all, I’m a pretty normal guy—I wake up, I come to work and do my best to make sure the people around me have what they need. My hobbies, on the other hand, like rock climbing and motorcycle riding, tend to take me out of my comfort zone – they are heart pumping!
Here at H3 Biomedicine, my role is concerned with the day-to-day, non-scientific operations such as purchasing, accounts payable reconciliation, maintenance, laboratory services, and shipping & receiving.
My favorite part of H3? Our collaborative and open culture. It’s an environment where people help one another and share. There is always a positive and energetic buzz in the air that makes coming to work a thrill.
In some ways, H3 almost feels like school all over again. I come to work and have the opportunity to spend time learning with people I like to be around. But its not all fun and games. We are both intensely professional and highly supportive of each other. I attribute this to the combination of people that we hire and the culture that our leadership team fosters.
It’s extremely rewarding for me to work at a company like H3 Biomedicine where we are actively trying to develop better drugs for people who have cancer. My mother died from cancer when I was young, and I realize that far too many people know what it’s like to lose someone to cancer – too soon. Hopefully the research being conducted here at H3 can help ensure that, in the near future, someone’s mother can live to see them become an adult.
Planning & Operations
James Lloyd
“I am Lihua. I am a computational biologist and an engineer and a mother. I am mathematical, analytical and artistic. I seek patterns that present visually whether in genomics sequencing at work or origami at home with my daughter.Read More »
I am H3.”
I’m a computational biologist with additional formal training in biomedical and electrical engineering. With my profession, it’s intriguing to work at a company like H3 Biomedicine, where cancer genomics is at the core of what we do and computational biology and bioinformatics are integral to the whole drug discovery process.
My work augments the efforts of our scientists in the labs. I spend much of my time examining the vast quantities of data, including data from thousands of cancer genomes already characterized in public projects such as The Cancer Genome Atlas and the International Cancer Genome Consortium, as well as genomic data from preclinical models such as cancer cell lines, mouse models and actual cancer patient samples in our own labs. This work serves to catalog genomic changes in many cancer samples with the hope to identify changes that can be targeted by specific drugs, establish systematically the validity of patient selection biomarkers and ultimately boost confidence in targets for potential novel drug therapies.
I use computational tools to detect patterns; I also like to present data visually to help others comprehend large and complex data sets and draw their own conclusions. For instance, I can compute the relationship between a drug’s sensitivity across a large panel of cancer cell lines and a gene’s mRNA expression levels in those same cell lines and present it as a single number. Or I can plot all data points to allow visual inspection of actual data. These two approaches are complementary to each other. Cancer is incredibly complex, so we must approach it from many angles and with many different tools – including deep sequencing and bioinformatics.
When I’m not at H3, I still find myself drawn to visuals, and I really enjoy activities that are focused more on my artistic side and less about numbers. I cook, I garden, and I work on crafts – like origami – with my daughter. It’s important to balance the different activities of our brains and the different activities in our lives.
Bioinformatics
Lihua Yu
“I am Morgan. I practice yoga. I work on balancing work and family. I am calm and ready. And I tried to cure cancer today.Read More »
I am H3.”
I work in the Discovery Chemistry group at H3 Biomedicine, where we are developing libraries of small molecules. Our team works on designing novel chemical matter and optimizing to subsequent reactions. The compounds generated can then be screened against a variety of biological targets. We utilize cheminformatics tools to ensure the final products are novel and have drug-like properties.
I was eager to join this company because H3’s vision of personalized medicine resonates strongly with me. H3 understands the equilibrium required in oncology discovery between the patient and the science. And I’ve found that many aspects of my life come down to the fundamentals of balance.
Making sure I have a work/life balance is an active, evolving process. Experiments don’t always run on a convenient or predictable schedule; nor do family needs, for that matter. I enjoy my work; the science is challenging and engaging, and no matter how frustrating it can be, when I get home after my workday I can say, ‘I tried curing cancer today.’
Working as many hours as it takes for the goal of improving the quality and length of people’s lives goes hand-in-hand with needing time outside of work to spend with my family, particularly those who have extended their lives due in part to today’s medicines. Whether we’re in Maine where my husband and I grew up, drinking coffee on the back deck, or gathering around my parents' giant dining room table for Saturday night dinners, I work to make this time a priority, as well.
I believe that our work at H3 will change the way we treat cancer patients, looking at the patient first, not just the disease. I believe cancer will NOT be cured by one drug. Each cancer is so fundamentally different and complex that we need to address each patient’s cancer as a separate disease, not a variation of the same condition. This concept is becoming more and more evident as our understanding of cancer genomics increases.
Working at H3 has also given me a new appreciation for the required equilibrium between inspiration and action. Ideas are powerful and sometimes amazing, but if you do not have a strong and dedicated group to execute them, then they are just words.
Our team is focused on the science – on answering key scientific questions, validating the underlying fundamentals. We are driven by the HOW and the WHY. H3 is made up of a strong group of scientists who understand that our work is about much more than individual milestones. Our focus has to be the team goals, because we can’t figure out these complex problems in isolation.
I believe that, with this team at H3, our vision of cancer treatment has the best chance of succeeding because we have the right mentality to put actual accomplishments behind our concept of personalized treatment.
Discovery Chemistry
Morgan Welzel O’Shea
“I am a scientist, a medical doctor and a CEO. I captain the H3 team to persevere through the ups and downs of drug discovery.Read More »
I am H3.”
I’ve spent over 15 years on work related to cancer treatments and drug development, and in that time it has occurred to me that drug discovery can be very similar to team bicycle racing. Both require endurance, perseverance, balance, the ability to overcome dramatic obstacles, and trust in your colleagues. There are days when slogging through the process may appear tedious to outsiders, but fighting through the pain and frustration is necessary to make true progress. And while the team captain drives the overall process, he knows that the heart of the matter is the teamwork that makes the journey successful.
As the President and CEO of H3 Biomedicine, I am ultimately responsible for our mission to generate novel small-molecule drugs for some of the most difficult-to-treat cancer types. It is my responsibility to lead my team, steering the sophisticated, technical tactics my colleagues ply day after day to achieve our end result: innovative treatments for cancer, and hope for patients who need better options.
As our understanding of cancer drivers evolves, it brings with it both challenges and answers. There are countless unmet medical needs, and our industry has just barely begun to leverage the potential of genomic insights. At H3, our vision of cancer research and drug development is based on teamwork, collaboration and world-class science.
With our outstanding collaborators and team of employees, H3 has built a broad foundation of expertise practically unparalleled in our industry. Our scientists and technicians are successfully applying bioinformatics, tumor biology, and discovery and medicinal chemistry to accelerate our drug discovery process. We leverage insights into the genomic characteristics of cancer to advance our efforts in many directions, from deciphering drivers of cancer to understanding misregulated splicing, to the identification of unique cancer antigens that aid immuno-oncology approaches.
Our collaborative approach has translated these findings into a fast-moving, genomic-based drug discovery engine; we have identified a lead candidate and commenced IND-enabling studies in less than two years—a remarkable timeframe for a novel drug target.
As a CEO, I am proud of our unique collaborative culture and the ability to work in state-of-the-art laboratories and offices. Being able to conduct scientific research in our top-notch facilities in the heart of the Cambridge, Massachusetts biotech area not only puts us into close proximity to our two scientific founders, it also enables us to attract top scientific talent to join our mission and to bring additional jobs to this region.
Today we are at one of the most exciting moments in cancer research and drug discovery at one of the most exciting young biopharmaceutical companies conducting research in this space. It is my job to keep the team moving, and to make sure we never lose sight of the humanity that underscores our progress: the challenge of cancer, and the patients we are ultimately fighting for. This goal is symbolized by our name, H3: HUMAN, HEALTH & HOPE.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Markus Warmuth
“I am Rachel: A scientist who believes in the power of hope. Hope champions our work, and propels us to solve incredibly complex problems. Fluorescent microscopy helps me drive drug discovery, bringing hope to those affected by cancer.Read More »
I am H3.”
As a cell biologist on H3 Biomedicine’s Target Biology team, I work in the lab growing, treating and analyzing cells and their associated oncogenic proteins. In particular, I investigate protein-protein interaction using fluorescent microscopy. These experiments produce mesmerizing images, with bright red spots resulting from the interaction of proteins in close proximity superimposed over blue-stained cell nuclei, all on a black background reminiscent of outer space. While this elegant tool certainly paints a pretty picture, it also gives us an extraordinary foundation for understanding the complexities—and possibilities—of genomics-based cancer biology.
Growing up in Hawaii as the youngest of five children, my family has always been one of the most important parts of my life. Understandably, my early research interests shifted considerably when my mother was diagnosed with transitional cell carcinoma. Standard treatments—radiation and chemotherapy—were able to extend her life. That time was absolutely priceless to our family. Ultimately, however, these treatments could not cure her. Since then, I’ve dedicated my scientific career to understanding cancer biology and helping develop novel therapeutics that can address disease on a fundamental level, in the hopes for further extending life, particularly for those whose cancers have limited treatment options.
H3 Biomedicine appealed to me because of the company’s focus on exploiting cancer genomics—understanding the biology and genetics of tumors—as a means to understand disease and develop treatments. Our industry has seen that the seemingly same type of cancer does not react uniformly to the same treatment. H3’s vision for treating cancer involves addressing it in the context of each patient: one size does not fit all, or even most! Assessing patients for the specifics of their disease requires investigation of the genotypes and the critical molecules involved, not only in the patients’ normal tissue but also in the tumors themselves.
Working at H3 has proved to be a manifestation of all the elements I had hoped to find in my work; these are my kind of people, and my kind of science. The team members at H3 are collaborative by nature, with group-based approaches to solving the complexities inherent in decoding the genomic bases of cancers. We are intensely focused on learning about cancer targets in-depth, understanding fully their key biological and genetic components.
When I was taking care of my mom, hope was a significant part of coping with her diagnosis. Unfortunately, many of my colleagues have also lost family members to cancer. Personalizing that experience is a powerful driver of discovery and it makes the science less academic. H3’s name – human, health, hope – is more than a tagline. It is our mantra. Using a powerful combination of hope and experimental rigor, we transform science into medicine.
Target Biology
Rachel Darman
In the Community
At H3 Biomedicine, we are fortunate to be part of an extraordinary community that universally incorporates the ethic of giving back. It’s not just a philosophy in words, but all of us at H3 feel compelled to actively participate and support by donating our time and resources. As part of its commitment to social responsibility, H3 stresses the importance of community support by making contributions in a variety of ways. H3’s commitment to supporting community service provides its employees with a unique opportunity to give back to the community where they work. H3 makes a difference through its support of local in and around Greater Boston. Supporting programs like the Pan Mass Challenge, Making Strides, and Light the Night.
