Our passion for scientific discovery and innovation is driven by the compassion that we feel for the patient communities we serve.
At Astria, our guiding star is to benefit our patients, address their unmet needs, and improve their quality of life. Our compassion for patients also brings with it a natural sense of urgency, agility, and operational efficiency in all that we do.
Rafif Dagher
Senior Vice President,
Head of Discovery,
Nonclinical Development
and Translational Research
Jill C. Milne, Ph.D.
Co-Founder and
Chief Executive Officer
Jill C. Milne, Ph.D., is co-founder of our company and has served as a member of our board of directors and as our President and Chief Executive Officer since June 2008. Prior to co-founding our company, Dr. Milne worked as head of discovery biology at Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company, from 2004 to 2008, when it was acquired by GlaxoSmithKline. From 1998 to 2004, Dr. Milne worked at Pfizer Global Research and Development, where she served as the worldwide head of the Drug Pfinder Program and head of the Enzyme Target Group at the Pfizer Discovery Technology Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Prior to joining Pfizer, she was an American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellow in the department of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology at Harvard Medical School from 1995 to 1998. Dr. Milne holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and a B.A. in biological chemistry from Wellesley College.
Noah Clauser, CPA
Chief Financial Officer
Noah Clauser has served as our Chief Financial Officer since September 2020. Previously, he served as our Vice President, Finance leading our finance and operations functions since August 2017. Mr. Clauser served as our Senior Director, Finance and Controller from January 2016 to July 2017, and as Controller from April 2011 to December 2015. Prior to joining Astria (formerly Catabasis), Mr. Clauser was at Impress Software, an enterprise software company, where he served as Accounting Manager from 2005 to 2009. Mr. Clauser is a licensed CPA in Massachusetts and holds an M.S. in Accounting and a B.S. in Management from the University of Massachusetts at Boston.
Andrew A. Komjathy
Chief Commercial Officer
Andrew A. Komjathy has served as our Chief Commercial Officer since September 2019. Previously, Mr. Komjathy was the Vice President, Commercial Sales at Alkermes, Inc., a publicly held pharmaceutical company, from May 2014 to November 2018. From 2012 to 2014, he was the Vice President, Sales for the U.S. Multiple Sclerosis Business Unit at Genzyme, a publicly held pharmaceutical company. From 2005 to 2012, Mr. Komjathy held three Vice President positions at Shire Human Genetic Therapies, initially as Vice President and General Manager, Commercial Operations in the North American and Asia-Pacific regions, followed by Vice President, Global Franchise Leader for Fabry/Gaucher in Switzerland, and ultimately as Vice President, Commercial Operations. From 1996 to 2005, Mr. Komjathy held positions of increasing responsibility at Biogen. Mr. Komjathy holds an M.B.A. from New York University Stern School of Business and his B.S. in Business Administration from Bucknell University.
Ben Harshbarger, J.D.
Chief Legal Officer
Ben Harshbarger has served as Chief Legal Officer since June 2021. Previously he served as our Senior Vice President, General Counsel since June 2020. Prior to joining Astria (formerly Catabasis), Mr. Harshbarger served as Interim Chief Executive Officer and General Counsel at Novelion Therapeutics Inc. from November 2018 to December 2019. Mr. Harshbarger was General Counsel of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and subsequently Novelion Therapeutics (following the merger of Aegerion and Novelion) from August 2016 to November 2018, and Acting General Counsel of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals from September 2015 to July 2016. Prior to these roles, he served as the Vice President, EMEA Legal Counsel and the Vice President, Deputy General Counsel at Aegerion from 2012 to 2015, and also served in senior legal roles at Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Biogen, Inc.. Mr. Harshbarger received his J.D. from Boston College Law School, and his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Richmond.
Andrea Matthews
Chief Business Officer
Andrea Matthews has served as Chief Business Officer since April 2023, leading the Corporate Strategy, Business Development, Investor Relations, Corporate Communications, and Patient Advocacy functions. Previously, she served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs from October 2020, as Vice President, Corporate Affairs since August 2017, as Executive Director, Corporate Affairs since November 2015, and as Senior Director, Operations and Corporate Development from July 2014 to October 2015. Prior to joining Astria (formerly Catabasis), Ms. Matthews served as Vice President, Operations and Alliance Management/Commercial Operations at Selventa (formerly Genstruct), a biomarker discovery company that collaborated with pharmaceutical and consumer product companies, from February 2010 to July 2014 and as Director, Alliance Management from February 2009 to February 2010. From 2003 to 2009, Ms. Matthews held a series of roles with increasing responsibilities at Genstruct, leading to several managerial positions. Ms. Matthews holds an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management and a B.A. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Boston University.
Keri McGrail
Chief Human Resources Officer
Keri McGrail has served as Chief Human Resources Officer at Astria since October 2024. Previously, she served as our Senior Vice President, Human Resources since March 2021. Prior to joining Astria (formerly Catabasis), Ms. McGrail worked as an HR Consultant for biotechnology companies, including Catabasis, from September 2014 to March 2021. From December 2009 to August 2014, Ms. McGrail served as Director, Human Resources at Takeda Pharmaceuticals (formerly Millennium Pharmaceuticals). Prior to Takeda, she spent more than 11 years at Millennium Pharmaceuticals in a series of roles with increasing responsibilities from 1998 to 2009. Ms. McGrail holds a B.A. in Communications from UC Santa Barbara.
John Ruesch
Senior Vice President,
Pharmaceutical Sciences
and Technical Operations
John Ruesch has served as Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technical Operations at Astria Therapeutics since July 2023. Previously, he was Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development at Surface Oncology from 2021 to 2023. From 2015 to 2021, Mr. Ruesch held several roles at Biogen, Inc., including Vice President, Protein Technical Development, Senior Director, Head of Protein Technical Development, and Senior Director, Drug Product Development. Prior to Biogen, he worked at Pfizer from 2003 to 2015 in positions of increasing responsibility, culminating in his role as Senior Director, Formulation and Drug Product Process Development. Mr. Ruesch holds his B.S. in Biology from Valparaiso University, and his M.B.A. from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.
Chris Morabito, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer
Chris Morabito has served as Chief Medical Officer at Astria since July 2022. Previously, he was Chief Medical Officer at Fulcrum Therapeutics from May 2021 to July 2022. From July 2020 to May 2021, Dr. Morabito served as Chief Medical Officer at Cardurion Pharmaceuticals. From January 2016 until June 2020, Dr. Morabito held several roles at Takeda including Senior Vice President and Head of Research and Development, Plasma Derived Therapies, Vice President and Head, R&D Integration, Vice President and Head, Portfolio Strategy Group, and Vice President and Global Program Leader, Specialty Cardiovascular Disease. Prior to Takeda, Dr. Morabito worked at Sanofi as Senior Director and Global Project Head, Lixisenatide-Family from April 2015 to January 2016, Senior Director and Head of Programs, Sanofi research and Development (ID-TSU) from August 2014 to March 2015, and Senior Director, Global Project Head, Sanofi Research and Development (ID-TSU) from April 2014 to December 2014. He also worked at Merck & Co. from October 2010 to April 2014 as Director, Clinical Research, Cardiovascular Therapeutic Area. Dr Morabito trained at Stanford University and the University of California, San Francisco after receiving his M.D. from Penn State University College of Medicine.
Rafif Dagher
Senior Vice President,
Head of Discovery,
Nonclinical Development
and Translational Research
Rafif Dagher has served as Senior Vice President, Head of Discovery, Nonclinical Development, and Translational Research at Astria since August 2024. Previously, she served as our Vice President of Nonclinical Development since April 2021, Executive Director of Nonclinical Development since July 2017, and as our Senior Director of Nonclinical Development since July 2015. Prior to joining Astria (formerly Catabasis), Ms. Dagher was at Sanofi-Genzyme from 1996 to 2015 and held increasing positions of responsibility, from Research Scientist to Director of Nonclinical Development. Prior to Sanofi, she worked at FUJI Pharmaceutical from 1993 to 1996 and Arthur D. Little from 1992-1993. Ms. Dagher holds a B.S. in Biology from Northeastern University.
Kenneth Bate
Chairman
Kenneth Bate has served as a member of our Board of Directors since January 2014, as Co-Chair from February 2016 to February 2019, and as Chair since February 2019. Mr. Bate has served as an independent consultant in the biotechnology field since 2012. Prior to that Mr. Bate served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Archemix Corp., a biotechnology company, and NitroMed, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, head of commercial operations and Chief Financial Officer of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company, and as the Chief Financial Officer and then as head of commercial operations at Biogen Inc., a biotechnology company. Mr. Bate co-founded JSB-Partners LLC, a banking and advisory services firm for biopharmaceutical and life sciences companies. Mr. Bate is also a director of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. During the last five years,Mr. Bate served as a member of the board of directors of the following biopharmaceutical companies: AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Genocea Biosciences, Inc., Epizyme, Inc., Biomarin Pharmaceutical, Inc. and Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. He holds an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in chemistry from Williams College.
Sunil Agarwal, M.D.
Independent Director
Sunil Agarwal, M.D. has served as a member of our Board of Directors since April 8, 2024. Dr. Agarwal served as Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer for Sana Biotechnology, Inc, a company focused on creating and delivering engineered cells as medicine for patients, from July 2018 to May 2023. Prior to that, Dr. Agarwal served as President of Research and Development at Juno Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, from April 2017 to May 2018. Prior to Juno, Dr. Agarwal served in various leadership and executive roles in the biopharmaceutical industry, including as a partner at Sofinnova Ventures, Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, various leadership capacities at Genentech, Inc. (acquired by Roche Holdings, Inc.), including Senior Vice President and Global Head of Clinical Development for OMNI (Ophthalmology, Metabolism, Neurosciences, Immunology and Infectious Diseases), Senior Vice President for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Vice President for Rheumatology, and Vice President of Genentech Drug Safety. Dr. Agarwal currently serves on the board of directors of Arvinas, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, and previously sat on the board of directors for Calithera Biosciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, from 2015 to 2023, and MyoKardia, Inc. (acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb), a biopharmaceutical company, from 2016 to 2020. Dr. Agarwal obtained his B.S. in Neuro-Biology at Cornell University and then earned his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. He completed his residency at Children’s National Medical Center (CNMC), Washington, D.C. and subsequently joined the faculty at George Washington University School of Medicine as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics. He practiced in the Pediatric Emergency Department at CNMC.
Joanne T. Beck, Ph.D.
Chief Technical Officer, Abata Therapeutics
Joanne Beck, Ph.D., has served as a member of our Board of Directors since February 2019. Dr. Beck is currently the Chief Technical Officer at Abata Therapeutics, a privately held biopharmaceutical company, and has served in that role since September 2024. From November 2022 to July 2024, Dr. Beck served as the Chief Technology Officer at Aerium Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company. From December 2019 to November 2022, Dr. Beck served as the Chief Operating Officer at Boston Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Beck also served as CEO (ad interim) of Boston Pharmaceuticals from December 2019 to November 2022. From April 2016 to December 2019, Dr. Beck served as the Executive Vice President of Global Pharmaceutical Development and Operations at Celgene Corporation, a publicly held biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Beck has also served as Senior Vice President of Pharmaceutical Development at Shire Plc, a former publicly held biopharmaceutical company, and prior to her service at Shire held positions of increasing responsibility in Global Pharmaceutical Operations at Abbott Laboratories, a publicly held pharmaceuticals and healthcare products company, and was the site head of Abbott Vascular Instruments GmbH. Prior to Abbott, Dr. Beck held positions in Process Development at Genentech and Amgen. From July 2018 to January 2024, Dr. Beck served as a member of the board of directors of public biopharmaceutical company Orchard Therapeutics, which was acquired by Kyowa Kirin on January 24, 2024. Dr. Beck holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Oregon Health and Science University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco, and holds a B.A. in chemistry from Lewis and Clark College.
Fred Callori
Executive Vice President, Xontogeny
Partner, Venture Investing, Perceptive Advisors
Fred Callori has served as a member of our Board of Directors since January 2021. Mr. Callori serves as Senior Partner at Xontogeny, LLC, a life sciences accelerator, a position he has held since January 2024. Prior to that, Mr. Callori served as Executive Vice President at Xontogeny, LLC from January 2023 to January 2024 and as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development from September 2017 to December 2022. Mr. Callori has also served as a partner and managing director in the Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Funds since December 2019. Prior to Xontogeny and Perceptive, from 1998 to August 2017, Mr. Callori was a partner in the Life Science and Emerging Companies practices of Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP. Mr. Callori also serves on the Board of Directors of Landos Therapeutics, a publicly held biotechnology company. Mr. Callori holds a J.D. from Boston University School of Law and a B.A. in Economics from Binghamton University.
Hugh M. Cole
Independent Director
Hugh M. Cole has served as a member of our Board of Directors since July 2019. Mr. Cole is currently an independent consultant. Mr. Cole has previously held a number of senior executive positions at biopharmaceutical companies, including most recently as Chief Operating Officer of Jounce Therapeutics from August 2022 until March 2023. Previously, Mr. Cole served as Jounce’s Chief Business Officer and Head of Corporate Development from August 2017 until his promotion in August 2022. Prior to Jounce, Mr. Cole served as the Chief Business Officer at ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, a publicly held pharmaceutical company. Prior to ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, he held positions of increasing responsibility at Shire Pharmaceuticals, including Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning and Program Management, Global Franchise Leader, and head of Business Development for Shire’s rare disease business. Prior to Shire, Mr. Cole held various positions in Business Development at Oscient Pharmaceuticals and Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Cole holds an A.B. in Chemistry from Harvard University and an M.B.A. in Health Care Management and Finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Michael D. Kishbauch
Independent Director
Michael D. Kishbauch has served as a member of our Board of Directors since April 2016. Mr. Kishbauch previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, from July 2004 until his retirement in September 2013. Prior to that, he founded and, from 1996 to 2004, served as President and Chief Executive Officer of OraPharma, a commercial-stage pharmaceutical company focused on oral health care that was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2003. Mr. Kishbauch has also held senior management positions with MedImmune, Inc., a biotechnology company. Mr. Kishbauch formerly served as a director of Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from July 2004 through January 2020, and Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, from 2013 through 2019. Mr. Kishbauch holds an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in biology from Wesleyan University.
Gregg Lapointe
Chief Executive Officer, Cerium Pharmaceuticals
Gregg Lapointe has served as a member of our Board of Directors since January 2019. Since 2012, Mr. Lapointe has served as Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cerium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company. He previously held varying roles at Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company, including Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Lapointe served as Vice President of Operations and Vice President, Controller of AstenJohnson, Inc. (formerly JWI Inc.). Mr. Lapointe began his career at Price Waterhouse and is a Certified Public Accountant. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of two public biopharmaceutical companies: Soligenix, Inc. and Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. During the last five years, Mr. Lapointe served as a member of the Board of Directors of public biotechnology companies Plus Therapeutics, Inc. (formerly known as Cytori Therapeutics, Inc.), SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Raptor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Inc. He holds an M.B.A. from Duke University, a B.Com. from Concordia University, and a Graduate Diploma in Public Accountancy from McGill University.
Jill C. Milne, Ph.D.
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Jill Milne, Ph.D., is a co-founder of our Company and has served as a member of our Board of Directors and as our President and Chief Executive Officer since June 2008. Prior to co-founding our Company, Dr. Milne worked as head of discovery biology at Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company, from 2004 to 2008, when it was acquired by GlaxoSmithKline. From 1998 to 2004, Dr. Milne worked at Pfizer Global Research and Development, where she served as the worldwide head of the Drug Pfinder Program and head of the Enzyme Target Group at the Pfizer Discovery Technology Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Prior to joining Pfizer, she was an American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellow in the department of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology at Harvard Medical School from 1995 to 1998. Dr. Milne holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and a B.A. in biological chemistry from Wellesley College.
Jonathan Violin, Ph.D.
Venture Partner, Fairmount Funds Management, LLC; Interim CEO, Crescent Biopharma, Inc.
Jonathan Violin, Ph.D., has served as a member of our Board of Directors since January 2021. Dr. Violin currently serves as a Venture Partner at Fairmount Funds Management, LLC, a position he has held since June 2023. Additionally, Dr. Violin has been serving as the interim CEO at Crescent Biopharma, a privately held biotechnology company, since October 2024. From February 2023 until June 2023, Dr. Violin served as a consultant to life science companies, including Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (formerly Miragen Therapeutics, Inc.), a biotechnology company (“Viridian”). Prior to that, Dr. Violin served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Viridian, from January 2021 to February 2023, and he previously served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Viridian from October 2020 until January 2021. Dr. Violin was a co-founder of Quellis Biosciences, Inc. (“Quellis”), which we acquired in January 2021 (the “Quellis Acquisition”) and was its Treasurer and Secretary from December 2018 until the Quellis Acquisition, and served as President of Quellis from December 2018 to December 2020. Dr. Violin also served as a consultant for Quellis from December 2017 through April 2021. Dr. Violin also co-founded Dianthus Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company, in May 2019 and serves on its Board of Directors, and co-founded and helped lead Trevena Inc., a biotechnology company, in various roles from 2008 until November 2018, most recently as SVP, Scientific Affairs and Investor Relations Officer. Dr. Violin holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Pharmacology at the University of California, San Diego, an M.B.A. with a concentration in Health Sector Management from the Fuqua School of Business and a B.S. in Chemical Pharmacology from Duke University.
