Our Team
SaponiQx is led by an exceptional team who bring deep experience in vaccines, platform design, and innovation, with proven success in industry, government, and academia.
LEADERSHIP
Rebecca Kurnat
Head of Operations
Rebecca Kurnat, M.S. serves as SaponiQx’s Head of Operations. Rebecca brings a deep background in providing strategic leadership across all phases of drug development based upon 20 years experience managing large, technically complex, programs and product portfolios, with increasing influence from academia through private industry, in pursuit of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed medical products. Before joining SaponiQx, Rebecca served in a number of leadership positions at the US Government, most recently the HHS Product Coordination Lead for Operation Warp Speed, overseeing all aspects of the federal government’s Novavax COVID-19 vaccine development effort, and prior to that the Director of Technology Selection and Clinical Evaluation for the Department of Defense. Rebecca holds an M.S in Biotechnology from the Johns Hopkins University.
Rebecca Kurnat
Head of Operations
Rebecca Kurnat, M.S. serves as SaponiQx’s Head of Operations. Rebecca brings a deep background in providing strategic leadership across all phases of drug development based upon 20 years experience managing large, technically complex, programs and product portfolios, with increasing influence from academia through private industry, in pursuit of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed medical products. Before joining SaponiQx, Rebecca served in a number of leadership positions at the US Government, most recently the HHS Product Coordination Lead for Operation Warp Speed, overseeing all aspects of the federal government’s Novavax COVID-19 vaccine development effort, and prior to that the Director of Technology Selection and Clinical Evaluation for the Department of Defense. Rebecca holds an M.S in Biotechnology from the Johns Hopkins University.
Head of Operations
Al Dadson
Chief Manufacturing Officer
Alfred Dadson serves as Chief Manufacturing Officer in Agenus’s Global Biologics Operations, supporting SaponiQx. Al is responsible for process development of our antibodies, vaccines, and cell therapies, from manufacturing through to commercialization. Previously, he was Vice President of Antibody Manufacturing Operations and Site Head of Agenus West, leading the team who developed a record number of eight antibody programs through to successful IND acceptance in under two years. Prior to joining Agenus, Al was Vice President of Manufacturing Operations and Facilities Engineering at XOMA. Al holds a patent on a state-of-the-art modular facility design and was named a lifetime member of Industry Leaders’ Who is Who by his peers.
Al Dadson
Chief Manufacturing Officer
Alfred Dadson serves as Chief Manufacturing Officer in Agenus’s Global Biologics Operations, supporting SaponiQx. Al is responsible for process development of our antibodies, vaccines, and cell therapies, from manufacturing through to commercialization. Previously, he was Vice President of Antibody Manufacturing Operations and Site Head of Agenus West, leading the team who developed a record number of eight antibody programs through to successful IND acceptance in under two years. Prior to joining Agenus, Al was Vice President of Manufacturing Operations and Facilities Engineering at XOMA. Al holds a patent on a state-of-the-art modular facility design and was named a lifetime member of Industry Leaders’ Who is Who by his peers.
Chief Manufacturing Officer
Robert Foster
Senior Counsel
Robert is a multidisciplinary attorney with private and public sector experience. Prior to joining SaponiQx, he served as a senior attorney on the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) where he focused on the health portfolio. Previous to HELP, Robert was an advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There, he focused on COVID-19 vaccine development and pandemic response. Robert began his legal career at two national firms. Robert also serves as a Judge Advocate in the U.S. Army Reserve.
Robert Foster
Senior Counsel
Robert is a multidisciplinary attorney with private and public sector experience. Prior to joining SaponiQx, he served as a senior attorney on the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) where he focused on the health portfolio. Previous to HELP, Robert was an advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There, he focused on COVID-19 vaccine development and pandemic response. Robert began his legal career at two national firms. Robert also serves as a Judge Advocate in the U.S. Army Reserve.
Senior Counsel
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Garo Armen
Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder of Agenus Inc.
Dr. Garo Armen serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Agenus Inc., which he co-founded in 1994. Under his leadership, Agenus has been advancing breakthrough scientific technologies and immunotherapeutic products. In addition, Garo oversaw the successful restructuring of the biopharmaceutical company Elan Corporation, plc, where he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Garo currently acts as Chairman of the Board of Protagenic Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focusing on human brain hormones for the treatment of neurological and metabolic disorders. He began his research career at Brookhaven National Laboratory subsequent to which he made a transition to Wall Street, as an analyst and investment banker at EF Hutton and then at Dean Witter Reynolds ( now Morgan Stanley) , cultivating key relationships and stock-market expertise. Garo received his PhD in physical chemistry from the City University of New York.
Garo Armen
Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder of Agenus Inc.
Dr. Garo Armen serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Agenus Inc., which he co-founded in 1994. Under his leadership, Agenus has been advancing breakthrough scientific technologies and immunotherapeutic products. In addition, Garo oversaw the successful restructuring of the biopharmaceutical company Elan Corporation, plc, where he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Garo currently acts as Chairman of the Board of Protagenic Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focusing on human brain hormones for the treatment of neurological and metabolic disorders. He began his research career at Brookhaven National Laboratory subsequent to which he made a transition to Wall Street, as an analyst and investment banker at EF Hutton and then at Dean Witter Reynolds ( now Morgan Stanley) , cultivating key relationships and stock-market expertise. Garo received his PhD in physical chemistry from the City University of New York.
Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder of Agenus Inc.
Brian Corvese
President and founder of Vencor Capital
Mr. Corvese is president and founder of Vencor Capital, a private equity firm with telecommunications and technology investments in the Middle East and Mediterranean regions. Prior to Vencor, Mr. Corvese worked on investments in the US and global equity markets as a managing director and partner at Soros Fund Management, the largest hedge fund in the world at the time. From 1988 to 1996, Mr. Corvese was a partner at Chancellor Capital Management, a $25-billion money management firm. While at Chancellor, Mr. Corvese was a portfolio manager with responsibility for investments made in basic industries, restructurings, and special situations, corporate governance investments, as well as founding and managing his own hedge fund. From 1981 to 1988, Mr. Corvese was with Drexel Burnham Lambert as an equity analyst following the chemical and specialty chemical industries and he participated in a significant number of merger and acquisition activities. While at Drexel, Mr. Corvese was a member of the top chemical and specialty chemical research team, as ranked by Institutional Investor. Mr. Corvese currently serves on the board of the National Telecommunications Company, based in Cairo, Egypt. Mr. Corvese earned degrees in finance and political science from The University of Rhode Island and attended New York University Graduate School.
Brian Corvese
President and founder of Vencor Capital
Mr. Corvese is president and founder of Vencor Capital, a private equity firm with telecommunications and technology investments in the Middle East and Mediterranean regions. Prior to Vencor, Mr. Corvese worked on investments in the US and global equity markets as a managing director and partner at Soros Fund Management, the largest hedge fund in the world at the time. From 1988 to 1996, Mr. Corvese was a partner at Chancellor Capital Management, a $25-billion money management firm. While at Chancellor, Mr. Corvese was a portfolio manager with responsibility for investments made in basic industries, restructurings, and special situations, corporate governance investments, as well as founding and managing his own hedge fund. From 1981 to 1988, Mr. Corvese was with Drexel Burnham Lambert as an equity analyst following the chemical and specialty chemical industries and he participated in a significant number of merger and acquisition activities. While at Drexel, Mr. Corvese was a member of the top chemical and specialty chemical research team, as ranked by Institutional Investor. Mr. Corvese currently serves on the board of the National Telecommunications Company, based in Cairo, Egypt. Mr. Corvese earned degrees in finance and political science from The University of Rhode Island and attended New York University Graduate School.
President and founder of Vencor Capital
Jennifer Wipf
Chief Commercial Officer at Ginkgo Bioworks
Jennifer serves as the Chief Commercial Officer at Ginkgo Bioworks, and leads Ginkgo’s commercial function, responsible for growing the cell engineering business and delivering value for customers. From bringing programs onto the platform to guiding customer success all the way through to commercial scale up and product delivery, Jennifer and her team bring synthetic biology products to life. Jennifer brings a technical background and experience in large scale biological manufacturing; prior to Ginkgo, Jennifer spent more than a decade at Merck and Co., where she worked in Vaccine development, in Plant management domestically and internationally, and U.S Market commercial roles. Jennifer holds a M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and a B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Arizona.
Jennifer Wipf
Chief Commercial Officer at Ginkgo Bioworks
Jennifer serves as the Chief Commercial Officer at Ginkgo Bioworks, and leads Ginkgo’s commercial function, responsible for growing the cell engineering business and delivering value for customers. From bringing programs onto the platform to guiding customer success all the way through to commercial scale up and product delivery, Jennifer and her team bring synthetic biology products to life. Jennifer brings a technical background and experience in large scale biological manufacturing; prior to Ginkgo, Jennifer spent more than a decade at Merck and Co., where she worked in Vaccine development, in Plant management domestically and internationally, and U.S Market commercial roles. Jennifer holds a M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and a B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Arizona.
Chief Commercial Officer at Ginkgo Bioworks
