Management
Robert W. Overell, Ph.D.
President and CEO
Robert Overell is President and CEO of PhaseRx, which he formed through his LLC, Foundation BioVentures. He is particularly interested in developing new technologies that have the potential to be revolutionary for the biopharma industry, and brings over 20 years of operational and venture investment experience to bring to bear on this challenge. Until 2005 he was a General Partner with Frazier Healthcare Ventures, where he participated in raising $600M of venture capital and investing over $60M in private venture-backed biotechnology companies. His venture experience spans the spectrum of investment risks and stages, from seed to late stage investing. He was a key figure in the founding and/or growth of several venture-backed companies, including Array Biopharma (NASDAQ:ARRY), and XenoPort (NASDAQ:XNPT). The companies in which he has been involved include therapeutics, tools, reagents, instrumentation, bioinformatics and service businesses.
Prior to joining Frazier Healthcare Ventures in 1997, Bob helped found Targeted Genetics (NASDAQ:TGEN), a spinout company from Immunex. He was at Immunex from 1984 to 1992, where he led research, development and clinical programs. His experience during this time included leading research teams in cell and molecular biology, as well as leading the development, manufacturing and clinical affairs for the first HIV gene therapy trial in the world in 1991. He obtained his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Institute of Cancer Research, University of London, UK, and his B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He has served on numerous corporate boards, including SkeleTech, Array Biopharma (NASDAQ:ARRY), FastTrack, Chimerix, Quantum Dot, Inpharos, Gene Machines, and XenoPort (NASDAQ:XNPT).
Paul H. Johnson, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Johnson joined PhaseRx as a founder in November, 2007. From 2003 to 2007 he was Senior Vice President, Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer at Nastech Pharmaceutical Co. Inc., Bothell, Washington, where he built and led R&D programs in drug delivery including RNAi and siRNA delivery. From 2001 to 2003, Dr. Johnson was Vice President, Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer at EpiGenX Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held company focused on the development of epigenetic-based strategies to treat cancer and infectious diseases. From 1994 to 2001, Dr. Johnson served as the Head of the Cell and Molecular Biology Department and Principal Scientist in the Cancer Research Department at Berlex Biosciences in Richmond, California, the U.S. Research and Development Center for Schering AG in Germany and also held an adjunct faculty position in the Graduate Division of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at the University of California at Davis. From 1975 to 1994, Dr. Johnson was the Director of the Cell and Molecular Biology Laboratory at SRI International (formerly the Stanford Research Institute) and was Professor of Biochemistry at Wayne State University Medical School. Dr. Johnson received a B.S. in Molecular Biology from the State University of New York, Buffalo, a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute (SUNY), and did his post-doctoral training at the California Institute of Technology under an American Cancer Society fellowship. Dr. Johnson is the author of numerous scientific papers, abstracts and patents, was the recipient of the 2007 Jeffrey Wenig Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in Drug Delivery.