Carrollton-based Gradalis, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing personalized anti-cancer therapies, has named Steven D. Weinstein as its new chief executive officer.

With more than two decades of experience in life sciences leadership, venture capital, and company building, Weinstein brings a track record of guiding innovative healthcare organizations from early-stage development through commercialization. He has extensive experience in strategic financing, clinical development, and operational leadership, Gradalis said.

“Steve’s deep expertise in oncology, combined with his ability to translate breakthrough science into successful businesses, makes him the ideal leader for Gradalis as we advance our immunotherapy platform,” David Shanahan, Gradalis’ co-founder and chairman, said in a statement. “His vision and experience will accelerate our mission to deliver transformative treatments to patients with cancer.”

VC investing and entrepreneurship

Weinstein brings more than 20 years as a life science venture capital investor and company builder.

As managing director of the Novartis Venture Fund for 12 years, he was actively engaged in all investment decisions across the $800M global portfolio, Gradalis said. Prior to Novartis, Weinstein was part of the life science team at Prism Venture Partners, a $1.25 billion family of funds. He began his venture career as a Kauffman Fellow with Mid-Atlantic Venture Funds.

More recently, Weinstein was CEO of Gregor Diagnostics, where he built a leadership team and advanced the R&D and clinical strategy for a novel prostate cancer diagnostic. He also served as chairman of SpectraWAVE, an interventional cardiology imaging platform that recently announced its acquisition by Philips, from R&D to commercial-stage, and was interim-CEO of Rox Medical (cardiovascular).

“I’m honored to join Gradalis at this pivotal moment,” Weinstein said. “Recurrent and resistant solid tumor cancers remain among the greatest challenges in oncology. Gradalis’ strong mechanistic understanding and clear biomarker-driven patient stratification enables a personalized immunotherapy approach with tremendous promise. I look forward to working with this talented team to expand access to our innovative therapies and improve outcomes for patients.”

Supporting life science innovation

Weinstein is a member of the Product Development Review Council for the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) and serves as an advisor to the UPMC Enterprises Fund, an Expert-in-Residence to Digitalis Commons supporting ARPA-H’s innovation initiative, and as an advisor to the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute.

He has served as a consultant to Genentech Neuroscience and the American Academy of Ophthalmology and as a member of the Innovation Advisory Board of Mass General Brigham Healthcare.

Gradalis is a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing Vigil^®, a Phase 3–ready, personalized immunotherapy built on its proprietary bi-shRNA platform. Vigil harnesses the patient’s own tumor clonal neoantigens to activate the immune system and deliver lasting anti-tumor responses.

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