Natasha Picazio-Ostavnenko

Altus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. develops therapeutic products for gastrointestinal and metabolic diseases. Its principal activity is protein crystallization which is used to develop therapeutic products for gastrointestinal and metabolic diseases. The company was founded in October 1992 and is headquartered in Waltham, MA.

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, which focuses on the clinical development, and commercialization of drug candidates for both oncology and rare disease indications. The company was founded by Paul C. Zamecnik, Sudhir A. Agrawal, and James B. Wyngaarden on May 25, 1989 and is headquartered in Exton, PA.

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a GSK company, is developing small molecule drugs that target the sirtuins, a family of seven enzymes associated with diseases of aging. Modulation of these enzymes offers the promise of drug discovery in multiple therapeutic areas. Sirtris was one of the pharmaceutical companies focused on the sirtuin platform and remains the innovative drug discovery. Preclinical research indicates that the sirtuins play important roles in pathways for multiple diseases of aging, including Type 2 Diabetes, as well as neurodegenerative, cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases. Sirtris researchers are working to translate this research into a potential new class of pharmaceuticals to treat diseases of aging, offering the ability for people to live longer, healthier lives. Sirtris has focused on developing many novel small molecule activators of SIRT1, the most studied member of the sirtuin family. These new chemical entities or NCEs are novel compounds that are chemically unrelated to resveratrol, a naturally occurring compound that was used as an early proof-of-concept for SIRT1 activation. Besides being structurally differentiated from resveratrol, the NCEs are more specific for the target SIRT1 and have improved drug-like properties. The company has completed several early stage translational clinical studies with the first generation NCEs and has several active clinical trials under way. Sirtris operates as an independent Discovery Performance Unit (DPU) within GSK and is located in Technology Square, Cambridge, Mass. Sirtris' culture mixes scientific curiosity with a dynamic, fast-paced environment, resembling its biotech roots while harnessing all of GSK's broad discovery, development, and commercialization capabilities. The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Cambridge, MA.

Veristat LLC engages in the provision of statistical and medical consulting services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Its services include data management, biostatistics, statistical programming, medical writing, clinical monitoring, project management, regulatory submissions, and strategic consulting. The company was founded by Barbara Balser and John P. Balser in 1994 and is headquartered in Southborough, MA.