Our Company

Purpose-driven, Expert-led

Our Mission

Thetis is developing TP-317, a first-in-class, proprietary oral drug based on Resolvin E1 (RvE1), an endogenous lipid that promotes tissue and immune homeostasis. Our targets — ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, and cancer — represent significant unmet medical needs.

Our Expertise

Thetis combines pharmaceutical industry leadership with deep expertise in resolution biology to advance the first stable, oral RvE1 therapy into the clinic.

Gary Mathias
Gary Mathias

Gary Mathias

Mr. Mathias co-founded Thetis in 2011 and became CEO in 2016, leading the company's development of TP-317 in IBD and cancer. He previously was Managing Director at Carter Morse & Mathias, senior vice president at GE Equity Capital, Chief Operating Officer of Diabetes Support Systems, and executive vice president of Premier Healthcare, a healthcare private equity firm. Mr. Mathias has a bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard College and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. He completed post-graduate work in economic development as a Fulbright Fellow.

Leadership

Gary Mathias
Co-Founder and CEO

John Parkinson
John Parkinson

John Parkinson, PhD

Prior to joining Thetis in 2021, Dr. Parkinson was the Senior Scientific Director and Head of IBD Drug Discovery at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in his career, Dr. Parkinson led the discovery and development of the Lipoxin analog program at Berlex Laboratories. Dr. Parkinson completed post-doctoral studies in hematology and oncology at the Indiana University School of Medicine and in cardiovascular drug discovery at the Lilly Laboratories for Clinical Research and received a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Bristol, Bristol, U.K.

John Parkinson, PhD
Chief Science Officer

Joyce Steinberg
Joyce Steinberg

Joyce Steinberg, MD, FACP

Dr Steinberg is a Board-Certified Medical Oncologist who has over 22 years of biopharma industry experience in drug development. Prior to joining Thetis Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Steinberg held key medical development roles at Searle, Fujisawa, NeoPharm, Abbott, and Astellas specializing in the development of cancer therapies including small molecules and biologics. She has experience in designing, overseeing, and conducting global clinical trials and representing development positions at global regulatory agencies. Dr. Steinberg holds an MD from the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University. Her medical oncology fellowship was done at the University of Toronto.

Joyce Steinberg, MD, FACP
Chief Medical Officer

Beverly Paperiello
Beverly Paperiello

Beverly Paperiello

Ms. Paperiello is a biopharmaceutical executive with over 25 years of experience in the management of clinical development programs and related departments, with responsibility for global clinical research, for large and small molecules and gene therapy, spanning from early stage to late stage development. Her experience includes numerous global development programs and regulatory filings, with portfolio management in excess of ~$1 billion. Ms. Paperiello previously was Senior Vice President, Biopharmaceutical Product Development at Akebia Therapeutics, Head of Clinical Science Oncology at Astellas, Director of Clinical Program Management at Abbott Laboratories, and Manager of Clinical Research at D. Searle/Pharmacia/Pfizer.

Beverly Paperiello
SVP, Development Operations

Tracy Jennings
Tracy Jennings

Tracy Jennings

Ms. Jennings joined Thetis in 2023 as Senior Director of Clinical Operations with over 20 years of experience in all phases of clinical trials. She has led high-impact studies involving both large and small molecules, as well as gene therapies. Ms. Jennings excels in managing complex clinical programs, navigating the intricacies of global regulatory environments, and driving operational excellence. She previously held clinical operations roles at Intellia Therapeutics and Johnson & Johnson Regenerative Medicine and at several small biotech companies.

Tracy Jennings
Senior Dir., Clinical Operations

Gerald Nabozny
Gerald Nabozny

Gerald Nabozny, PhD

Dr. Nabozny is an immunologist and inflammation biologist with close to 30 years of experience in pharmaceutical R&D. Prior to joining Thetis, he was a Highly Distinguished Research Fellow in the Department of Immunology and Respiratory Diseases Research at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals. As a member of the department's executive leadership team, Dr. Nabozny played a central role in the discovery, development and approval of Skyrizi and Spevigo, and served as research lead for the clinical development of Skyrizi across psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease. He established and led a group focused on disease positioning and early biomarker discovery, developing target engagement, pharmacodynamic and disease-associated biomarker strategies for transfer into clinical trials. He completed a Research Fellowship in the Department of Immunology at the Mayo Clinic and Medical School and holds a Ph.D. in immunology.

Gerald Nabozny, PhD
Director, Translational Science

David C. Jordan, PhD
David C. Jordan, PhD

David C. Jordan, PhD

Dr. David Jordan received his MS and PhD in statistics from the University of Kentucky and has 35+ years of experience in the pharma industry with Mead Johnson, Searle, Pharmacia, Pfizer and Abbott. Since retiring from Abbott in 2012 as Divisional VP, Statistics and Data Management, Dr. Jordan has engaged in statistical consulting for the biopharma industry.

David's professional experience includes directing the statistical contributions for dozens of NDAs/BLAs, MAAs, sNDAs/sBLAs for compounds across numerous therapeutic areas. His areas of expertise include biostatistics, clinical trial design and the conduct and evaluation of clinical trials.

Dave Jordan, PhD
Director, Biostatistics

Belinda Hightower
Belinda Hightower

Belinda Hightower, RN, PhD

Dr. Hightower joined Thetis in 2023 with nearly forty years of pharmaceutical industry experience as an expert in clinical quality management. She has held leadership roles in quality management and made significant contributions towards the development and marketing of several drugs and has held positions with Abbott Laboratories (AbbVie), Upjohn and GH Besselaar. Dr. Hightower is a Registered Nurse and holds a dual Doctorate and Masters in International Business from the Keller Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor's of Science degree from DePaul University.

Belinda Hightower, RN, PhD
VP, Clinical Quality Management

Michael Van Zandt
Michael Van Zandt

Michael C. Van Zandt, PhD

Dr. Van Zandt joined Thetis in 2026 after contributing to the TP-317 program for more than a decade. He is a medicinal chemist with more than 30 years of experience in drug discovery and development. From 2012 to 2024 he was President and CEO of New England Discovery Partners, a contract research organization specializing where he led the development of the TP-317 synthetic route. He previously was Assistant Vice President at The Institute for Pharmaceutical Discovery, where he led the discovery of lidorestat, a selective aldose reductase inhibitor for chronic diabetic complications, and began his career as a research scientist at Bayer. He holds a PhD in organic chemistry from Wayne State University and a B.S. in chemistry from Calvin College.

Michael Van Zandt, PhD
VP, Chemistry & Manufacturing

Robert Lipper
Robert Lipper

Robert Lipper, PhD

Dr. Lipper has 30+ years of experience in research and development in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to his present consulting work, Dr. Lipper held international line-management responsibility for Pharmaceutics R&D with Bristol Myers Squibb over a 24 year career. His experience spans the entire R&D pipeline, from compound selection through technology transfer and marketed product support. Dr. Lipper began his industrial career with Pfizer Central Research, Groton, CT, where he was primarily involved with liquid and sterile product development for human and veterinary pharmaceutical products. Dr. Lipper has a PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Michigan and B.S. in Pharmacy from Purdue University.

Robert Lipper, PhD
Senior Advisor, Drug Product

Mario Pennisi
Mario Pennisi

Mario Pennisi, AM

Mr. Pennisi is Resident Director of Thetis Pharma Pty Ltd (TPPL), the Australian subsidiary of Thetis. He has more than 35 years of experience managing and growing commercial operations in the life sciences industry. Mr. Pennisi also serves as Managing Director of Biostate Pty Ltd and previously was Chief Executive Officer of Life Sciences Queensland and of the Queensland Clinical Trials Network. He has also held executive positions at Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology and Mayne Group. Mr. Pennisi is a Member of the Order of Australia and received the 2019 BIO Leadership and Legacy Award in Industrial Biotechnology and Agriculture.

Mario Pennisi, AM
Resident Director, TPPL

Chris Cimarusti
Chris Cimarusti

Chris Cimarusti, PhD

Dr. Christopher Cimarusti made invaluable contributions to our TP-317 program since he began working with Thetis in 2015. As a discovery chemist during the early part of his career at Squibb Corporation, Dr. Cimarusti synthesized the anti-hypertensive nadolol and the antibiotic aztreonam for the first time and designed their commercial processes. As a discovery leader, he co-led the antibiotic effort with Richard Sykes, and their collaboration produced a landmark 1981 Nature paper — "Monocyclic β-lactam antibiotics produced by bacteria" — that introduced aztreonam to the world and coined the term "monobactam" for this new class of antibiotic. Dr. Cimarusti subsequently became Director of Organic Chemistry for the Squibb Institute for Medical Research and was responsible for all biological and chemical process R&D within Squibb Corporation. After the merger with Bristol-Myers, he became Vice President of Process R&D within the Pharmaceutical Research Institute of Bristol-Myers Squibb. He was appointed Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development and led a global staff of 1,200 engaged in the CMC disciplines for small and large molecules. We mourn his passing while celebrating his remarkable contributions to Thetis and a lifetime of leadership in pharmaceutical drug discovery and development.

Chris Cimarusti, PhD
In Memorium (1943-2026)

Board of Managers

Fabio Cataldi
Fabio Cataldi

Fabio Cataldi, MD

Dr. Cataldi joined Thetis as an independent board member in July 2024 and currently serves as chief medical officer (CMO) of Abivax SA. Prior to Abivax, he was CMO at Landos Biopharma through its sale to AbbVie in 2024. He brings deep clinical, medical, and scientific knowledge and expertise in immunology and gastroenterology, having served in senior research and development roles at Arena Pharmaceuticals, AbbVie, Shire, Pfizer, Biogen, and Novartis. He received his medical degree from the Second University V Division of General Surgery in Naples, Italy, and completed post-doctoral research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

Fabio Cataldi, MD
Independent Board Member

David Cook
David Cook

David N. Cook, PhD

Dr. Cook is a veteran biotech executive with more than three decades of leadership in clinical development, scientific strategy, and corporate growth. He currently is the CEO of Edgewood Oncology and has served as CEO or CSO at several companies, including Forma Therapeutics, Seres Therapeutics, Anza Therapeutics, Eligix, and Cerus Corporation. Over the course of his career, he has helped raise more than $1 billion through IPOs, follow-on financings, partnerships, and non-dilutive funding, and played a central role in multiple corporate acquisitions. Dr. Cook has contributed to the development and commercialization of five licensed products. He earned his A.B. in American studies from Harvard University and his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.

David N. Cook, PhD
Independent Board Member

Gary Mathias
Gary Mathias

Gary Mathias

Mr. Mathias co-founded Thetis in 2011 and became CEO in 2016, leading the company's development of TP-317 in IBD and cancer. He previously was Managing Director at Carter Morse & Mathias, senior vice president at GE Equity Capital, Chief Operating Officer of Diabetes Support Systems, and executive vice president of Premier Healthcare, a healthcare private equity firm. Mr. Mathias has a bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard College and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. He completed post-graduate work in economic development as a Fulbright Fellow.

Gary Mathias
Co-Founder and CEO

Walter Ogier
Walter Ogier

Walter Ogier

Mr. Ogier has been an advisor to Thetis since 2012 and joined the board in 2016. He has more than 30 years of experience developing therapeutic medical products ranging from pharmaceuticals to medical devices, stem and immune cell therapies and gene therapies. He has served in multiple CEO roles including Genetix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (now bluebird bio, Inc.) and Acetylon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which Celgene Corporation acquired in 2016. He also was a director of Eledon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ELDN), Biothera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Nemucore Medical Innovations, Inc., and a Board advisor to Kodikaz Therapeutic Solutions, Inc. and ME Therapeutics, Inc. Mr. Ogier earned a Master of Business Administration from Yale School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from Williams College.

Walter Ogier
Independent Board Member

Frank Sciavolino
Frank Sciavolino

Frank C. Sciavolino, PhD

Dr. Sciavolino has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including a distinguished 35 year career at Pfizer Global R&D. At Pfizer, Dr. Sciavolino held various management roles and responsibilities in drug discovery, development, registration and licensing, culminating in a role as Vice President of R&D Operations, in which he oversaw a team of 1,000 scientists in the United States, Europe and Asia. He was the enabling force behind two of Pfizer's most notable franchises, Zithromax and Celebrex. After leading the discovery chemistry team responsible for the initial macrolide antibiotic research, he served as principal investigator leading the Phase I evaluation of 11 compounds in first-in-human (FIH) studies, which led to the identification and development of Zithromax, an antibiotic considered one of the most important new drugs of the 20th century. He also played a major role in the licensing of Celebrex, a COX-2 inhibitor that reached $3 billion in peak annual sales globally.

Dr. Sciavolino has served on numerous editorial boards including Annual Reports in Medicinal Chemistry, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy and the Journal of Antibiotics. Dr. Sciavolino has more than 30 issued patents and has a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Michigan and B.S. in Pharmacy from St. John's University.

Frank C. Sciavolino, PhD
Co-Founder and CSO Emeritus

Dennis Willson
Dennis Willson

Dennis Willson, JD

Mr. Willson has been a board member of Thetis since 2012. He previously was President & CEO of ITF Pharma, Inc. and co-founder and chairman of Hsiri Therapeutics, LLC, a start-up company focused on the development of new antibiotics for drug-resistant infections. Prior to his time at ITF, he was co-founder, President & CEO of Cytokine PharmaSciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on women's health, inflammation and cancer. Mr. Willson spent 19 years in leadership positions at Cytokine, managing the successful development and licensing of several products, including Cervidil, one of the world's leading obstetric products. In October 2011, he led the company in a strategic sale to Ferring S.A.

Before joining Cytokine, Mr. Willson held management, finance and business development positions at Abbott Laboratories, Rorer International, and Carrington Laboratories. Mr. Willson graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in psychology and modern languages and has a law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

Dennis Willson
Independent Board Member

IBD Advisory Board
Silvio Danese, MD, PhD
San Raffaele University and Hospital
Stephen Hanauer, MD
Northwestern Medicine
Jeffrey Hyams, MD
Connecticut Children's Hospital
Joshua Korzenik, MD
Brigham & Women's Hospital
Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet, MD, PhD
Nancy University Hospital
Walter Reinisch, MD
Medical University of Vienna
Bruce Sands, MD
Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai
Bram Verstockt, MD, PhD
University Hospitals Leuven
Cancer Advisory Board
Wayne Klohs, PhD
Former Global Head, Astellas Oncology
Manuel Hidalgo, MD, PhD
NYU Langone / Perlmutter Cancer Center
Sui Huang, MD, PhD
Institute for Systems Biology
Eileen O'Reilly, MD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
David Parkinson, MD
ESSA Pharma
Erin Schenk, MD
Univ. of Colorado School of Medicine
Mario Sznol, MD, Emeritus
Yale School of Medicine
Chris Takimoto, MD, PhD, FACP
START Center for Cancer Research

Funding From Leading Philanthropies

Backed by $20M+ from institutions committed to advancing resolution therapy

NIH NIDDK Kenneth Rainin Foundation Helmsley Charitable Trust Crohns and Colitis Foundation National Cancer Institute
Connecticut Innovations Stonehenge Growth Capital
Helmsley Charitable Trust
Kenneth Rainin Foundation Crohns and Colitis Foundation
NIH NIDDK National Cancer Institute
Connecticut Innovations Stonehenge Growth Capital