Board of Directors
Mike Raab
Mr. Raab has served on the Board of Directors at Tempest Therapeutics since 2018 and as Chair from 2018 to 2026, providing steady, strategic leadership through critical inflection points throughout his tenure has Chair, including the successful development of amezalpat (TPST-1120) to global Phase 3-ready status and the completion of the company’s transformative asset acquisition transaction in 2026. He is President and Chief Executive Officer of Ardelyx, Inc., a position he has held since March 2009. Prior to Ardelyx, Mr. Raab was a partner at New Enterprise Associates (NEA), where he focused on healthcare investments in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors. Earlier in his career, he spent 15 years in senior commercial and operating roles in the biopharmaceutical industry, including as Senior Vice President, Therapeutics and General Manager of the renal division at Genzyme Corporation, where he led the launch and growth of sevelamer and contributed to the global launch of therapies for Gaucher disease. He has also held business development and commercial roles at Repligen and Bristol-Myers. Mr. Raab received his B.A. from DePauw University.
Christine Pellizzari
Ms. Pellizzari served as Science 37’s Chief Legal Officer from 2021 to 2024, previously serving at Insmed since 2013, most recently as Chief Legal Officer. She brings over 20 years of leadership in the global biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to Insmed, Ms. Pellizzari served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where she oversaw all legal aspects of the company’s successful IPO and secondary public offering and served as a member of the Executive Management Committee. Prior to Aegerion, Ms. Pellizzari served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Dendrite International, Inc., a publicly traded company that provided sales effectiveness, promotional and compliance solutions to the pharmaceutical industry. As a member of the company’s management team, she led many critical initiatives including the sale of the company to Cegedim S.A. in 2007. Ms. Pellizzari joined Dendrite from the law firm of Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer where she specialized in health care transactions and related regulatory matters. She previously served as law clerk to the Honorable Reginald Stanton, Assignment Judge for the Superior Court of New Jersey. Ms. Pellizzari received her Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Ronit Simantov
Dr. Simantov currently serves as chief medical officer at Gamida Cell, an advanced cell therapy company. Prior to joining Gamida Cell, Dr. Simantov served as head of oncology global medical affairs at Pfizer, where she was responsible for multiple programs including Sutent® (sunitinib), Inlyta® (axitinib), Ibrance® (palbociclib), Bosulif® (bosutinib) and Xalkori® (crizotinib). Dr. Simantov previously led Phase 1-3 studies as vice president of clinical research at OSI Pharmaceuticals, and served as chief medical officer at CuraGen Corporation (acquired by Celldex), where she led development of small molecules and antibody-drug conjugates. At Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Simantov led the Phase 3 study of Nexavar® (sorafenib) resulting in the first approval of a tyrosine kinase inhibitor in renal cell carcinoma. Prior to joining industry, Dr. Simantov was on the academic faculty at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, where she directed the fellowship program and conducted angiogenesis and vascular biology research. She has authored over 40 peer-reviewed manuscripts. Dr. Simantov serves on the board of Clovis Oncology. Dr. Simantov holds an M.D. from New York University School of Medicine and a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University. She completed a residency in internal medicine at New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center, and a fellowship in hematology and oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine.
Stephen Brady
Mr. Brady joined Tempest in September 2019 and served as the company’s chief executive officer and on the Board of Directors from June 2021 through February 2026, including as president and chief executive officer beginning in September 2023. Following the closing of Tempest’s strategic asset acquisition in February 2026, he transitioned to Chair of the Board. During his tenure as CEO, Mr. Brady led a refocusing of the company that resulted in the efficient advancement of amezalpat (TPST-1120) to global Phase 3-ready status in first-line hepatocellular carcinoma, and successfully completed a strategic process resulting in an asset acquisition transaction that both added a portfolio of cell therapy programs and materially extended the company’s runway. Prior to Tempest, he served as executive vice president, strategy and finance at Immune Design, which was acquired by Merck in 2019. At Immune Design, Mr. Brady led strategy, corporate development, finance and investor and public relations, as well as other general and administrative functions, and was instrumental in the company’s successful IPO, financings and eventual sale. Prior to Immune Design, he held roles of increasing responsibility in multiple biopharmaceutical companies, including as vice president of corporate development at Proteolix, where he had primary responsibility for the company’s business development activities and sale to Onyx Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Brady also serves on the Board of Directors of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO).
Matt Angel
Dr. Angel, age 45, has served as Co-Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Factor Bioscience Inc. since 2011. From January 2023 to December 2023, Dr. Angel served as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a director of Ernexa Therapeutics Inc. (f/k/a Eterna Therapeutics Inc.). From May 2022 to December 2022, Dr. Angel served as Interim President, Chief Executive Officer and as a director of Ernexa Therapeutics Inc. In 2020, Dr. Angel co-founded Exacis Biotherapeutics Inc. (“Exacis”) and served as the Chief Science Officer, Secretary, Treasurer and as a director of Exacis from 2020 until the sale of Exacis in May 2023. Dr. Angel also co-founded and served as the Chief Science Officer, Secretary and as a director of Novellus, Inc., from 2014 until the sale of Novellus in July 2021. Dr. Angel received a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2012 and a B.S. in Engineering from Princeton University in 2003.