Our Company
Management
For over 20 years, Dr. Vera has worked extensively on developing novel T cell therapies for clinical applications and has extensive expertise in performing research in the field of adoptive T cell therapy. Dr. Vera has made several contributions in the field, specifically in the areas of developing and streamlining therapeutic candidates from the research bench to the clinic and from academia to industry.
Dr. Vera is a co-founder of Marker Therapeutics, and he has previously collaborated with Celgene and Bluebird Bio in developing novel CAR T cell therapies.
He has also been the recipient of different prestigious awards including the Idea Development Award from the Department of Defense and Mentored Research Scholar Award from the American Cancer Society. Dr. Vera attained his M.D. from the University El Bosque in Bogota, Colombia.
Mary Newman is a Regulatory Affairs expert with a career spanning 35 years. She has led or overseen numerous early and late-stage development programs providing regulatory and development strategies for small molecules, biologics, and cell and gene therapies in a broad range of therapeutic areas with high unmet need particularly in rare disease, ophthalmology and oncology.
Ms. Newman was formerly the Chief Development Officer at Taysha Gene Therapies, a company focused on treating monogenic CNS diseases, overseeing program and development portfolio management, translational sciences, and development operations. Prior to that she was the Senior Vice-President, Regulatory Affairs at Astellas Gene Therapies (formerly Audentes Therapeutics) overseeing global regulatory strategic development, all primary regulatory agency interactions, and regulatory compliance for
Audentes’ development candidates. Prior to joining Audentes, Mary served as the Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance at SARcode Bioscience Inc., an ophthalmology company where she oversaw the development of Xiidra® for the treatment of dry eye disease. She previously held various management positions, with increasing responsibility in Regulatory Affairs at BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Inc., Berlex Inc. (now Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.), and Sequus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (now Johnson & Johnson; Doxil®). While at BioMarin, Ms. Newman oversaw the development and approval of Kuvan® for the treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU), Naglazyme® for mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) VI, and supported the final approval of Aldurazyme® for MPS I.
She is the Founder and CEO of Alchemy Development Partners, a regulatory consultancy that advises and provides development and regulatory strategies.
Ms. Newman’s Board memberships include Vedere II Inc., Chameleon Biosciences and Locana Biosciences. Mary holds a BS/MS in Physiology from Oregon State University
Edmund Cheung has more than twenty years of professional experience in the Human Resources field. Prior to joining Marker Therapeutics, Mr. Cheung served as Associate Vice President of Human Resources at Baylor Genetics where he was responsible for all aspects of the company’s HR strategies and functions. Previously, he held management and HR roles at Baker Hughes, a Global Fortune 500 energy technology and oil-field services company, and Houston Methodist Hospital, a leading Hospital group in Houston. Mr. Cheung earned his BA in Psychology at Baylor University, and an MBA from the University of Houston.
