JOHN W. HUEMOELLER II

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER | AXIM BIOTECH

Over 35 years of experience in financial markets in C-level positions. John brings focused approach to product development pipeline, focused on speed to market and cash management.

CATALINA VALENCIA, J.D

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER | SAPPHIRE

Results-oriented entrepreneur that specializes in leading businesses to success through the strategic development of businesses and products. Valencia brings extensive management experience with biotechnology startups including her leadership of early-stage Genentech.

DR. SERGEI A. SVAROVSKY, PH.D.,

CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER AND CO-FOUNDER | SAPPHIRE BIOTECH

Dr. Svarovsky is the scientific founder of Sapphire Bio, Inc. He brings to the Company a breadth of experience and expertise from his academic, government and industry careers in the fileds of medicinal chemistry and medical diagnostics. He has authored over 25 peer reviewed publications, reviews and book chapters, contributed to at least 20 international and U.S. patents and participated in over 50 international symposia. Some of his patents has been licensed by Pfizer, BioRad, among others. He serves on Editorial Boards of several international journals in the fields of chemistry, medical technology and nanotechnology and is a reviewer for a number of national and international funding organizations including National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Israeli Science Foundation, and Georgian Science Foundations. Dr. Svarovsky obtained a PhD in Physical Organic Chemistry and MBA in Finance from University of West Virginia in 2000. Prior to entering the biopharma industry, Dr, Svarovsky served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry at the National Cancer Institute. In 2006 he became an Associate Professor the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University where he met with another co-founder of Sapphire Bio, Dr. Douglas Lake. Dr. Svarovsky joins Axim Biotechnologies, Inc in the role of Chief Scientific Officer with a mission to develop novel therapeutics modalities and diagnostics for the treatment and detection of cancer.

DR. DOUGLAS LAKE, PHD,

CHIEF CLINICAL OFFICER | SAPPHIRE BIOTECH

Douglas Lake is a tumor immunologist who has been at ASU since 2006. Previously, he was at the University of Arizona Cancer Center where he studied anti-tumor T cells and tumor-associated peptides as immunotherapy targets.

Currently, he is investigating an enzyme called QSOX1 that is over-expressed in multiple tumor types. Lake was the first to show that this enzyme is important in tumor cell growth, invasion and metastasis. His laboratory is developing chemical and biological inhibitors of QSOX1 with strong therapeutic potential.

His laboratory also studies Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis). A pressing clinical need is that Valley Fever lacks an accurate and sensitive diagnostic test while patients are acutely symptomatic. Because the current test relies on an immune respone, which is often delayed in this disease, patients can go for as long as three months without a diagnosis. As a result, many patients are inappropriately treated. Lake is developing a test that detects bits and pieces of the fungus in urine in infected patients.

Lake’s research team also studies chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR T cells). This technology re-directs the immune system toward defined markers on tumors and unleashes T cells as the most potent killers against tumors. The vision for CAR T therapies is to re-activate patients’ immune systems against their tumors, such that they will have lifelong immunity against their tumor and any mutant tumors that might arise.

In addition, Lake teaches immunology and microbiology at the undergraduate level and advance cell biology at the graduate level.

ALIM SEIT-NEBI, PH.D.,

CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER AND CO-FOUNDER | SAPPHIRE BIOTECH

Dr.Seit-Nebi leads the development and implementation of new antibody and protein-based technologies in diagnostics and therapeutics. Prior to joining Sapphire, Dr.Seit-Nebi was leading the development and production of antibodies, recombinant proteins, biomarkers, and immunoassays for diagnostic and therapeutic applications for industry and academia, serving at various roles at GenWay Biotech, Inc. for more than 11 years. Dr.Seit-Nebi’s an expert in a broad array of biochemical, genetic, molecular, and cellular biology methods with detailed knowledge of signaling pathways in inflammation, oncogenesis, and cell stress response. He published 38 articles in prestigious peer-reviewed life-science journals. He received a doctorate degree in molecular biology from the Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology in Moscow, Russia, in 2002. He then pursued his research interests in immunology and molecular biology as a postdoctoral fellow at The Scripps Research Institute.