Team

Securitas BioSciences

Management team

Matias Vidal

Co-Founder and CEO

Matias Vidal

Co-Founder and CEO

Bsc. In Economics, Universidad Católica Argentina. Partner, Finvest Group, oversees investments in Biotech and Healthcare through Securitas Biosciences Group, a venture building fund. Mr. Vidal led the formation and organization of Securitas Biosciences and attracted key human resources; a diverse interdisciplinary group of scientists, doctors and executives. In 2013, co-founded Finvest’s group first initiative in the biotech sector, VirTech Bio, and led the company as CEO until August 2019. He is acting CEO of Vaxinz, a biotech start-up that specializes in the design and development of novel vaccines targeting human emerging infectious diseases. He serves as Board member and Executive Chairman of several portfolio companies, VirTech Bio, TheraVax, Meton, OCC Biotech and HZ4 Liver. He has an extensive international career, with over 25 years experience in consulting, Investment Banking, M&A, and portfolio management. Former Cooper&Lybrand, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein

Dr. Julián Maggini

Scientific Director and Chief Navigator

Dr. Julián Maggini

Scientific Director and Chief Navigator

Juián Maggini is an MD PhD from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Dr. Maggini has specialized in internal medicine at the Austral University Hospital and completed his doctoral thesis at the National Academy of Medicine studying the immunological role of mesenchymal stem cells. He has collaborated in the foundation of the cell culture platform in the Department of Pharmacology of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires. He participated in the creation of the General Direction of Science and Technology Policy Management in the City of Buenos Aires, as an advisor to the General Director. He also worked as Medical Director of the Laboratorio Internacional Argentino and Abbott EPD. Since 2015, Dr. Maggini is the Director of the Technology Transfer Office of the Austral University, which articulates the University, the University Hospital and the Austral Technology Business Park - based companies to promote scientific projects of high impact. The strategy of the TTO is to develop demand-oriented Science & Technology platforms, working collaboratively with technology-based companies as strategic partners. We aim to achieve the sustainability of our R&D portfolio and create an innovation ecosystem based on scientific knowledge.

Augusto Carvalho

Chief Financial Officer

Augusto Carvalho

Chief Financial Officer

Senior Analyst at Finvest, responsible for leading the market analysis and the identification of investment opportunities. Responsible for developing a platform thesis for regional healthcare networks (encompassing hospitals, specialized clinics and adjacent business opportunities) in Brazil as well as monitoring and providing management support to portfolio companies. Augusto holds a M.Sc. in Economics from Sao Paulo School of Economics (FGV), B.S. in Economics from the same institution and a B.S. in Physics from USP.

Filipe Vasconcelos

Finance Analyst

Filipe Vasconcelos

Finance Analyst

B.S. and M.Sc. in Economics from Sao Paulo School of Economics (USP), Financial Analyst at Finvest Group

Nicolás Kitashima

Administrative & Operations

Nicolás Kitashima

Administrative & Operations

B.S. in Administration from University of Buenos Aires. Attend M.Sc. In data science Austral University.Operations Director of the Institute of Applied Artificial Intelligence and member of Technology Transfer, Universidad Austral.

Maximiliano Sanchez Lamas

Chief technology officer

Maximiliano Sanchez Lamas

Chief technology officer

PhD in Biological Sciences with 11+ years research experience and translational biotechnology applications. Carried out his research at the Molecular Biology Lab at Fundación Instituto Leloir. Areas of research include Molecular Biology, Plant Biology, and Eukaryots Biotechnology. Proficient in experimental design, DNA construction design and assembly, transgenesis, RNA and protein expression assays, Chemical screenings in biologic systems, statistical analysis, and biological interpretation.

Victoria Sundblad

Scientific Director LifeSciences

Victoria Sundblad

Scientific Director LifeSciences

Victoria Sundblad, MSc., PhD. She graduated from the University of Buenos Aires (2000) and has a PhD in Biological Chemistry from the same University (2005). She has more than 20 years of experience in basic biomedical research at CONICET, in the field of molecular endocrinology and immunology. Convinced of the richness of interdisciplinary work and with great ability to alchemize different points of view, she promoted and participated in numerous collaborative projects seeking to contribute to bridging the gap between knowledge and improvement of human health.

Mariela Bollini

Scientific Director LifeSciences Applied AI & Medical Chemistry

Mariela Bollini

Scientific Director LifeSciences Applied AI & Medical Chemistry

Dr. Mariela Bollini is a Biochemist and Pharmacist from the University of Buenos Aires. In 2009, she obtained her Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the same institution. She completed her postdoctoral studies at Yale University in the area of Computer-Aided Drug Discovery and medicinal chemistry. Since 2013, she is a member of the CONICET Investigator Career, of which she is currently an Independent Investigator and head of the Medicinal Chemistry laboratory in the center for Bionanoscience Research (CIBION)-CONICET. The aim of her lab is seeking antiviral entry inhibitors against dengue, Zika, bovine viral diarrhea, and chikungunya virus.

Mariano Salibe

Scientific Director Advanced Therapies

Mariano Salibe

Scientific Director Advanced Therapies

B.s Biology Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina PhD in Biology UBA in partnership with Instituto Leloir, Invited Investigator at Cornell University Medical School, NY Senior Investigator at Gentron Inc, Medical Lead at Novartis Argentina for Psoriasis, Autoinflammatory diseases and transplants

Ventura Simonovich

Clinical Pharmacology VP

Ventura Simonovich

Clinical Pharmacology VP

Medical doctor graduated from the University of Buenos Aires (1995) with a specialization in internal medicine and clinical pharmacology. He has been department director and full professor of Human Physiology and currently full professor of the research department at the University Institute of the Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires. He has been a consultant on drug policies for the United Nations and on research management for the Pan American Health Organization. He currently serves as Head of the Clinical Pharmacology Section and Coordinator of the Research Department of the Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires. His area of expertise is clinical studies, particularly phase 1 (first in human).

Paula Berguer

Pre-Clinical VP

Paula Berguer

Pre-Clinical VP

B.s Biology at Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina. PhD in Biological Sciences, UBA. Associate Investigator at Molecular Immunology and Microbiology Lab at Fundación Instituto Leloir. Research experience in experimental immunology, molecular biology, cell culture and preclinical studies.

Lourdes Hirschson

Bioengineering Analyst

Lourdes Hirschson

Bioengineering Analyst

Bioengineer, Technological Institute of Buenos Aires (ITBA). 3+ years working on bioinformatic field and AI. Areas of research include hybrid promoters, synthetic promoters and activated pathways applied on cancer therapies. Alphafold and data processing on Cryo-Em are the current developed areas. 2+ years teaching at ITBA University in the Department of 'Biomedical Instrumentation II’

Mariano Núñez

Medical and Pharmacology Advisor

Mariano Núñez

Medical and Pharmacology Advisor

Mariano Nuñez, is an MD graduated from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has specialized in Internal Medicine and Pharmacology. He is currently Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Buenos Aires and Director of Pharmacovigilance at the Institute of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires. He has worked as an advisor in the Ministry of Health of Argentina, and has worked as a scientific director in pharmaceutical companies. He is currently general manager of Tecnología Innovativa, a company dedicated to providing global business development services to the pharmaceutical industry, and has participated in the development of several cooperation agreements between global and local companies for business and project development.

Paula Scibona

Clinical Pharmacology Advisor

Paula Scibona

Clinical Pharmacology Advisor

Medical doctor graduated from the University of Buenos Aires (2004) with a specialization in internal medicine and clinical pharmacology. She currently serves as Staff of the Clinical Pharmacology Section and Member of the Institutional Review Board at the Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires. Professor at the University Institute of the Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires, Member of the Research Council and the Institutional Innovation Council at the Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires. Member of Translational Health Research Network (RITS) of CONICET Her area of expertise is translational medicine, clinical studies, particularly early phases

Securitas BioSciences

Board and Advisory Board

Luis Claudio Garcia de Souza

Co-Founder and Chairman

Luis Claudio Garcia de Souza

Co-Founder and Chairman

Civil Engineering from PUC-Rio, Master's in Systems and Transportation Engineering, MIT. Founder and Chairman of Finvest, Chairman of Captalys. Founded and built RB Capital, Rio Bravo Investimentos and UBF Seguros. Executive Committee of Banco Pactual, Board Member, BOVESPA. Advisory Board of Securitas Capital, PE arm of Swiss Re

Martha Farmer, PhD

Board member and Chairman Advisory Board

Martha Farmer, PhD

Board member and Chairman Advisory Board

Co-Founder and CEO (retired) of North Shore InnoVentures, a biotech/cleantech incubator in Boston that has fostered 60 startups. Previously with Baxter Healthcare, Hemoglobin Therapeutics division. Dr. Farmer serves on several company and non-profit boards and is a member of e-Coast Angels. BSc and PhD from Duke University, postdoc at Johns Hopkins, and a Medical Ethics Fellow at Harvard University. 30 publications and 3 patents.

Adriana Machado

Advisory Board member

Adriana Machado

Advisory Board member

Political Science from UnB and an outspoken advocate of the impact economy. Founder of the Briyah Institute, Miami. Mrs. Machado serves on several boards, and is a strategic partner at WOMB Group. First woman President & CEO of GE Brazil, Government Affairs & Policy for GE Latin America. Intel Brazil, Amcham-SP, and US Embassy in Brasilia.

Shawn G. Bengtson, RQAP-GLP

Quality Assurance Advisor

Shawn G. Bengtson, RQAP-GLP

Quality Assurance Advisor

Director of Quality Assurance, Quality Systems Management and Research Operations Management at the University of Pittsburgh. Former National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) Life Sciences Division.

Securitas BioSciences

Company Leaders

Dr Osvaldo Podhajcer

TheraVax leader

Dr Osvaldo Podhajcer

TheraVax leader

Osvaldo L. Podhajcer completed his studies as Bachellor of Sciences and Master of Sciences in Israel. In 1987 he obtained his PhD in Biological Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires. Between 1989 and 1992 he completed a postdoctoral degree in Strasbourg, France. Since 1992, he is a member of the CONICET Investigator Career, of which he is currently a Senior Investigator. He was Professor of Cellular Biology and Applied Genomics at the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires from 1996 to 2008. From 1997 he directs the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Therapy of the Leloir Institute. He is co-author of more than 80 works in scientific journals, many of them of high international impact (Nature, Nature Medicine, Cancer Cell, Nature Reviews in Immunology and others), in addition to having written 5 chapters in specialty books. He offered more than 100 conferences nationally and internationally. He is a member of the “National Commission of Regenerative Therapies and Stem Cells” and was during 2010 Coordinator of the Health Bureau in the “Preparation of the National Plan of Science, Technology and Innovation 2012-2015”, of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation Productive of the Nation (Mincyt). Director of the genomic platform "Argentine Consortium of Genomic Technology". Osvaldo is the coordinator for Argentina of the United States-Latin America Cancer Research Network initiative co-sponsored by the Mincyt and the National Cancer Institute of the United States.

Dr Claudio Cavasotto

Meton AI Leader

Dr Claudio Cavasotto

Meton AI Leader

Dr. Claudio Cavasotto is a specialist in computational simulation of biomachromolecules, computer-aided drug design and biomedical informatics. He is Principal Investigator of CONICET and scientific director of the Institute of Applied Artificial Intelligence of the Universidad Austral.He obtained his Bachelor's degree in Physics from the University of Buenos Aires, and his PhD in Physics from the same institution. He completed postdoctoral studies at The Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, California) in the area of computational biology and biophysics; He then joined MolSoft LLC (San Diego, CA) as a senior researcher, and worked there for five years. From 2007 to 2012 he was an associate professor at the School of Biomedical Informatics of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (Houston, TX), and since then he belongs to the career of the scientific researcher at CONICET.He has published more than 75 papers in leading scientific journals, and the book In Silico Drug Discovery and Design: Theory, Methods, Challenges, and Applications.

Jhonata Emerick

RAD2 Leader

Jhonata Emerick

RAD2 Leader

Aeronautical engineer from the University of São Paulo (USP) with two master's degrees in Quantitative Finance and Mathematical Economics, the first by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV) and the second by the National Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA). He started his career at Embraer and later migrated to the financial market. He was an analyst at Rio Bravo Investimentos and the Ambipar group, as well as a Data Scientist at Itaú. In October 2014 he founded an urban logistics startup, 99motos, which in 2016 merged with Rapiddo and was sold to IFood in 2018. In 2016 he sold to the CheckExpress Group an Analytics startup called Prediction. He is currently preparing his doctoral thesis in A.I. for the analysis of medical images to defend at Poli-USP. He was also co-founder of two other startups focused on artificial intelligence: DataRisk (risk area) and RadSquare (medical area). He currently conducts work in the medical field with both companies. At DataRisk, it creates predictive models for the most diverse diseases based on public health data from the Government - DataSus and works together with the Sanofi laboratory to help locate people with rare diseases in Brazil. At RadSquare, the first SpinOff of Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, develops research and products in the areas of mental health, radiology and sports medicine. He is the current President of ABRIA - Brazilian Association of artificial intelligence -, responsible for spreading knowledge and assisting the government in designing the Brazilian strategy for the use of technology. He wrote the first book in Portuguese on econometrics using Eviews by the Saint Paul publishing house.