Management

Ray Prudo, M.D., has been an active investor and developer of healthcare companies for 25 years. Dr. Prudo was the Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Volution and its predecessor company, Varleigh Immuno Pharmaceuticals, since inception in 2008, joining Akari in September 2015 during the Volution/Celsus merger. He is currently a board member of several UK healthcare companies. Dr. Prudo holds an MBBS from the University of London, and an FRCP(C) from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Contact: Ray.Prudo@akaritx.com

Before joining Akari, Ms. Jacques served as Chief Executive Officer of Enzyvant Therapeutics Inc., a commercial-stage biotechnology company developing transformative regenerative therapies for rare diseases. Prior to Enzyvant, she served as the Senior Vice President and Global Complement Franchise Head at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where she was responsible for global franchise strategy development and execution of the C5 complement inhibitors, eculizumab and ravulizumab, across the therapeutic areas of hematology, nephrology and neurology. She was Vice President of U.S. Hematology Marketing at Baxalta Inc. and then Shire plc, following Shire’s acquisition of Baxalta in 2016. At Baxalta, she served as Vice President of Business Operations after its spinoff from Baxter International Inc. Ms. Jacques held multiple leadership positions at Baxter, including Vice President of Finance, U.S. BioScience Business. Earlier in her career, Ms. Jacques served in various roles at Dow Corning Corporation, including operational management positions in the U.S., Europe, and China.

Ms. Jacques serves on the boards of directors of uniQure N.V. (Nasdaq: QURE) and Corbus Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: CRBP). She is co-chair of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) Tissue Engineering & Biomaterials Committee and is a founding member of the ARM Action for Equality Task Force. Ms. Jacques received her B.A. in business administration from Alma College.

Contact: Rachelle.Jacques@akaritx.com

Torsten Hombeck, Ph.D., joined Akari in June 2020 as Chief Financial Officer and has over two decades of experience in the biotechnology industry, finance, capital markets and M&A transactions as well as clinical and commercial drug development and regulatory filings.  Dr. Hombeck has served as a financial consultant to the Company since October 2019.  His previous positions include Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer and Managing Director at Promethera Biosciences, a private biopharmaceutical company, and Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Business Officer at Cytonet where he led its acquisition by Promethera Biosciences in 2016.  Prior to joining Cytonet, Dr. Hombeck served as Chief Financial Officer at both Agennix AG and GPC Biotech AG.  He holds a Masters in Business Administration as well as a Ph.D. in Finance and Accounting from EBS University of Business and Law, Oestrich-Winkel, Germany.

Contact: Torsten.Hombeck@akaritx.com

Wynne Weston-Davies, MRCS, LRCP, MB BS, FRCS, ECFMG, has 30 years of biopharmaceutical drug development experience, and was Medical Director of Volution since 2014, joining Akari in September 2015 during the Volution/Celsus merger. From 2009 to 2014, he served as the medical director at Varleigh. Prior to 2009, Dr. Weston-Davies was Medical Director for Evolutec Group Plc, a publicly-listed UK biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of drugs from immuno-modulatory molecules found in the saliva of blood-feeding parasites. He has worked for a number of global pharmaceutical companies, including Bristol Myers Squibb from 1979-1992, where he headed up departments responsible for Phase I through Phase IV clinical trials. Dr. Weston-Davies has been a director of multiple health care companies, and initially worked as a general and colorectal surgeon at several UK teaching hospitals. Dr. Weston-Davies gained his initial medical qualifications at London University before becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons.

Contact: wynne.weston-davies@akaritx.com

Miles Nunn was Chief Scientific Officer for Volution since April 2014, joining Akari in September 2015 during the Volution/Celsus merger. Prior to Volution, he worked at the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) for 16 years. He discovered Volution’s lead drug, nomacopan (formerly Coversin), and is an inventor on several other patents. Dr. Nunn was formerly the Scientific Research Manager for Evolutec Group Plc, Director of Amplion Ltd., and a Principal Investigator for the Natural Environment Research Council. His scientific interests center on the structural and functional interactions between parasite-derived molecules and host defense responses, in particular complement, and on exploitation of the associated information and parasite molecules for drug development. Dr. Nunn holds a D.Phil. from Oxford University, and M.Sc. from University College London.

Contact: Miles.Nunn@akaritx.com