Charles Magness, Ph.d

Biography

Dr. Charles Magness was the principal founder of KPI Therapeutics in 2013 and is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer. He is responsible for strategy and execution of all corporate initiatives, development opportunities and acquisition of capital. Previously, he was President and Chief Executive Officer for Kineta, Inc. which he cofounded in 2007. Under his leadership, Kineta moved rapidly to acquire and finance its lead autoimmune program and advance its discovery stage antiviral research. Dr. Magness secured several significant investment partnerships. As a founder, he also developed and successfully implemented Kineta's business model which is designed to reduce investor risk and provide faster returns on investment. Dr. Magness, along with Kineta co-founder, Dr. Shawn Iadonato, founded Illumigen Biosciences, Inc. in 2000. Serving initially as CIO and then President and COO from 2002-2007, Dr. Magness led that company from inception to acquisition by Cubist Pharmaceuticals. During his tenure, Illumigen raised over $23M through financing and business development activities, contract revenue, and grants. At Illumigen, he also was responsible for investor relations, intellectual property licensing and legal affairs. Prior to founding Illumigen, he managed sequence data analysis for the University of Washington Genome Center and co-developed SEGMAP, a widely used tool essential for mapping the human genome. Dr. Magness has more than 25 years’ experience developing and managing statistical solutions for large scientific projects. He received a Research Career Award from the National Institutes of Health for his transition into human genomics from his formal training in mechanical and aerospace engineering. After earning his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Lehigh University, he was a Research Scientist at McDonnell Douglas Research Labs. He is co-inventor on multiple issued US and international patents and was awarded an official commendation when employed by the US Army.

Research Interest

Dr. Charles Magness was the principal founder of KPI Therapeutics in 2013 and is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer. He is responsible for strategy and execution of all corporate initiatives, development opportunities and acquisition of capital. Previously, he was President and Chief Executive Officer for Kineta, Inc. which he cofounded in 2007. Under his leadership, Kineta moved rapidly to acquire and finance its lead autoimmune program and advance its discovery stage antiviral research. Dr. Magness secured several significant investment partnerships. As a founder, he also developed and successfully implemented Kineta's business model which is designed to reduce investor risk and provide faster returns on investment. Dr. Magness, along with Kineta co-founder, Dr. Shawn Iadonato, founded Illumigen Biosciences, Inc. in 2000. Serving initially as CIO and then President and COO from 2002-2007, Dr. Magness led that company from inception to acquisition by Cubist Pharmaceuticals. During his tenure, Illumigen raised over $23M through financing and business development activities, contract revenue, and grants. At Illumigen, he also was responsible for investor relations, intellectual property licensing and legal affairs. Prior to founding Illumigen, he managed sequence data analysis for the University of Washington Genome Center and co-developed SEGMAP, a widely used tool essential for mapping the human genome. Dr. Magness has more than 25 years’ experience developing and managing statistical solutions for large scientific projects. He received a Research Career Award from the National Institutes of Health for his transition into human genomics from his formal training in mechanical and aerospace engineering. After earning his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Lehigh University, he was a Research Scientist at McDonnell Douglas Research Labs. He is co-inventor on multiple issued US and international patents and was awarded an official commendation when employed by the US Army.