Scientific and Regulatory Advisors
Enoch Kim Ph.D.
Head of Chemistry
Enoch is an accomplished interdisciplinary scientist with a proven history of innovation. He holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard University, where his research focused on the fabrication and functionalization of biological interfaces. This led to the development of soft lithography, a technique now widely used in biology and chemistry.
Enoch co-founded Surface Logix, the company conceiving of Response’s lead asset, RDX-002, where he served in multiple roles, including chemistry, drug discovery, and preclinical development. He was a core team member who discovered and developed three novel chemical entities in metabolic, cardiovascular, and immunological indications. One of these, Rezurock, is now approved for treating graft versus host disease.
Enoch has demonstrated success in translational research, from animal models for establishing mechanisms of action to participating in first-in-man trials. His research experience includes medicinal chemistry, assay development, preclinical pharmacology, ADME, and drug formulation and manufacturing. Enoch conceptualized and invented RDX-002, making his understanding of the molecule unparalleled.
Dhanapalan Nagarathnam, Ph.D.
Head of CMC
Dhanapalan (“Naga”) is a highly accomplished medicinal chemist and drug discovery expert with over 35 years of experience. He has held senior functional and management positions at leading pharmaceutical companies, including Pharmasset (acquired by Gilead), Bayer HealthCare, and Synaptic Pharmaceutical Corporation (currently Lundbeck). In these roles, he has led and managed drug discovery programs in various therapeutic areas, including cancer, virology, diabetes, obesity, pain, and benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Naga directed the Medicinal Chemistry efforts of several HCV drug discovery projects, one of which yielded the therapeutic Sovaldi (sofosbuvir). Naga also has experience in developing commercial-scale processes for many active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). He founded DNSK International, LLC, and Medivedan Therapeutics, LLC. Naga graduated from the University of Madras, India, with a Ph.D. in Organic/Medicinal Chemistry and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Purdue University Cancer Center, and the University of Illinois.
Susan Alpert, M.D. Ph.D.
Regulatory Advisor/FDA
Susan Alpert, Ph.D., M.D. was a Corporate Senior Vice President for Global Regulatory at Medtronic, Inc. and VP of Regulatory Science at C.R. Bard, Inc. She is the principal of SFADC LLC (SFA Regulatory, LLC), a one-person firm focused on strategies to place medical devices and other medical products into the global market.
She previously worked at the US FDA. She was Director of the Office of Device Evaluation from 1993-1999 and held various management positions in the Centers dealing with drugs, devices and radiological health, and foods.
Susan is a microbiologist and pediatrician with a specialty in infectious diseases. She completed her undergraduate degree at Barnard College, Columbia University in New York City, holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from New York University, and a medical degree from the University of Miami (Florida). She is a member of several non-profit and for-profit boards.