Overcoming obstacles in personalised medicine

About our speakers 

Seth Lederman, co-founder, CEO & Chairman of Tonix Pharmaceuticals

Seth Lederman is a physician, scientist and entrepreneur, and a co-founder of Tonix Pharmaceuticals. Prior to Tonix, Dr Lederman founded Targent Pharmaceuticals, which developed late-stage oncology drugs, including levoleucovorin. When Spectrum Pharmaceuticals acquired Targent’s assets, levoleucovorin was marketed as Fusilev^® for advanced colorectal cancer, gaining significant market acceptance.

Prior to becoming a biopharma entrepreneur, Dr Lederman served as an Associate Professor at Columbia University for two decades and directed basic science research in molecular immunology, infectious diseases and the development of therapeutics for autoimmune diseases. His fundamental work on the CD40-Ligand (CD154) elucidated the molecular basis of T cell helper function and has led to the development of therapeutic candidates for autoimmune diseases and organ transplant rejection in collaboration with Biogen and UCB. The successful defense of his CD154 patents has led to important precedents in defining the relationship of therapeutics and molecular targets. In collaboration with Professor David Baltimore (then at Rockefeller University and later MIT), Dr Lederman identified and functionally characterised the CD40 signaling molecule, TRAF-3. His early work on HIV contributed to elucidating how the V3 loop of HIV gp120 was involved in fusion with CD4 cell membranes, an early and essential event in viral entry and infection.

In addition to his research, Dr Lederman served as attending physician in the Edward Daniels Arthritis and Autoimmunity Clinic on the Medical Service at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital for several years. Dr Lederman earned his MD from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and an AB from Princeton in Chemistry cum laude.

Steve Gardner, CEO of Precision Life, Chair of the UK Bioindustry Association Genomics Board and co-chair of the Metrodora Foundation Scientific Board

Steve has over 30 years’ experience building world-class teams, products and companies in precision medicine, drug discovery and computational biology in the UK, EU and USA.

He has developed world-leading genomics, AI enabled drug discovery, precision medicine, and complex data analytics for life science, healthcare and clinical decision support including several patented inventions. He was Global Director of Research Informatics for Astra and involved in the early Human Genome project. He has worked with multiple pharma companies on over 30 drug discovery and development projects.

Steve is Chair of the UK BioIndustry Association’s Data, AI and Genomics Advisory Committee, Co-Chair of the Metrodora Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board, and Expert in Residence at Oxford University. He also advises a range of disease charities, national biobanks and research institutes on precision medicine strategy.