FOUNDER & CHAIRMAN
Dr. David J. Bearss is a pioneering entrepreneur and drug development leader with more than two decades of experience translating breakthrough science into innovative medicines. An industry recognized expert in small-molecule drug discovery and genetic model systems, Dr. Bearss has built a career at the intersection of discovery biology, translational research, and precision medicine. His work has been particularly influential in leveraging genetic markers to predict drug sensitivity and guide clinical development strategies.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Bearss has discovered or co-discovered 18 therapeutic compounds that have received IND acceptance and advanced into clinical development, several of which address areas of high unmet medical need. He is also a serial entrepreneur, having founded eight biotechnology companies spanning oncology, inflammation, neurodegeneration, and metabolic disease.
Dr. Bearss currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Halia Therapeutics, a role he has held since March 2022, after serving as the company’s Chief Scientific Officer from January 2021. He is also a co-founder of Biolexis Therapeutics, established in November 2021, where he continues to guide the development of novel therapies for metabolic and inflammatory diseases. Previously, Dr. Bearss served as Chief Executive Officer of Tolero Pharmaceuticals and as Chief Scientific Officer of Montigen Pharmaceuticals and SuperGen Inc., where he oversaw early-stage discovery through clinical advancement.
In academia, Dr. Bearss was the Founding Co-Director of the Center for Investigational Therapeutics at the Huntsman Cancer Institute and has held faculty appointments as an Associate Professor in the Department of Oncological Sciences at the University of Utah and in Physiology and Developmental Biology at Brigham Young University. He earned his Ph.D. in Cellular Biology from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
David Bearss
PhD
FOUNDER & ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Hari co-founded Biolexis Therapeutics, Inc., where he serves as Chief Scientific Officer, overseeing the company’s R&D strategy across metabolic, cardiometabolic, oncology, and CNS therapeutic domains. In partnership with Dr. David J. Bearss, he co-developed the proprietary MolecuLern technology platform, which underpins Biolexis’s mission to discover and develop next-generation oral small-molecule therapeutics.
Before founding Biolexis, Hari co-founded and led scientific functions at multiple biopharmaceutical ventures, advancing nine drug candidates into Phase I/II clinical evaluation. With more than two decades of experience spanning academia and industry, his career is defined by translational innovation and collaborative discovery. Hari also serves as a scientific advisor and review board member for pharmaceutical organizations and academic institutions.
He earned his M.Pharm in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Karnataka and his PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from the Institute of Chemical Technology (formerly UDCT), University of Bombay, followed by postdoctoral research at the University of Sunderland, UK, and the University of Arizona Cancer Center under Professor Laurence H. Hurley. He has authored over 100 scientific publications and presentations and is an inventor on numerous issued and pending U.S. and international patents.
Hariprasad Vankayalapati
PhD, MPharm
EXECUTIVE & BOARD MEMBER
Jerry Henley is the current CEO of Azunic, bringing more than 30 years of leadership experience across pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, private equity, venture capital, healthcare innovation, and higher education. He began his career in pharma “carrying the bag,” building a strong operational foundation before spending 17 years at Amgen Biotech, where he served as a Corporate Account Manager and worked extensively in government contracting.
Jerry also brings 10 years of experience in private equity and venture capital, having worked with Sorenson Capital, a firm managing over $2 billion in assets under management, where he focused on growth strategy, operational scaling, and value creation across portfolio companies.
His leadership experience spans both the private and public sectors and includes roles as Managing Director at The Connor Group and the Utah Innovation Fund (Nucleus), Chief Revenue Officer for Tula Health, and Associate Vice President at Utah Valley University, supporting innovation, partnerships, and institutional growth.
Beyond his professional career, Jerry is a lifelong endurance athlete. He ran professionally for a shoe company into his late 40s, continuing to post sub-2:25 marathon times—an achievement reflecting discipline, resilience, and sustained excellence.
Jerry Henley
Chief Executive Officer
EXECUTIVE
Marc Probst served for 17 years as the Chief Information Officer and Vice President at Intermountain Healthcare.
Marc has been involved with Information Technology and Healthcare services for over 35 years. Prior to Intermountain, Marc was a Partner with two large professional service organizations. Marc has significant interest in the use of information technology to increase patient care quality and lower the costs of care. He is experienced in information technology planning, integration, design, development, deployment and operation.
Marc was appointed to and served 7 years on the Federal Healthcare Information Technology Policy Committee assisting in developing HIT Policy for the U.S. Government. Marc has been a Board Member of numerous Healthcare Information Technology organizations and served as the Board Chair for the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives. Marc served on several HIT company boards and as a board member of Nemours Children’s Hospitals.
Prior to living in Utah Marc and his family have lived in Reston, Virginia and Tampa Florida. Marc is married with 5 children.
Marc is a graduate of the University of Utah in Finance and earned an MBA from George Washington University.
Marc Probst
Chief Operating Officer
EXECUTIVE
David has served in senior executive and board roles across life sciences companies, contributing to strategy, financial stewardship, and organizational development. He currently serves in executive and/or board capacities with Biolexis Therapeutics and MolecuLern.
Prior to entering the life sciences sector, David spent 15 years in international investment banking. At Commerzbank North America, he served as Head of Strategic Planning and Business Manager to the CEO, where he played a key role in the acquisition and integration of Dresdner Bank and in the development and execution of Commerzbank’s long-term strategic plan. Earlier in his career, as a Vice President in Dresdner Bank’s Debt Principal Finance & Securitization group, David originated, structured, and oversaw more than 30 structured finance transactions totaling $12.4 billion for clients including Goldman Sachs, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Banco Itaú.
David holds a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Richmond and an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business, where he double majored in Finance and Management & Organizational Behavior.
David Taylor
Chief Financial Officer
BOARD MEMBER
William Ashton is a former Fortune 100 senior executive with over 35 years’ experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical business. Mr. Ashton retired from a successful career at Amgen Inc. where he served in various positions including Vice President of U.S. Sales, Vice President/General Manager of the Corporate Accounts, and Vice President of Government and Commercial Affairs where he was responsible for working with the FDA, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Advocacy groups.
He previously worked for Boehringer-Ingelheim and Warner Lambert Pharmaceuticals.
Mr. Ashton is the President at Harrison Consulting Group, LLC, a privately held biopharmaceutical/ healthcare consulting firm with expertise in commercialization, payer strategy, market access, and distribution.
He currently serves on the board of the following pharmaceutical companies, Medicus Pharma, T-Nanobio Therapeutics, Inc, and Adjuvant Genomics. He previously served on the boards of Spectrum Oncology, where he was the Chairman of the Board since June of 2019 to July of 2023. He also served on the boards of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Baudax Bio, Societal CDMO, and Galena Bio Pharma.
In addition, he has served on the boards of the National Osteoporosis Foundation, Friends of the National Library of Medicine, is a Commissioner on the Medical Representatives National Certification Commission and is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors.
Following his extensive pharmaceutical career, Mr. Ashton was the Founding Dean and assistant professor at the Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy at the University of the Sciences of Philadelphia (now St. Joseph University).
Mr. Ashton holds a B.S. in Education from the University of California of Pennsylvania, (now Penn Western University) and a M.A. in Education from the University of Pittsburgh.
William Ashton
Board Member
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Daniel D. Von Hoff, M.D., F.A.C.P., FASCO, FAACR, is currently a Distinguished Professor at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in Phoenix, Arizona, and at City of Hope, Duarte, California. He is also a Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Dr. Von Hoff’s major interest is in the development of new anticancer agents, both in the clinic and in the laboratory. He and his colleagues were involved in the beginning of the development of many FDA approved agents we now use routinely, for treatment and improved survival for patients with breast, lung, colon, prostate, pancreas, skin cancers, as well as leukemia. The agents include mitoxantrone, fludarabine, paclitaxel, docetaxel, gemcitabine, irinotecan, nelarabine, capecitabine, lapatinib, vismodegib, nab-paclitaxel, nal-IRI, pexidartinib and others. His clinical trial work has led to the approval of 3 of the 4 drugs approved by the FDA for treatment of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. At present, he and his colleagues are concentrating on the development of therapies for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.
Dr. Von Hoff has published more than 800 papers, 143 book chapters and over 1190 abstracts. Dr. Von Hoff received the 2010 David A. Karnofsky Memorial Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology for his outstanding contributions to cancer research leading to significant improvement in patient care and he received the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (the largest cancer research organization in the world), Distinguished Public Service Award in recognition of his extraordinary clinical research career and leadership in establishing the AACR/ASCO Methods in Clinical Cancer Research Workshop to educate and train young clinical investigators. A named lectureship was established in his honor by AACR. He is also the recipient of the Gold Medal from Columbia University for his outstanding contributions to cancer research leading to significant improvements to patient care. He was recently awarded the designation of an Arizona Historymaker 2023.
Daniel Von Hoff
M.D., F.A.C.P., FASCO, FAACR
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Jim Jorgenson is currently and Executive Advisor and former CEO and Board Chair of Visante where he led national and international programs for medicines management improvement in the US, UK and Canada. His more than 30-year career includes pharmacy oversight of very large health systems and their network associations as well as academic leadership in graduate pharmacy education. Previous to joining Visante Jim was Vice President, Chief Pharmacy Officer for Indiana University Health (IU Health), the largest and most comprehensive state-based healthcare system in Indiana. Previous to joining Indiana University Health, Jim was Administrative Director of Pharmacy Services for the University of Utah Health Care and Associate Dean for Pharmacy at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy in Salt Lake City. He also directed pharmacy services for the 2002 Winter Olympic games in Salt Lake City. In 2008 he received the ASHP Award for Distinguished Leadership of Health-Systems Pharmacy Practice.
James Jorgenson
RPh, MS, FASHP
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Evan C. Unger, MD, FACR, is a board-certified radiologist, physician-scientist, and serial biotechnology entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in molecular imaging, ultrasound contrast agents, and oxygen therapeutics. He is Founder, President and Executive Chairman of Microvascular Therapeutics, and Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of NuvOx Therapeutics. Dr. Unger previously founded ImaRx Pharmaceutical, which developed three FDA-approved drugs, including Definity®, the world’s leading ultrasound contrast agent. He is inventor on more than 120 issued U.S. patents and is Professor Emeritus of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Arizona.