COMMITTED TO DISCOVERING BEST-IN-CLASS THERAPIES
TO CONQUER INFLAMMATORY and immunologic DISEASES
RAPT Therapeutics is a clinical-stage immunology-based biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing novel therapies for patients living with inflammatory and immunologic diseases. Utilizing our deep and proprietary expertise in immunology, we develop novel molecules that are designed to modulate the critical immune responses underlying these diseases. Our lead drug candidate, ozureprubart (formerly RPT904), is a half-life extended monoclonal antibody designed to bind free human immunoglobin E (IgE), a key driver of several allergic diseases. We plan to pursue development of ozureprubart initially in food allergy and chronic spontaneous urticaria, based on promising Phase 1 clinical results. We have discovered and advanced two CCR4 drug candidates for inflammatory disease and cancer. We are also pursuing a range of other targets that are in earlier stages of discovery.
Visionary Leadership Team
Brian Wong, M.D., Ph.D.
President and
Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Wong is a physician/scientist that brings to RAPT Therapeutics over 25 years of experience leading organizations at the forefront of innovative drug development. Prior to RAPT, he served as Senior Vice President, Research at Five Prime Therapeutics which was acquired by Amgen. Prior to FivePrime, Dr. Wong served as Director in the Inflammation Disease Biology Area at Roche. There, he led the discovery and supported the development of Roche’s autoimmune disease portfolio, consisting of more than 20 biologics and small-molecule programs from discovery to late-stage clinical development and through approval.
Dr. Wong received his M.D. from the Weill Cornell Medical College and his Ph.D. in Immunology from Rockefeller University.
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Dirk Brockstedt, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Dirk joined RAPT Therapeutics in January 2018, bringing over 20 years of experience through all stages of discovery, translational and clinical development, as well as a deep knowledge of immunology and the tumor microenvironment. He joined RAPT from Aduro Biotech, where he served as Executive Vice President of Research and Development. Prior to Aduro, Dirk held positions of increasing responsibility within the immunology department of Cerus Corporation, most recently serving as Director of Immunology. Prior to Cerus, he served as a scientist at Aventis in the immunotherapy and anti-angiogenesis group, developing novel therapies against cancer.
Dirk holds an M.S. in Microbiology from the University of Kiel, and he earned his Ph.D. from the University of Kiel (graduate work performed at Stanford University). He was a post-doctoral fellow at the Stanford School of Medicine in the Department of Pathology. He has co-authored over 50 scientific papers and is a named inventor on seven issued patents and several pending applications.
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Rodney Young
Chief Financial Officer
Rodney joined RAPT Therapeutics in December 2019. He brings more than 30 years of executive management and corporate finance experience. Most recently, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Cellerant Therapeutics, Inc., a private clinical-stage company developing cell and antibody-based immunotherapies for blood cancers and related disorders. At Cellerant, he was responsible for accounting and financial management, and played a key role in corporate strategy. Previously, he served as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance and Administration of StemCells, Inc., a public biotechnology company developing stem cell therapeutics for central nervous system disorders. Earlier in his career, he was an investment banker at Lehman Brothers and SG Cowen, leading financing and merger and acquisition transactions focused in the healthcare, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical sectors.
Mr. Young received his M.B.A. and B.A. from the University of Chicago.
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Gwen Carscadden
Chief Human Resources Officer
Gwen joined RAPT in April 2022, bringing over 30 years of extensive experience building and leading high-quality human resource teams. Most recently, she served as Chief People Officer at Intersect ENT, a commercial stage medical technology company where she was responsible for setting strategic direction for the human resources function. Previously, Gwen was Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Facilities at Cardiodx, a private cardiovascular genomic diagnostic company. Before Cardiodx, she was Vice President of Human Resources at Facet Biotech, later acquired by Abbott Labs. Earlier in her career, she held various human resource roles at PDL Biopharma, Fujitsu Computer Systems and AMDAHL corporation.
Gwen holds an M.A. in Organizational Communication and a B.A. in Behavioral Science from San Jose State University.
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Paul Kassner, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President,
Biology
Paul joined RAPT Therapeutics in 2016, bringing more than 15 years of experience building and leading high-performance technical groups in various biopharmaceutical organizations. Most recently, Paul was Director of Research and Head of the Genome Analysis Unit at Amgen, Inc. During his eleven years at Amgen, he developed and implemented multiple high-throughput platforms for drug discovery and target identification across a broad spectrum of therapeutic areas. Prior to Amgen, Paul held scientific and leadership positions in several smaller companies, which enabled him to exercise his passion for creating novel technology platforms to enable drug discovery.
Paul received his B.S. in Genetics and Development from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana before performing graduate research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and earning his Ph.D. in Immunology from Harvard University. Paul completed postdoctoral work in cellular neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego.
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Lisa Moore, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President,
Business Development and Strategy
Lisa joined RAPT Therapeutics in 2018, bringing more than 20 years of experience in business and scientific leadership. At RAPT she is responsible for lead asset partnering and out-licensing, having secured a significant partnership with Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co., LTD. Prior to joining RAPT, she served as Director of Alliance Management for Nurix, Inc. where she managed drug discovery and development strategic alliances with pharma partners in addition to management of strategic research collaborations. Previously, she served as Associate Director of Alliance Management for Novartis Diagnostics managing four commercial alliances as well as establishing cross-functional operating committees to govern product development and commercial activities. Prior to Novartis, she held positions of escalating responsibility at Codexis, Incyte and Exelixis.
She received her Ph.D. in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her B.A. in Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
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Jennifer Nicholson
Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance
Jennifer joined RAPT in September 2022, bringing over 20 years of biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry regulatory expertise, with significant experience across all stages of development in oncology including hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. Most recently, she served as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Kronos Bio. Prior to Kronos Bio, she was Head of Global Regulatory Science at Acerta Pharma, a member of the AstraZeneca Group. Jennifer was the Global Regulatory Lead for the Calquence® (acalabrutinib) US NDA, which was granted accelerated approval in 2017, as well as for subsequent global filings. Prior to joining Acerta, Jennifer was Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs at Bavarian Nordic, where she focused on immuno-oncology and vaccine products. Earlier in her career, Jennifer worked as the Global Regulatory Lead on various hematology and oncology products at Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Onyx Pharmaceuticals and Genentech.
Jennifer holds a B.S. in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from the University of California, San Diego and an M.H.A. from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Adnan Rahman
Vice President, Commercial
Adnan joined RAPT in September 2022, bringing over 20 years of biopharmaceutical commercial and marketing expertise. Most recently, he served as Global Commercial Lead of Dermatology at Arena Pharmaceuticals, acquired by Pfizer, where he led global commercial strategy for its principal asset, Etrasimod, in atopic dermatitis and alopecia areata. Prior to Arena Pharmaceuticals, he was U.S. Commercial Director of XGEVA® (denosumab) at Amgen and held various senior marketing positions in oncology, bone health and inflammation business units. Earlier in his career, Adnan held various marketing positions at Pharmacia and Procter & Gamble.
Adnan holds an M.B.A. from Rutgers University and an M.A and B.A. in Electrical Engineering from University of Cambridge.
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Michael Listgarten
General Counsel
Michael joined RAPT in 2023, bringing over 25 years of law firm and in-house experience, focused on helping biopharmaceutical companies manage the transition from late-stage clinical development to commercial entities. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Healthcare Law & Chief Compliance Officer at Adamas Pharmaceuticals, overseeing legal support for the commercial and medical functions, advising on critical transactions, and ensuring compliance with the complex system of laws and regulations governing the biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to Adamas, he served as Vice President of Healthcare Law at Principia Biopharma. Michael also worked for 16 years at Genentech, Inc., where he led a large team of attorneys providing legal and compliance support for the development, manufacture, distribution and sale of both large and small molecule therapies. Michael began his career at Covington & Burling LLP.
Michael holds a J.D. and Masters of International Affairs from Columbia University, as well as a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania.
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Nipun Davar, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Technical Operations
Nipun joined RAPT Therapeutics as Senior Vice President of Technical Operations in 2024, bringing over 27 years of extensive biopharmaceutical and drug development experience specializing in successful product development and commercial manufacturing. Most recently he served as Chief Corporate Officer at Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he oversaw the CMC, program management, legal and finance functions. Prior to Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Nipun was Senior Vice President of Pharmaceutical Development and Manufacturing at Threshold Pharmaceuticals where he led the development of TH-302, a hypoxia activated prodrug developed to treat to multiple cancer types. Earlier in his career, Nipun held various roles encompassing drug delivery-based product development, clinical and commercial supply chain management, regulatory filings and product approvals.
Nipun holds a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Maryland and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business.
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Lori Lyons-Williams
RAPT Board Chair
President and Chief Executive Officer, Abdera Therapeutics
Scott Braunstein, M.D.
Operating Partner, Aisling Capital
Ashley Dombkowski, Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Cellics Therapeutics
Michael F. Giordano, M.D.
Former SVP and Head of Development,
Oncology, & Immuno-Oncology,
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Mary Ann Gray, Ph.D.
President, Gray Strategic Advisors, LLC
Linda Kozick
Former VP and Head of Immuno-Oncology/
Oncology Product & Portfolio Strategy,
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Brian Wong, M.D., Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer,
RAPT Therapeutics
Clinical and Scientific Advisors
Alexander Rudensky, Ph.D.
Chair, RAPT Therapeutics SAB
Chair, Immunology Program and Director,
Ludwig Center for Cancer Immunotherapy at
Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center
Hugh Sampson, M.D.
Kurt Hirschhorn Professor of Pediatrics at the
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Director Emeritus of the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute
R. Sharon Chinthrajah, M.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine at Sean N. Parker Center for
Allergy and Asthma Research
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Stanford University
Emma Guttman-Yassky, M.D., Ph.D.
Waldman Professor of Dermatology
and System Chair Department of Dermatology,
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Robert Zamboni, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor of Chemistry, McGill University
Lisa Beck, M.D.
Professor of Dermatology, University of Rochester
Visitor Information
Our corporate offices are at 561 Eccles Avenue, South San Francisco, in the heart of the Bay Area biotech community and less than 5 miles from San Francisco International Airport.
Parking is readily available on-site.