Management Team

Principal Investigator of the Mouse Models of Cancer Therapies Group at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Associate Professor at Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB) and ICREA Research Professor.

Dr. Soucek is a leading figure in the Myc field and has pioneered studies on MYC inhibition since designing Omomyc when she was still an undergraduate student. Dr. Laura Soucek has published in top scientific journals including Nature, Nature Medicine, Genes & Development, and Nature Communications as First and Senior author. Since early 2011, she heads the Mouse Models of Cancer Therapies Group at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Barcelona, Spain. Her research at VHIO has already been recognized through several national research awards and grants (FERO fellowship, grants from the Miguel Servet Program, FIS and AGAUR), and prestigious international grants such as an ERC Consolidator grant, two ERC Proof of Concept grants and an AICR (now Worldwide Cancer Research) grant. Laura is also co-inventor of five patent applications including the ones at the basis of this project. In December 2014, she co-founded Peptomyc S.L. As CEO of the company, she is directing the scientific and strategic aspects of the project, overseeing its overall implementation, progress, and success.

Relevant publications:

  1. Beaulieu ME, Castillo F, Soucek L. Cells. 2020 Apr 22;9(4). pii: E1038. doi: 10.3390/cells9041038.
  2. Massó-Vallés D. and Soucek L. Cells. 2020, 9, 883; doi:10.3390/cells9040883.
  3. Daniel Massó-Vallés, Marie-Eve Beaulieu and Laura Soucek. Expert Opin Ther Targets. 2020 Jan 31. doi: 10.1080/14728222.2020.1723548.
  4. Mireia Pesarrodona, Toni Jauset, Zamira V. Díaz-Riascos, Alejandro Sánchez-Chardi, Marie-Eve Beaulieu, Joaquin Seras-Franzoso, Laura Sánchez-García, Ricardo Baltà-Foix, Sandra Mancilla, Yolanda Fernández, Ursula Rinas, Simó Schwartz Jr, Laura Soucek, Antonio Villaverde, Ibane Abasolo, and Esther Vázquez. Advanced Sciences. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2019 Jul 24;6(18):1900849. doi: 10.1002/advs.201900849.
  5. Jonathan R. Whitfield and Laura Soucek. Current Opinion in Pharmacology. 2019 Jun 27. pii: S1471-4892(19)30045-1. Doi: 10.1016/j.coph.2019.06.001.
  6. Marie-Eve Beaulieu and Laura Soucek. Mol Cell Oncology. 2019. Doi: 10.1080/23723556.2019.1618178.
  7. Marie-Eve Beaulieu, Toni Jauset, Daniel Massó-Vallés, Sandra Martínez-Martín, Peter Rahl, Loïka Maltais, Mariano F. Zacarias-Fluck, Sílvia Casacuberta-Serra, Erika Serrano del Pozo, Christopher Fiore, Laia Foradada, Virginia Castillo Cano, Matthew Guenther, Eduardo Romero Sanz, Marta Oteo, Cynthia Tremblay, Génesis Martín, Danny Letourneau, Martin Montagne, Miguel Ángel Morcillo Alonso, Jonathan R. Whitfield, Pierre Lavigne and Laura Soucek. Sci Trans Med. 2019 Mar 20;11(484). Doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aar5012.
  8. Dang CV, Reddy EP, Shokat KM, Soucek L. Nat Rev Cancer. 2017 Aug;17(8):502-508
  9. Whitfield JR, Beaulieu ME and Soucek L (2017) Front. Cell Dev. Biol. 5:10
  10. Beaulieu ME, Jauset T, Massó-Vallés DM, Soucek L, and Whitfield JR (2017) Cancer Genetics and Genomics for Personalized Medicine. Edited by Il-Jin Kim
  11. Annibali, D., Whitfield, J.R., Favuzzi, E., Jauset, T., Serrano, E., Cuartas, I., Redondo-Campos, S., Folch, G., Gonzalez-Junca, A., Sodir, N.M., et al. (2014). Nature Communications 5, 4632.
  12. Soucek, L., Whitfield, J.R., Sodir, N.M., Masso-Valles, D., Serrano, E., Karnezis, A.N., Swigart, L.B., and Evan, G.I. (2013). Genes & Development 27, 504-513.
  13. Sodir, N.M., Swigart, L.B., Karnezis, A.N., Hanahan, D., Evan, G.I., and Soucek, L. (2011). Genes & Development 25, 907-916.
  14. Savino, M., Annibali, D., Carucci, N., Favuzzi, E., Cole, M.D., Evan, G.I., Soucek, L., and Nasi, S. (2011). PloS One 6, e22284.
  15. Soucek, L., Whitfield, J., Martins, C.P., Finch, A.J., Murphy, D.J., Sodir, N.M., Karnezis, A.N., Swigart, L.B., Nasi, S., and Evan, G.I. (2008). Nature 455, 679-683.
  16. Soucek, L., Nasi, S., and Evan, G.I. (2004). Cell Death and Differentiation 11, 1038-1045.
  17. Soucek, L., Jucker, R., Panacchia, L., Ricordy, R., Tato, F., and Nasi, S. (2002). Cancer Research 62, 3507-3510.
  18. Soucek, L., Helmer-Citterich, M., Sacco, A., Jucker, R., Cesareni, G., and Nasi, S. (1998). Oncogene 17, 2463-2472.

PhD in Pharmacology with extensive experience in biochemistry and structural biology of transcription factors

Dr. Beaulieu currently leads Peptomyc’s pipeline expansion activities and coordinates the chemistry, manufacturing and controls as well as biomarker discovery activities related to Peptomyc’s lead asset, OMO-103.

Marie-Eve gained extensive experience in pharmaceutical development of therapeutic proteins and peptides through her previous work with the pharmaceutical industry and the preclinical development of OMO-103. After having established from scratch Peptomyc’s Protein Platform and discovered the cell penetrating potential of Omomyc, Marie-Eve helped building the company strategy, achieve successful fundraising (public >5MEur and private ~30MEur) and reach key development milestones for OMO-103 (successful clinical trial approval by AEMPS and BfArm by leading IMPD and IB preparation).

Marie-Eve has co-authored 4 patent applications, 28 peer-reviewed publications and 4 book chapters (ORCID 0000-0001-5224-8436). She awarded several competitive fellowships (CREFSIP scholarship, MITACS (postdoc fellow at Theratechnologies Inc., Montreal, Canada) and FRSQ postdoctoral award from the Quebec government and contributed to the company’s public success demonstrated by several local and international awards (eg BioFit, Best company initiative at AIEC, EIT Health Headstart, J&J StartUpSlam at BioEurope).

Relevant publications:

  1. Massó-Vallés D, Beaulieu ME et al., MYC Inhibition Halts Metastatic Breast Cancer Progression by Blocking Growth, Invasion, and Seeding (2022) Cancer Research Communications. 1158/2767-9764.CRC-21-0103
  2. Pellanda et al., Integrated requirement of non-specific and sequence-specific DNA binding in Myc-driven transcription. (2021) The EMBO J. 10.15252/embj.2020105464.
  3. Beaulieu ME, Castillo F, Soucek L. Structural and Biophysical Insights into the Function of the Intrinsically Disordered Myc Oncoprotein. (2020) Cells. 10.3390/cells9041038.
  4. Massó-Vallés D, Beaulieu ME, Soucek L. MYC, MYCL, and MYCN as therapeutic targets in lung cancer. (2020) Expert Opin Ther Targets. 1080/14728222.2020.1723548.
  5. Beaulieu ME, Soucek L. Finding MYCure. (2019) Mol Cell Oncol. 10.1080/23723556.2019.1618178
  6. Jauset T., Beaulieu M.E. Bioactive cell penetrating peptides and proteins in cancer: a bright future ahead. (2019) Curr. Opin. Pharmacol. 10.1016/j.coph.2019.03.014
  7. Beaulieu M.E., et al., Intrinsic cell-penetrating activity propels Omomyc from proof of concept to viable anti-MYC therapy. (2019) Sci Transl Med 10.1126/scitranslmed.aar5012.

Dr Niewel is an MD educated oncologist, who has focused nearly her entire career within the Oncology space, from first in men through registration of oncology drugs. She started as a resident within Oncology hospitals in Germany, being responsible for the treatment of cancer patients. She then moved into the industry to focus her work within the Clinical Development setting. She joins Peptomyc from Rigontec, a start-up biotech acquired by Merck Sharp & Dohme, where she served as Senior Vice President for Clinical Development since 2015, bringing their compound very quickly and successfully into the clinic. Dr. Niewel also acted as a clinical development consultant for several biotech companies and held Senior Medical Director positions at Chiltern International and Pharmanet, and led Clinical Research groups at PFK Oncology Services, Nycomed and Synthelabo Research. She obtained her M.D. diploma and doctoral degree at the University Munich and her Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine at DGPharMed Munich, Germany.

Jörg Klumbis is a strategic and operational manager & entrepreneur with more than 25 years expertise in the Pharmaceutical Industry. After a first commercial project management experience in an engineering services provider, he joined MERCK’s KGaA German headquarters as a controller. He then occupied the position of Head of Controlling in MERCK Farma and Química, Spain, to later join LETI Pharma Group as Chief Financial Officer. At LETI he contributed closely to the development of a recombinant biotechnological vaccine. Some years ago, he co-founded AIO Health Pro, an omnichannel sales & marketing services company providing solutions to the health sector.

His studies include an Industrial Engineer Degree from the Technical University in Darmstadt, Germany, and a PDD of IESE Business School in Barcelona.

Peptomyc Team

Núria has more than 8 years’ experience as Assistant and 4 of them in the biotech and pharma sector. She joined Peptomyc’s team in June 2020, bringing her expertise in managing office operations and administration duties, to support the CEO, the management team and Investors.

After a first experience in Gold Buyers Int., she worked for AIN Business Center, as office manager and assistant. Later in 2015 she joined Sanifit Therapeutics as Executive Assistant reporting to the CEO. She was responsible for supporting a team of 15 people, including 4 executives with busy agendas and travel schedules. She contributed closely to the development and growth of the company, assisting with daily operations and logistics.

Núria holds a bachelor’s degree in tourism and hotel Management from Esade Sant Ignasi University and a master’s degree in hospitality management from Maastricht Hogeschool Zuyd University.

Dr. Morales has extensive experience in international clinical trials in oncology (phase I to phase III) and has recently joined Peptomyc as Clinical Project Lead to control the operational aspects of the clinical trials. She graduated in Biological Sciences (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, UAB; 1991), obtained a Master in Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Pathology (UAB; 1993) and a PhD in Medicine and Surgery (UAB; 1997). During her PhD she collaborated with the clinical research team of the Endocrinology Department of Hospital Santa Creu i Sant Pau in Barcelona, detecting islet cell antibodies and other biomarkers involved in the development of Type I Diabetes. In 1998, she started to work as CRA at Parke-Davis SL, and in 2000 she was promoted to Project Manager of oncology trials, after the acquisition of Parke-Davis SL by Pfizer SA. In 2004, she joined SOLTI (Breast Cancer Clinical Research Group) where she managedthe Operations Department until 2016. From 2016 till 2018, she was the Technical Director of Clinical Research, giving direct support to Operations and Scientific departments, and managing the SOLTI network of members and associated health centres. In May 2018, she was hired by Odonate Therapeutics Inc. to work in the Medical Affairs Department to develop and maintain key strategic relationships with investigators participating in clinical studies in the EU, and to provide clinical support of sites in clinical activities to ensure the achievement of clinical trial objectives. From May 2019 till June 2020, she was promoted to Senior Regional Director, Clinical Operations to manage and oversee the activities of Site Monitors to ensure the success of clinical trial activities of Phase I-III trials in her region.

Dr. Foradada joined Peptomyc in 2016 as an expert in in vivo studies and pathology. She graduated in Veterinary Medicine (UAB; 2006) and then moved to the Histology and Pathology Department where she obtained a PhD in Animal Medicine and Health (CBATEG, UAB; 2013) and extensive knowledge in anatomy, pathology and animal surgery. Afterwards she worked in the Functional Validation and Preclinical Research group (CIBBIM-Nanomedicine, VHIR) where she developed her expertise in mouse models, functional and preclinical validation of new compounds and skills in molecular imaging techniques. Laia is co-author of 14 peer-reviewed publications, and she is also a member of the Animal Research Ethics Committee of the Vall d’Hebrón. As the Preclinical Project Coordinator of Peptomyc, her main responsibilities are the coordination, managing, supervision and/or execution of the in vivo experiments in different mouse models developed in the laboratory as well as the coordination and supervision of the experiments in outsourced CRO’s in mouse and other animal species.

Dr. Casacuberta-Serra is the Immuno-Oncology Project Manager of Peptomyc. She is an expert immuno-oncology scientist who joined Peptomyc in 2016. She graduated in Biotechnology (UVic; 2010) and then obtained a master in Biomedicine (Universitat de Barcelona; 2011). She has a PhD in Immunology (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; 2016) and several project management courses [a post-graduate course in Project Management (La Salle; 2020); a Pharma and Biotech Project Management course (La Salle; 2021); Leadership and Development of Managing Skills Course (La Salle; 2022)].

During her PhD she designed a method to induce immune tolerance in a model of multiple sclerosis and has already co-authored 10 peer-reviewed publications and 1 book chapter, 4 of which as a first author. She is co-inventor of 3 patent applications that protect the use of Omomyc and its biomarkers in cancer. As the Immuno-Oncology Project Manager of Peptomyc, she is applying her extensive knowledge of the immune system to coordinate, monitor and supervise the projects and activities to elucidate how Omomyc-based MYC inhibition modulates the anti-tumor immune response in different cancer models and also how Omomyc interacts with the host immune system at both preclinical and clinical levels. In addition, she is using her experience in drug development projects to manage drug combination studies with Omomyc.

Sergio López joined Peptomyc in 2020. He brings a wealth of in vivo animal model experience in pre-clinical studies. He graduated in Biotechnology from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB, 2009) and started his professional career in the Gene and Cell Therapy group (VHIR). Later, he obtained a Master in Pharmacology (UAB, 2016) and, afterwards, he obtained his PhD in Neuroscience (UAB, 2021). The research carried out for his PhD focused on the characterization of neuroimmune responses and visceral hypersensitivity development associated with inflammation, using different animal models. Sergio has more than 10 years of experience working in basic biomedical research and is co-author of 8 peer-reviewed publications, 3 of which as first author. His work combined classic physiological and pharmacological studies in vivo with molecular biology approaches. As a Preclinical research scientist, Sergio is involved in preclinical in vivo studies experiments in different mouse models and is carrying out experimental work related to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

Dr. Castillo has more than 10 years experience in protein structural biology and protein biophysics. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, where she also pursued a PhD in protein folding, stability and aggregation, and how toxic aggregates underlie a wide range of neurodegenerative disorders. As a postdoctoral fellow at the Katholieke Universiteit of Leuven (Belgium), she studied the contribution of protein aggregation – as a gain-of-function component – to cell proliferation and immortalization. She has co-authored 14 peer-reviewed publications (6 as a first author) and 2 book chapters (one as a first author). Virginia joined Peptomyc to help develop the Chemistry, Manufacturing and Control (CMC) of the pharmaceutical product, in particular the biologic specific manufacturing process, as well as product stability and solubility.

Hugo Thabussot graduated in Biochemistry from the university of Bourgogne (France) after previously completing a year as an Erasmus student at the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences. He then obtained a Master in Functional and Structural Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University Claude Bernard in Lyon. Hugo gained significant further laboratory experience in peptide chemistry, biophysical assays and chromatography techniques as a trainee in the laboratory of Pr. Ernest Giralt at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) in Barcelona. In September 2020, Hugo obtained an Industrial PhD fellowship to do his thesis at Peptomyc.

Dr. Martínez-Martín graduated in Health Biology (Universidad de Alcalá, 2014) and obtained a Master’s degree in Biomedicine (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 2015). She has a PhD in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biomedicine (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, 2020) and a course in Health and Biotech Project Management (LaSalle, 2022). Her PhD project focused on studying the effect of different MYC inhibitors, including Omomyc, for the treatment of multiple myeloma and Burkitt lymphoma in Dr. Soucek’s laboratory. She has co-authored 7 peer-reviewed publications, 2 of which were as a first author. As an Associate Project Manager, Sandra has assisted with the coordination and performance of the activities aimed at discovering pharmacodynamic biomarkers in response to Omomyc treatment, both preclinically and clinically. Currently, she is also involved in the pipeline expansion project to develop new MYC inhibitors based on Omomyc.

Àlvar Farré-Colomés graduated in Biology (Universitat de Barcelona, 2019) and has a master’s degree in Neuroscience at the same University. During his bachelor, he worked in a research laboratory as a quality control microbiologist for the Barcelona city council. Then, he  joined Prof. Amadeo’s group at the University of Milan within the frame of an Erasmus programme. There he studied the role of α-Synuclein in Parkinson’s Disease at the synaptic level. To expand his international research experience, Àlvar subsequently joined Prof. Vollstädt-Klein at the Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit at Mannheim (Germany), where he performed technical duties for clinical research in the field of “Addiction medicine and Neuroimaging”. He has published two peer-reviewed publications, one as first author. Àlvar joined Peptomyc as junior Clinical Distribution and Logistics Manager in 2022 to help with basic research in the laboratory.

Dr. Ortiz-Barahona graduated in Biotechnology (Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, 2015) and obtained a Master degree in Biomedicine (Universidad de Barcelona, 2016). In 2022 she finished her PhD in Biomedicine (Universidad de Barcelona) focused on epigenetic and epitranscriptomic mechanisms promoting tumor development and progression. She has broad experience in molecular, biomedical and cancer research acquired during her 9 years of hands-on work in the lab. She recently joined Peptomyc’s team as a postdoctoral researcher, where she is developing new molecular tools aimed at better understanding Omomyc’s MoA and screening of new pipeline candidates in various tumoral contexts.

Lorena Sansegundo is an experienced laboratory technician who joined Peptomyc in 2022. She graduated in Biomedical Sciences (Universitat de Barcelona, 2018) after an internship at the Group of Hematological Malignancies (IIB Sant Pau) under Dr. Nomdedéu’s supervision, collaborating in the project “Clonal heterogeneity in acute myeloid leukemia”. Lorena gained further laboratory experience working in AbBcn, S.L. and Clinisciences SL, where she developed customized products such as antibodies, peptides and immunoassays. In Peptomyc, she is responsible for the reception, handling and analysis of the clinical samples. In addition, she assists in other ongoing research projects in the company.

F&A support services.

GENESIS Biomed is a start-up formed by entrepreneurs and with vocation of service to entrepreneurs and research centers.They have been involved as strategic consultants since the very beginning, helping the company in strategy, business development, regulatory affairs and fundraising.