About Us

At Fortitude Biomedicines, we are pioneering the next generation of antibody-based biotherapeutics to transform the treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancer. Our lead program is FTB-918, a first-in-class T-cell targeting bispecific antibody for the treatment of Axial Spondyloarthritis (axSpA). 

Our team of visionary drug hunters and drug development industry leaders harness the power of precision cell targeting through innovative biologics and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) to deliver medicines that minimize off-target effects, enhance efficacy and improve patient outcomes.

Our Team

Jesse Chen

Jesse Chen, Ph.D.

President and CEO

Joseph Leveque, M.D.

Chief Medical Officer

Rahul Patel

Rahul Patel, M.D., FACR

Senior Vice President, Clinical Development

Steve Monks

Stephen Monks, Ph.D.

Acting Chief Development Officer

Keith Dewedoff

Keith Dewedoff

Acting CFO

Jan Theunissen

Jan Theunissen, Ph.D.

Senior Vice President, Research

Pearl Fang, Ph.D.

Vice President, Development Operations

Yan Wen

Yan Wan

Vice President, China Site Head

Leo Zhao, Ph.D.

Vice President, Head of CMC 

Kathy Derakhchan

Kathy Derakhchan, Ph.D.

Executive Director, Preclinical Development

Wendi Ni

Wendi Ni

Director, Head of Corporate Development

Board of Directors

Tim Noyes (independent)

President and CEO, Newleos Therapeutics

Yunhai Wang

Managing Partner, K2 Venture Partners

Jesse Chen

Founder, President and CEO

Jesse Chen, Ph.D.

President and CEO

Jesse is the Founder, President and CEO of Fortitude Biomedicines. A serial entrepreneur, he previously co-founded both TRIANA Biomedicines and Avilar Therapeutics. Before launching Fortitude, he served as Chief Technology Officer at TRIANA Biomedicines. Jesse brings nearly two decades of discovery research and management experience, spanning early discovery through preclinical development. He previously served as an entrepreneur-in-residence for RA Capital Management. Prior to joining RA Capital, he was Senior Director of Discovery at Kymera Therapeutics, responsible for building the company’s industry-leading targeted protein degradation platform and pipeline. Jesse held roles of increasing responsibility at Moderna Therapeutics and Millennium Pharmaceuticals, leading efforts to developing novel platforms and discovery programs.

Joseph Leveque, M.D.

Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Joseph Leveque is a physician-executive with more than three decades of leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. He is an expert in oncology drug development, with a focus on immunotherapy, checkpoint inhibition, cytokines, targeted therapies, and translational science. Prior to joining Fortitude Biomedicines, he served as Chief Medical Officer and senior R&D executive at leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including Medikine, Mirati Therapeutics, Synthorx, ARMO Biosciences, EMD Serono, and Bristol Myers Squibb. At Mirati, he led the development and regulatory approval of adagrasib (Krazati®), a KRAS inhibitor for lung cancer, and at BMS he was part of the leadership team responsible for the development and commercialization of nivolumab (Opdivo®) and ipilimumab (Yervoy®). He has also served as advisor and board member to companies focused on oncology and immunotherapy. Dr. Leveue earned his M.D. from University of Texas Medical School in Houston, and holds a Masters of Business Administration from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a teaching affiliate of UCLA.

Rahul Patel, M.D., FACR

Senior Vice President, Clinical Development

Dr. Patel leads Fortitude Biomedicine’s Clinical Development efforts of the company’s therapeutic programs. He is a board-certified rheumatologist with more than 15 years of experience in clinical drug development within the biopharmaceutical industry. His work has contributed to the successful regulatory submission and approval of two immunotherapies. Prior to joining Fortitude, Dr. Patel founded AyurBioConsulting, where he provided strategic and operational support on programs focused on autoimmune disease indications. Previously, he served as Executive Medical Director at ImmPACT-Bio and KyvernaTherapeutics. Over the course of his career, he held positions of increasing responsibility at BioCryst, PRA Health Sciences, Sanofi and PAREXEL. Dr. Patel earned his Doctor of Medicine from Baylor College of Medicine and completed his fellowship in Rheumatology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Stephen Monks, Ph.D.

Acting Chief Development Officer

Dr. Stephen Monks leads Fortitude Biomedicine’s Development efforts. He is a seasoned biopharmaceutical development executive with more than 25 years of experience guiding CMC strategy, technical development, and regulatory execution from early research through late-stage clinical development. Before consulting, Dr. Monks served as Chief Technology Officer at Pyxis Oncology, where he led the technical build-out of the company’s ADC and immuno-oncology antibody platforms and also oversaw the company’s CMC strategy, CDMO selection and management, and regulatory planning efforts to support pipeline advancement. Dr. Monks received his PhD in Biochemistry from University of Melbourne, Australia.

Keith Dewedoff

Acting CFO

Keith brings more than 20 years of experience in the life sciences industry to Fortitude Biomedicines, ranging from venture-backed biotech startups to commercial publicly traded companies. Prior to joining Fortitude, he served as CFO at Carbon Biosciences, Code Biotherapeutics, and Ceptur Therapeutics; additionally, he was an advisor to various venture funds. Keith is also CFO & advisor to Spy Biotech,  co-founder and exec chairman of Kaizen Biosciences and advisor at Danforth Health. Keith holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics & Management from Northeastern University.

Jan Theunissen, Ph.D.

Senior Vice President, Research

Dr. Jan Theunissen leads Discovery efforts at Fortitude Biomedicines and brings over 15 years of industry experience in antibody drug development across diverse target classes and disease indications. He is an accomplished biotechnology leader with deep expertise in the preclinical discovery and development of novel antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates. Prior to joining Fortitude, he served as Director of Biology at Mersana Therapeutics and Senior Director of Research at Iconic Therapeutics. Earlier in his career, Dr. Theunissen held positions of increasing responsibility at Amgen, Igenica Biotherapeutics, and Gilead Sciences. Dr. Theunissen received his PhD in Molecular Biology from Cornell University.

Pearl Fang, Ph.D.

Vice President, Development Operations

Dr. Pearl Fang is an accomplished biopharmaceutical executive with extensive global leadership experience spanning biotechnology and pharmaceutical drug development. She brings deep expertise in clinical strategy, clinical development, clinical operations, medical affairs, and regulatory affairs, with a proven track record of advancing innovative therapeutics from IND-enabling activities through clinical execution. Prior to joining Fortitude Biomedicines, Dr. Fang served as an executive advisor to emerging biotechnology companies and previously served as Vice President of Clinical Development & Operations at Asceneuron SA. Throughout her career, she has held leadership roles at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Amgen, Puma Biotechnology, ARMO BioSciences, and NKGen Biotech, leading global early clinical development programs across oncology, hematologic malignancies, neuroscience, immunology, autoimmune diseases, and biologic, cell, and small molecule therapeutics. Dr. Fang earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Neuroscience from University of Southern California.

Yan Wan

Vice President, China Site Head

Ms. Wan brings extensive expertise in corporate operations, with a versatile background spanning human resources, procurement, legal, IT, finance, government affairs, and R&D alliance management. Prior to joining Fortitude Biomedicines, she served as General Manager, China at Terns Pharmaceuticals, where she played a pivotal role in the company’s launch, operational build-out, and successful NASDAQ IPO.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Wan provided HR leadership supporting both the commercial franchise and global drug development units at Novartis China. She began her operations career in Germany at an overseas R&D center. Ms. Wan holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Literature and Economics from Wuhan University of Technology, as well as a postgraduate degree from the University of Hong Kong Business School.

Leo Zhao, Ph.D.

Vice President,  Head of CMC

Dr. Zhao leads Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) efforts for Fortitude Biomedicine’s portfolio of therapeutic candidates. As an accomplished medicinal chemist, he brings more than 15 years of experience in pharmaceutical drug discovery and development. He is an accomplished CMC leader with expertise in process development for traditional small molecules, Targeted Protein Degraders (TPDs) and novel antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), spanning from early-stage research to late-stage clinical development and commercial manufacturing. Prior to joining Fortitude, Dr. Zhao served as Vice President of R&D and Head of CMC at Kangpu Biopharmaceuticals, where he oversaw the development of a portfolio of molecular glue therapeutics for oncology and immunology. Previously, he was Vice President and Head of API Chemistry at Forefront Pharmaceuticals and held positions of increasing responsibility at GSK and WuXi App Tec. Throughout his career, Dr. Zhao has made significant contributions to medicinal chemistry and pharmaceutical development, resulting in 15 issued patents. He earned his Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Kathy Derakhchan, Ph.D.

Executive Director, Preclinical Development

Dr. Derakhchan leads preclinical development efforts at Fortitude Biomedicines. She has proven track record of leading multiple successful IND/NDA filings with corresponding track record of publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at scientific conferences. Dr. Derakhchan has extensive experience in engaging with regulatory authorities and in developing, designing, and overseeing non-GLP, GLP, and IND-enabling pharmacology, PK/PD efficacy, safety pharmacology, investigative toxicology and general toxicology evaluations of therapeutics from early-stage discovery to FIH and post approval. Prior to joining Fortitude, she held positions of increasing responsibility at Amgen, Shire and Takeda. Dr. Derakhchan received her PhD in Pharmacology from Université de Montréal.​

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Wendi Ni

Director, Head of Corporate Development

Wendi leads the Operations and Corporate Development efforts of Fortitude Biomedicines. She has more than ten years of research experience and is passionate about building biotech startups. Prior to joining Fortitude, she was Senior Scientist at Novartis, driving drug discovery efforts across various modalities, including antibody-drug conjugates, bispecifics, and radioligand therapy. Wendi received her Master of Science in Pharmacology and Drug Development from Tufts University School of Medicine.

Matthew Huggins, Ph.D.

Principal Scientist, Immunology

Dr. Huggins is an immunologist with expertise in preclinical drug development across autoimmune diseases and oncology. At Fortitude, he serves as project lead for the company’s lead program, driving the research strategy for advancing this development candidate into the clinic. Prior to joining Fortitude, Matthew led multiple early-stage discovery programs from proof of concept through IND-enabling studies. Dr. Huggins received his Ph.D. in Immunology from the Mayo Clinic in 2017.

Haibo Liu, Ph.D.

Director, Medicinal Chemistry

Dr. Liu leads the GLUE-DACTM platform and ADC Discovery efforts at Fortitude Biomedicines. He is an accomplished medical chemist bringing over 15 years of drug discovery experience. Prior to joining Fortitude, he was the Director of Chemistry at Matchpoint Therapeutics. He held positions of increasing responsibility at Avila, Celgene, BMS, and Matchpoint. Dr. Liu received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Stanford University.

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