Rapidly developing disruptive treatments for today’s most challenging diseases

Dr. Bruce Halpryn co-founded Eikonoklastes in 2019 and has served as Chairman of our Board of Directors, President, and Chief Executive Officer since 2019. Dr. Halpryn has more than 30 years of experience in the industry with involvement in the formation and the leadership of four early stage biotechnology companies as well as global biopharmaceutical companies. Prior to Eikonoklastes, Bruce co-founded Myonexus Therapeutics (acquired by Sarepta in 2018), and served as Chief Operating Officer and as a member of its Board of Directors. Dr. Halpryn has extensive experience in designing and leading biologics and small molecule drug development programs and companies across a broad range of therapeutic areas.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Halpryn led the Congestive Heart Failure Research Lab at Norwich Eaton Pharmaceuticals before its acquisition by the Proctor & Gamble Company and subsequently renamed P&G Pharmaceuticals. He then led drug discovery, development, and commercialization efforts for P&G Pharmaceuticals, playing a key role in the strategic design and program leadership of numerous successful approvals.

Bruce is a cardiovascular physiologist by education and conducted his post-doctoral fellowship as a National Research Council Fellow at NASA/Ames Research Center. He holds a Ph.D. in Biology/Physiology from SUNY Binghamton.

Dr. Samuel Lee co-founded Eikonoklastes in 2019 and has served as a member of our Board of Directors and Chief Business Officer since 2019. Dr. Lee brings a multidisciplinary convergence of experiences in the life sciences, physical sciences, and computer sciences to successfully develop breakthroughs in healthcare. Prior to Eikonoklastes, Sam was a Director at CincyTech, a venture capital firm, where he led investments and actively supported operations in biotech and medical device portfolio companies such as Myonexus (acquired by Sarepta), Standard Bariatrics (acquired by Teleflex), and Blue Water Vaccines (NASDAQ: BWV).

Dr. Lee completed his medical training at the University of Cincinnati, formal business and public health education at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Johns Hopkins, and post-graduate research fellowship at Northwestern University and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Lee also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Invirsa and is an Executive-in-Residence at CincyTech.

Dr. Paulo Fontes is a transplant surgeon, scientist, and entrepreneur with 30+ years of experience in both cell and organ transplantation and transplant immunology. Dr. Fontes has extensive experience in designing and executing preclinical and early/late-stage clinical trials, including regulatory submissions in both the US and EU. Prior to Eikonoklastes, Paulo was the co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of LyGenesis, a clinical-stage cell therapy company transforming a patient’s lymph nodes into bioreactors capable of growing functioning ectopic organs. He was also a co-investigator of the pioneering clinical trials for islet transplantation, bone marrow transplantation, xenografts and LAK cell therapy at the University of Pittsburgh.

Dr. Fontes has also had a decorated career as a faculty member in senior healthcare leadership positions, including serving as Professor of Surgery at the U Pitt, Starzl Transplantation Institute (STI), Department of Surgery, School of Medicine (SOM), University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC); the Director of the South & America Divisions, UPMC International; Director of UPMC’s Liver Transplant Program, Starzl Transplant Institute, where he led the program to generate >$1B in clinical revenues, while conducting more than 1,500 liver transplants and personally providing for more than 10,000 patients. Paulo was also the co-founder and Medical Director, Organ Referral Center, UPMC which became one of the largest organ referral enterprises in the country and was Deputy Director, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine (MIRM), SOM, U Pitt.

Dr. Fontes was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he graduated from Sao Paulo State University, School of Medicine. He underwent 10 years of post-graduate education, including 3 fellowships after the completion of his residency in general surgery. He is certified by the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Fontes has contributed to over 250 scientific publications (115 peer-review papers, 10 book chapters, and 126 published abstracts) and 7 patents. He was directly involved in the training of more than 90 transplant surgeons and has continued to teach and mentor medical students at the SOM, U Pitt, in addition to bioengineer students at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. Dr. Fontes has continuously supported and guided young entrepreneurs through his associations and ongoing interactions with MassBio, MA; NYBio, NY; LifeX, Pittsburgh, PA, XLerateHealth, Louisville, KY; Texas Medical Center Innovation Institute, Houston, TX, University of Colorado Anschutz, Aurora, CO and WVU, Morgantown, WV.

Dr. Vishal Agrawal joined Eikonoklastes in 2022 as our Vice President of CMC and Process Development. Prior to joining Eikonoklastes, Vishal worked at a number of successful private and publicly-traded biotech companies with increasing responsibility in both antibody and gene therapy manufacturing. Dr. Agrawal completed his Bachelors and Masters in Biochemical Engineering at The Indian Institutes of Technology Delhi and his PhD in Cell Biology at Max-Delbruck Centre.