About Us
BSIM Therapeutics is a biotech company focused on the design of organ-targeted, high-quality drug candidates for the treatment of transthyretin-mediated amyloidoses. We work closely with patients and physicians to understand and answer to multiple clinical manifestations representing unmet medical needs.
Board of Directors
Rui M. M. Brito, PhD
Co-founder, Member of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Coimbra (Portugal). PhD in Biochemistry from Rice University (USA), on NMR studies of protein-ligand interactions and Post-doctoral work at Oxford University (UK). Visiting scientist at the University of Cincinnati (USA), Johns Hopkins University (USA) and the Leibniz-Institut fur Molekulare Pharmakologie (Germany). Associate Professor and group leader of the Protein Biophysical Chemistry group at the University of Coimbra (UC), Director of the NMR spectroscopy platform at UC (UC-NMR) and member of the scientific board of the NMR national network (PTNMR).
Key areas of expertise: protein structure, stability, folding and aggregation, with special emphasis on the molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative amyloid pathologies.
Carlos J. V. Simões, PharmD, PhD
Co-founder, Member of the Board and Chief Technology Officer
PharmD and PhD in Chemistry from the University of Coimbra (Portugal). PhD work at University of Leeds (UK), on Computational Drug Discovery. Research fellow at PRACE, the Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe.
Key areas of expertise: molecular modeling, structural bioinformatics, cheminformatics, machine learning and data mining, drug discovery, intellectual property, entrepreneurship.
Eric Leire, MD, MBA
Board Member
MD from Grenoble University (France) and MBA from Northwestern University (USA). Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Enochian Biosciences Inc. and DanDrit Biotech USA Inc., former partner at BIOFUND Venture Capital (Finland and Denmark) and Medwell Capital Corp (Canada). Extensive record of licensing deals in the Biotech and Pharma sector (Pfizer, Schering-Plough and Pharmacia, among others).
Key areas of expertise: business development; pharmaceutical, non-clinical and clinical development.
Raúl G. Saraiva, PhD
Board Member
BSc and Msc in Biochemistry from University of Porto (Portugal). PhD in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at the Johns Hopkins University (USA). Investment Manager at Portugal Ventures’ Life Sciences division.
Key areas of expertise: scientific research and technology scouting, analysis of investment opportunities in therapeutics and diagnostics.
Advisory Board
Maria João Saraiva, PhD
BSc in Biology from University of Porto (Portugal), MSc in Biochemistry from University of London (UK) and PhD in Biochemistry from University of Porto (Portugal). Group Leader of the Molecular Neurobiology group of the Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology (IBMC) and Full Professor at University of Porto. Recognized leader in the field of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular, Familial Amyloidotic Polyneuropathy (FAP). Coordinator of several international scientific projects. Receiver of the Gulbenkian Science Award in 2009.
Ole Suhr, MD, PhD
MD from University of Copenhagen (Denmark), PhD in Gastroenterology from Umeå University Hospital (Sweden). Chief Physician and Gastroenterologist at the Department of Medicine and Head of the Amyloid team at the Umeå University Hospital. Participation in several clinical trials for transthyretin (TTR) amyloidosis. Member of the Advisory Board of the Familial Amyloidotic Polyneuropathy World Transplant Registry (FAPWTR).
João Melo Beirão, MD, PhD
MD and PhD in Ophthalmology from the University of Porto (Portugal). Adjunct Professor at Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS) and Physician at Santo António (Centro Hospitalar do Porto) and CUF Hospitals (Porto). Recognized leader in oculopathy associated to FAP (hATTR-PN) and expert in vitreous and retina surgery.
Partners & Investors
