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About us

HeioThera is a venture-backed, seed-stage biotechnology company based in Chicago, IL and London, United Kingdom.

HeioThera is engineering cytokines to upregulate the anti-inflammatory system and calm the unchecked immune systems of those who suffer from autoimmune diseases. Our platform-in-a-molecule aims to introduce a novel mechanism of action and method for treating autoimmune diseases, from rare diseases, such as scleroderma, to cardiovascular and neuroinflammatory diseases.

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Founder experience include:

Heiothera’s approach is unique

Technology

HeioThera uses the body’s natural mechanisms to calm the out-of-control inflammatory response that characterize all autoimmune diseases. We accomplish this by increasing the anti-inflammatory cascade, which naturally balances the immune system, in what is known as inducing a tolerogenic response. Whereas most treatments for autoimmune disease focus on aggressively suppressing inflammation, we are blazing a new trail in autoimmune disease treatment by targeting the anti-inflammatory system.

Therapeutics that induce, restore, and maintain immune tolerance toward these autoantigens represent the ‘Holy Grail’ of treatments for autoimmune diseases.

Moorman et al. 2021, Frontiers in Immunology
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Current Treatments Suppress the Immune System with Negative Side Effect

HeioThera Leverages the Body’s Natural Systems to Calm the Autoimmune Response

Heiothera’s approach is unique

Platform in a Molecule

Heiothera’s platform potential

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

DIABETIC WOUND HEALING

Atherosclerosis

FIBROSIS

TYPE-1 DIABETES PREVENTION

RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

SCLERODERMA

Ischemic Stroke

DIABETIC PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY

CROHN’S AND IBD

PARTIAL PROOF OF CONCEPT EXPERIMENTS UNDERWAY

ANIMAL MODELS PLANNED

PROOF OF CONCEPT ESTABLISHED W/ MECHANISM OF ACTION

Who we are

Experienced founding team

Jeffrey A Hubbell, PhD

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder

Carlo A Passeri

Chief Operating Officer

Jun Ishihara. PhD

Director of Research and Development

Ako Ishihara, MD, PhD

Clinical Researcher

Write or call us

Contact us

Email us

carlo@heiothera.com
jun@heiothera.com
jeff@heiothera.com

Visit us

Chicago

® Humira is a registered trademark of AbbVie, Zeposia is a registered trademark of Celgene Corporation & Bristol Meyer Squibb, and Gilenya is a registered trademark of Novartis AG

® Ocrevus is a registered trademark of Genentech and The Roche Group

© 2023 All Rights Reserved.

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Jeffrey A Hubbell

PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Hubbell is a biomolecular engineer and serial biotech entrepreneur, having previously founded five life sciences companies. Dr. Hubbell is the Eugene Bell Professor in Tissue Engineering, Vice Dean, and Executive Officer of the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University Chicago. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Jeff was also recently appointed to the executive board of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s CZ Biohub Chicago.

Carlo Passeri

Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer

Carlo Passeri is a former clinical researcher and undergraduate Howard Hughes Medical Institute researcher under the Chairman of Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He had a career in government, which included serving as Special Assistant to the Treasury Secretary, before a career in global macro and thematic equity investing as well as systematic equity strategies. He helped to start and scale a systematic hedge fund in Hong Kong into a multinational organization before returning to science and joining Professor Hubbell in starting HeioThera. He has been a venture fellow at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the University of Chicago. Carlo is also a Vice President at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization.

Jun Ishihara

PhD, Co-Founder and Director of Research & Development

Dr. Jun Ishihara is an Assistant Professor (Lecturer) in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London. The Ishihara laboratory works in the field of protein engineering, with research foci in cancer immunotherapy, autoimmunity, and regenerative medicine. Dr. Ishihara received his PhD in stem cell biology from the University of Tokyo. He then conducted postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Jeffrey Hubbell first at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland from 2014 to 2016 and then at the University of Chicago from 2016 to 2020 when the laboratory relocated to the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering.

Ako Ishihara

PhD, Co-Founder and Clinical Researcher

Dr. Ako Ishihara, M.D. PhD is a clinical researcher and innovator who has been listed on 10 patents. She received her graduate degrees from Tohoku University’s Department of Pharmacy and Toyama University’s School of Medicine. After working at the University of Tokyo as a resident doctor, she became a full-time postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago. She has been awarded a prestigious JSPS postdoctoral overseas research scholarship, granted by the Government of Japan, to join Imperial College London as a postdoctoral fellow.