Dr. Alem Truneh

Biography

Alem Truneh, Ph.D. is a cofounder of NKT Therapeutics, and previously served the Company as Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Truneh is a senior pharmaceutical executive with over 25 years of experience in biomedical R&D. His expertise includes small molecule and biologics drug discovery and development, from early pre-clinical stage to advanced clinical development, and post-licensure product life cycle management, in a broad range of therapeutic areas. Dr. Truneh spent 17 years at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) where he helped advance several products, biologics, as well as small molecule drugs, from early discovery through advanced clinical trials, and post-market product differentiation and line extensions. At GSK, he served on many task forces, strategy teams and scientific and management committees. More recently, Dr. Truneh spent over 4 years as Vice President and Senior Vice President of R&D at Antigenics and TolerRx, respectively, where he oversaw programs in cancer, autoimmune and allergic disorders and infectious diseases. Dr. Truneh also served as Founder and President of Synaptex, Inc., a company focused on the discovery and development of biologics therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases through targets at the immune synapse. Dr. Truneh's scientific credentials and knowledge of regulatory affairs are complemented with personnel management skills, organizational development and strategic planning. He has a proven track record in pharmaceutical product licensing, strategic partnership and business development, both from the large pharmaceutical and small biotechnology company perspectives. Dr. Truneh obtained his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of London. He has been a visiting scientist at INSERM/CNRS in France, a fellow of the European Molecular Biology Organization, and Associate Professor of Pharmacy at Marseille University. He has co-authored over 100 scientific papers and is co-inventor on 30 patents. Dr. Truneh has organized national and international conferences, has been member of several scientific associations, serves on journal editorial boards, and has won many scientific and management awards and honors. 

Research Interest

NKT based therapeutics targeting NKT cells to treat sickle cell disease, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, cancer, and asthma.