Management Team

Nick Leschly

Interim President

 

Nick Leschly joined Third Rock Ventures in 2007 and plays an integral role in the overall formation, development and business strategy of its therapeutic portfolio companies as well as identifying and evaluating new investments.  He also assumes active leadership roles in Third Rock's portfolio companies, functioning as interim COO/CBO through the first 12-18 months post launch. Nick has extensive business experience with proven leadership and operational skills having led successful development and operations across a variety of emerging and established biotech companies. Prior to joining Third Rock, Nick served as the product and alliance leader for Millennium Pharmaceuticals VELCADE™, managing a $100M+ global development plan. Nick also founded and served as CEO of MedXtend Corporation. Nick holds a BS in Molecular Biology from Princeton University and an MBA from Wharton Business School. Nick is the Founder and Chairman of The CAVU Foundation. He serves on the Board of Edimer Pharmaceuticals and was former interim Chief Business Officer of Agios Pharmaceuticals.

 

Mitchell H. Finer, Ph.D.

Chief Scientific Officer

 

Mitchell Finer joined Genetix in March 2010 as Chief Scientific Officer. Prior to Genetix, Mitch served as Senior Vice President of Development and Operations for Novocell, a stem cell engineering company researching treatment for diabetes and other chronic diseases. He has spent the past two decades building and managing biotechnology companies from discovery through market launch, in addition to pioneering the development of human monoclonal antibodies, cell and gene therapies. Dr. Finer has previously served as CEO of Intracel Holdings LLC and Genteric Inc, and as Vice President of Research and Development for the Gencell Division of Aventis Pharma (now Sanofi Aventis). He was also a founder and Vice President of Research for Cell Genesys Inc, and a founder of Abgenix and Avalanche Biotechnologies. He is currently a Director of both Intracel Holdings LLC and Advantagene Inc. Dr. Finer received a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Harvard University. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.

 

Philip Reilly, M.D.,J.D.

Interim Chief Medical Officer

 

Phil Reilly joined Third Rock Ventures in 2009, and supports the firm’s founding and advancement of new ventures, with a particular focus on seeking to nurture and grow transformational companies dedicated to breakthrough treatments for genetic disorders. Phil is an accomplished entrepreneur, and has a long standing interest in genetic testing and in developing new therapies for genetic diseases. Phil holds an MD from Yale University, a JD from Columbia University and is a member of the Massachusetts Bar and board certified in internal medicine and clinical genetics. He is currently a trustee of Cornell University. Phil has also served twice (2000 & 2003) as President of the American Society of Law, Medicine, and Ethics. He also served on the Board of Directors of the American Society for Human Genetics. Phil has also held numerous teaching positions at Tufts University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Cornell University and adjunct professor of both legal studies and biology at Brandeis University. Phil serves on the Board of Edimer Pharmceuticals.

 

Anup Arora

Interim Chief Business Officer

 

Anup joined Genetix Pharmaceuticals in 2009 as Chief Business Officer. He is also a Principal at Easton Capital, where he has sourced, evaluated, executed and actively managed venture capital investments since 2006. Previously, he worked in global marketing at Pfizer, where he set clinical and marketing strategy for Celebrex and other products in the arthritis and pain area. Prior to joining Pfizer, Anup was a Senior Consultant with Strategic Decisions Group, where he led engagements with life sciences companies in business development, R&D, marketing, and lifecycle management. Anup has also worked at Highland Capital Partners in healthcare investing and at Morgan Stanley in investment banking, and spent two years engaged in biomedical research at Stanford Medical School. Anup holds an MBA with High Distinction (Baker Scholar) from Harvard Business School and dual bachelor's degrees in Biology and Psychology from Stanford University.

 

Yves Beuzard, M.D.

Co-general of Genetix France, Hospital Saint Louis, Paris and INSERM