Cassie J. Edgar is a scientist and attorney with over 20 years of corporate and private practice experience. Cassie’s expertise is vast but is centered around working to translate innovation into revenue for technologies that feed the world and keep it healthy. She has held positions in research and development, legal, and management in biotechnology to this end. Before
moving to private practice, Cassie served as Chief IP & Regulatory Office for Genus plc, where she created global IP and regulatory strategies for gene editing. In that role, she was also accountable for patent protection, and drafting and negotiating research and licensing agreements. Previous roles include IP Counsel, Senior Regulatory Counsel, and Research and Development Director at Pioneer DuPont, now Corteva. Cassie has a B.S. in Molecular
Genetics from The Ohio State University, an M.S. with an emphasis on Biomathematics from North Carolina State University, and a J.D. from Drake University; she is also an alumna of Harvard Business School after completing the General Management Program in 2013.
Donald Lehr is the Chief Legal Officer for Precigen and has broad experience in a wide variety of types of law, including corporate, securities, and general business. Before joining Precigen, Don practiced with the law firm Hogan Lovells LLP, formerly Hogan & Harston, LLP. While there, Don’s practice included the representation of corporations held both privately and publicly across numerous industries. This work gave him experience in fields such as biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, software, technology, and manufacturing, which he now brings to Cytotheryx. Don has also served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Irma S. Raker of the Court of Appeals of Maryland and received a B.A. degree from Swarthmore College and J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law.
John R. Swart, Ph.D., has over 25 years of experience in the biomedical research industry, with an emphasis on business development and operations management, and is the CEO of Cytotheryx and Ponte Biosciences. Previously, John served as President and CEO of Exemplar Genetics, an innovative biomedical research company that developed models of rare genetic diseases and was a leader in its field. Prior to co-founding Exemplar Genetics, John worked in
the global animal health business of Boehringer Ingelheim. In his current role as CEO of Cytotheryx, John is responsible for leading the team developing this innovative platform technology.