Management Team
- Management Team
Marc Martinell, PHD Co-Founder & Chief Executive OfficerMarc co-founded Minoryx in 2011 and since then has been taken the CEO role. He obtained a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Barcelona and has 15+ years of experience in drug discovery and development. Prior founding Minoryx, he worked at Crystax Pharmaceuticals and Oryzon Genomics where he managed several research projects and led the team in charge of target selection, structural biology, computational chemistry and hit ID through a fragment-based approach. At Oryzon, Marc actively contributed to the identification of the first-in-class inhibitors for the epigenetic target LSD1 currently in clinical studies. Marc is co-autor of several patents and publications and besides his activities in the technological field always had an entrepreneurial calling.
MARÍA PASCUAL, PHD Chief Regulatory OfficerMaría is a regarded strategic regulatory expert with 20 years’ experience in regulatory affairs with an extensive track record of leading global registration activities for innovative new products. Prior to Minoryx, she was VP Regulatory Affairs and Quality at TiGenix bringing Alofisel from discovery to first allogenic stem cell product to receive EMA marketing authorization resulting in acquisition by Takeda. Board Member of EBE and member of EFPIA Regulatory Strategy Committee.Chaired regulatory working groups in various trade associations. Previous roles include, VP Regulatory Affairs and Quality at Cellerix, a stem cell therapy company on immune-based diseases. Holds a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy and a Ph.D. in Immunology and worked in R&D at the Mayo Clinic, USA and the LUMC in the Netherlands.
Hans Christian Keller, MSC Chief Business OfficerHans Christian is a highly experienced executive with over 20 years of experience in business development and commercial roles within the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. Prior to joining Minoryx Hans Christian served as Vice President of Business Development at Sanifit S.A. where he was responsible for partnering activities which in February 2022 led to the acquisition of Sanifit by Vifor Pharma. Prior to joining Sanifit Hans Christian worked at H. Lundbeck A/S as Senior Director of Global Business Development. During his time at Lundbeck, Hans Christian was involved in numerous transactions with small and large pharmaceutical/biotech companies, covering diverse transaction categories e.g. M&A, in- & out-licensing and asset acquisitions for projects/products in development and commercial stages including as lead negotiator on the acquisition of Alder Biopharmaceuticals by Lundbeck.
Arun Mistry, MD Chief Medical OfficerArun is an experienced pharmaceutical executive with a background of 10 years in clinical practice and over 20 years in the industry. Involved in strategically developing and launching many NCEs across multiple therapy areas globally, and with a focus on rare diseases in the last 10 years. Recent experience as VP and Therapy Area Head at Mereo BioPharma where led the setrusumab osteogenesis imperfecta programme culminating in a significant partnership deal with Ultragenyx Inc. Prior to this, Arun worked at Zogenix Inc as VP Clinical Development and Medical Affairs, Europe on the successful development and submission to FDA and EMA of fenfluramine for Dravet syndrome and Lennox Gastaut syndrome. Also, built clinical and medical teams to strategically plan, execute and deliver development programmes globally with the patient perspective being front and centre.Arun qualified in medicine from the University of Dundee, postgraduate qualifications in paediatrics and is a Member of the Royal College of Physicians (UK) and a Member of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
PILAR PIZCUETA, PHD VP Early DevelopmentPilar holds a PhD in Pharmacy from the Universitat de Barcelona. Supported by a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship she worked at Harvard Medical School and later at Duke’s University, Durham (USA). Upon returning to Spain in 1995, she became an independent researcher at the Fundació Clínic- IDIBAPS in Barcelona and later on she moved to the pharmaceutical industry at Almirall as Head of the In Vivo Target Validation Unit in charge of generating and characterizing experimental models of diseases.She became program leader in Drug Discovery, supervising projects related to autoimmune diseases. During this period two drug candidates were forwarded to development and one of them has now entered in clinical trials. Afterwards she moved to CNIO as Head of In Vivo Target Validation from 2009 to 2012.
SÍLVIA PASCUAL, MSC VP Clinical DevelopmentSílvia is a Pharmacist from the Universitat de Barcelona and after graduating she studied a Master of Science at King’s College, University of London. She has developed a broad experience in Clinical Development, pharmacovigilance and Regulatory Affairs at different companies such as GSK, Grifols and Almirall.In these companies, Sílvia managed several clinical research projects in different therapeutics indications, mainly in haematology, immunology, respiratory and dermatology. Some of these development programs obtained EMA and FDA approval to be marketed in both EU and US.
MONTSE MARTÍ, MSC Executive Director CMC & Supply ChainMontse is a Chemist, MSc, from Institut Químic de Sarrià (Universitat Ramón Llull). She holds a PDD (Business Administration and Management, General) degree from IESE Business School-University of Navarra. She has developed a broad experience in CMC at different companies such as Combino-Medichem, Synthon and mAbxience.In these companies, Montse managed several development and operational projects in both drug substance and drug product areas, in small molecules and biosimilars. Some of the programs obtained approval in EU, US, Japan, Russia, Latam and were licensed out to be marketed worldwide.
XAVIER ORTEGA, PHD, PMP Executive Director R&D Program MngmtXavier brings extensive experience in managing large and complex biotech projects in direct interaction with multidisciplinary teams in both the public sector and industry.He has managed portfolios of products through all phases of the project lifecycle (from idea to commercialization) serving as the business strategic coordinator between R&D, Regulatory Affairs, Manufacturing, QA/QC, Marketing and Logistics departments.Xavier holds a PhD in Biomedicine from the Universitat de Barcelona and he is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®) by the Project Management Institute (USA).
ADRIANA MANTILLA, MD PHD Medical DirectorAdriana is a Medical Doctor from University of Rosario (Colombia), Clinical Pharmacologyst from Vall d’Hebron Hospital (Spain), with a MSc in Pharmaceutical Industry from University of Salamanca (Spain) and a PhD degree in Pharmacology from Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain). She has more than 10 years of experience in clinical field and rich background in clinical research including clinical development for CNS indications from her previous positions along hospital setting, CRO (Pharmalex) and Industry (Insudpharma).
Josep Roca i Camps, MSC Group Finance DirectorJosep holds a bachelor’s degree in International Business and Economics and a Master’s Degree in Finance from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) and the UPF’s Barcelona School of Management. Prior to Minoryx, he developed, for 7 years, an extensive professional experience specializing in the Life Sciences sector at the consulting firm EY. Josep led multiple projects with international life science companies, ranging from global pharmaceuticals to biotech’s and public research centers. Managing several teams, he gained international and multicultural working experience with international projects in USA & LATAM.
Laura Rodriguez, PhD Director BiologyLaura holds a bachelor's degree in Biology and a PhD in Human Molecular Genetics from the Universitat de Barcelona. She has more than 15 years of experience in scientific research in the field of rare diseases including lysosomal storage disorders and neurodegenerative and mitochondrial diseases. Laura has a long trajectory at Minoryx where she served as a Lab Manager and led assay development and in vitro biology in drug discovery programs for five years. Since 2017 she has been contributing to the development of leriglitazone for the treatment of orphan CNS disorders. She has co-authored several publications including journals, reviews and patents.
Marta Torres Director HR & OfficeMarta studied Law at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and she is also a certified travel agent by Escuela Superior de Turismo FormaticBarna (University of Girona). She has held management positions for over 15 years, specializing in office management and people, cultivating a work environment where everyone can thrive. Prior to joining Minoryx in 2015, Marta worked in the real estate, tourism and fashion industries in Spain, Middle East and USA.
