Function Promoting Therapies

Function Promoting Therapies, LLC, and Tesvgen, the commercialization arm of FPT, LLC, were established in 2012. The company’s goals are to provide advanced technologies that improve accuracy in the diagnosis and rational management of testosterone replacement therapy for male reproductive disorders.

FPT strives to innovate at a high level, maintain our access to academic research and pre-eminence in this content area, and to optimally balance research and commercial success. We are based in the suburbs of Boston and within reach of some of the most renowned endocrine research and clinical centers in the world. Our research partners are spread throughout USA and we have research collaborations with leading institutions in Europe. These networks provide us the opportunity to share and validate our findings and enable us to leverage from a global palette of resources.

Our Team

Advisors

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Ravi Jasuja, Ph.D.

Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Jasuja serves as the Chief Scientific Officer of the Function Promoting Therapies, LLC and is an expert in the use of biophysical techniques for investigating the interactions of steroid hormones with their cognate receptors and binding proteins. He led innovative research that uncovered the mechanistic origin of errors in the current model of testosterone binding to SHBG and provided the insight that led to the generation of the new TruT™ method for determining free testosterone concentration.

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Shantikumar Nair, Ph.D.

Principal Scientist

Dr. Shanti Nair is a leading international authority in the field of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology with over 40 patent filings and 300 peer reviewed publications. He is the recipient of numerous international honors in material sciences innovation including the President Ronald Reagan’s Young Investigator award. He is one of the primary inventors of the NanoMed Technology Licensed by FPT from Amrita Institute of Nano Sciences. As part of the agreement, he is allocating dedicated effort on the development of nTc formulation platform at FPT. Over the past year, he has worked closely with Dr. Jasuja to aid technology transfer to FPT and generation of the prototype nTc formulations. His vast knowledge and expertise is central to optimization of nTc composition, and biophysical properties for sustained delivery of testosterone in-vivo.

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Dylan Bulseco, Ph.D.

Chief Commercialization Officer

Dylan has served as Director of Business Development for a pharmaceutical company and its operational reagents business.  He has over 20 years of experience with fluorescence-based platforms, reagents, and applications and has worked on commercialization of both research-use-only and diagnostic instruments.  He has directed development teams and worked with product management and marketing teams to successfully deploy unique products for both small start-ups as well as large, global biotechnology companies.  His experience includes OEM and direct sales, strategic product management, and direction of R&D efforts to support company objectives.  Dylan completed a B.S. in Biology and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics from Oregon State University and is currently pursuing an M.B.A. at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  He has served as PI, co-PI, or Key Personnel, on Phase I, II and III programs funded by NIH and the Department of Homeland Security.

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Brian Lawney, Ph.D.

Director of Computational Science

Brian is a computational scientist, driving the development of methods, numerical techniques, data management, and software behind TruT™. Brian comes with research and professional experience in diverse array of applications including life sciences, physics, and engineering. Specializations include numerical modeling, bioinformatics, and data science. He was worked as a data science, scientific computing, and software consultant in academic partnerships and in industry with both small biotechs and large pharmaceutical companies. Brian completed a B.S. in mechanical engineering and mathematics and holds a Ph.D. in theoretical and applied mechanics from Cornell University.

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Sam Mawn-Mahlau

Corporate counsel

Sam Mawn-Mahlau practices in the business law area. He serves as general counsel and advisor to businesses in the technology, finance, and life sciences areas. Sam has been involved in numerous venture capital financings, licensing agreements, and mergers and acquisitions, and has worked with many technology companies on successful long-term partnerships, collaborations, and joint ventures with other companies. His international experience includes extensive experience working with companies doing business in India, China, and Canada, as well as many other jurisdictions around the world.

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Brian Lacroix, CPA

Finance and Compliance

Brian oversees and manages Jameson & Company’s audits practice. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 1993 with a degree in Accounting. His depth of understanding of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) A-133 audit regulations and Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) requirements gives him the unique ability to work on either side of the audit process. Brian has negotiated thousands of indirect rates with the Federal government and is responsible for day-to-day strategic and tactical financial management decisions. Brian is an audit partner with Jameson & Company since 2001, prior to this Brian worked as a CPA for several small public accounting firms and as a corporate in-house auditor.

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Y. Jenny Chen, Ph.D.

Intellectual property expert

Jenny Chen is a shareholder in IP law at Wolf Greenfield in Boston. She focuses her practice on U.S. and foreign patent prosecution and portfolio strategy, opinion work, due diligence, and post-grant matters such as interference, interparties review, and re-examination. Jenny counsels clients in the areas of biological, medical, and pharmaceutical sciences. She has worked on projects related to biosimilars, diagnosis and treatment for diseases, medical implants, and cell-based therapies, pharmaceutical formulations, and herbal extracts. Jenny received her Ph.D. degree from Baylor College of Medicine, with a focus in molecular biology and pharmacology. Jenny was previously a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. David Hafler at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

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Advisors

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Rafe E. Brown, CPA

Venture capital, finance

Mr. Brown has over 20 years of experience leading and consulting financial operations in fast-paced dynamic financial environments. Rafe served as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Administrative Officer, and Senior Vice President at Pegasystems, Inc., a publicly-traded, global business process management software provider. He was previously a Senior Vice President in the finance group at Salesforce.com, a leading provider of cloud computing software applications. Over the course of his career he served at Salesforce.com, PwC and Arthur Andersen. He is a certified public accountant and with a Master’s Degree in accounting from Brigham Young University. He is highly regarded for successfully leading public companies, spearheading and integrating acquisitions and positioning companies for rapid growth. He will be a key advisor for financial oversight and venture capital investment.

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Satish Vankayalapati, M.B.A.

Venture capital, strategy

Satish serves as the Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer at Orvito, Inc. He received an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Mr. Vankayalapati served as a Partner at McKinsey and Company, where he was responsible for co-leading the firm's global practices while he worked at the firm's United States, Europe, and Middle East offices. Prior to that, he served as the Founder Member at a subsystem/components company in 1990. Currently, Mr. Vankayalapati also serves as the Chairman of Vasathi Housing Ltd. Previously, he served as a Co-Chairman at Region Holdings Corporate Advisory Private Limited. Mr. Vankayalapati has served Fortune 500 clients across the globe and led pioneering efforts in next generation.

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Karen M. Becker, Ph.D.

Regulatory Advisor

Karen is an industry leader with over 25 years of experience in serving medical device and pharmaceutical clients. She is an expert in securing FDA approvals for new products and providing the strategic execution needed for innovative therapies to navigate the complex intersection of science, policy, and business. Her work has contributed to numerous product approvals, resolution of significant post-market safety and regulatory issues, and many successful clinical and regulatory solutions for emerging companies. Karen received her Bachelor of Science in Biological Chemistry from the University of Maryland at College Park and her PhD in Pharmacology from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Dr. Becker has published original research in pharmacology and drug development, numerous publications on FDA regulation, and textbooks on the design of clinical trials for medical devices. She is co-editor of the recently published Practicing Law Institute’s Medical Device Law and Regulation Answer Book 2015, and serves on the editorial board for SCRIP Regulatory Affairs. She also Adjunct Associate Professor at Georgetown University Medical Center, where she teaches biotechnology management and public health policy. She is active in leadership positions for professional societies, including the Food and Drug Law Institute, DIA, and Medical Device Manufacturers Association.

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Partners and Collaborations

We continue to work with collaborators in academia and the wider industry for exciting new applications and further development of TruT™. Some of our existing partnerships include:

Johns Hopkins University ‐ Diagnosis and management of hypogonadism in HIV and co-infections.

The Mayo Clinic ‐ Personalized algorithm and therapy development.

Karolinska Institute ‐ Dynamics of free testosterone levels after surgical interventions in men and women.

regionh.dk - Examining population reference ranges of free testosterone for Danish cohorts.

UCLA School of Nursing ‐ Examining the dynamic role of multiple hormones in altering transport and bioavailability.

Boston IVF ‐ Developing a novel platform for rational treatment and management of in-vitro fertilization interventions.

Myosyntax ‐ Dynamics of testosterone bioavailability during caloric restriction.


Investors

Tesvgen is funded through the seed investment round in Function Promoting Therapies LLC. FPT successfully closed the seed round in 2016 and is currently in discussions with strategic partners for further commercialization of innovations.


Contact Us

130 2nd Ave Suite 121
Waltham, MA 02451

info@tru-t.com

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