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Who we are ….

MitoXcel™ geropeptides work via a novel mechanism of action, targeting the reduced and steadily declining MMP (“Δψm”) found in all aging cells, including senescent cells which develops as we age (Miwa et al., 2022), that reduces mitochondrial function and ATP production, a universal finding across all living species as they age. By targeting this single, aging-specific target, MitoXcel™ geropeptides have demonstrated the ability to rejuvenate naturally aged mice via two separate mechanisms: (1) to return the efficiency of mitochondrial function in aging cells almost immediately back to their younger, more efficient phenotype, and (2) to steadily and profoundly eliminate senescent cells throughout every organ in the body, including the brain, reducing their negative systemic inflammatory effects,  with no apparent adverse side effects observed.

MitoXcel™ geropeptides bind cardiolipin, one of the most essential and structurally unique lipids in the inner mitochondrial membrane (“IMM”), as well as multiple key proteins involved in the Electron Transport Chain (“ETC”), especially those in Complex III and IV.  Cardiolipin is crucial for creating and stabilizing the mitochondrial cristae membranes and maintaining IMM architecture, enabling tight packing of respiratory chain complexes.  Cardiolipin directly binds to and stabilizes the entire mitochondrial respiratory supercomplex (Complexes I–III–IV megacomplex), functioning to maintain ETC assembly and structural integrity, acting as a molecular glue for oxidative phosphorylation. Under stress, cardiolipin undergoes peroxidation and translocation from the IMM to the outer membrane, triggering Cytochrome C detachment from cardiolipin, the first step of apoptosis.  Thus, peroxidized cardiolipin acts as a mitochondrial “eat me” signal during apoptosis.

In contrast to senescent cells—which typically have lower ΔΨm due to proton leak, dysfunctional ETC complexes, and ROS-driven damage—most cancer cells maintain a hyperpolarized mitochondrial membrane potential.  Therefore, it was surprising to find that certain MitoXcel geropeptides exhibit strong anti-cancer activity, presumably through similar interactions observed in senescent cells, via triggering an apoptotic signal.

Perseus SENOLYTIX is an oncology company developing this unique subset of MitoXcel geropeptides, that we now call MitoXcel oncopeptides, to treat cancer via this same novel target, although via a cancer-specific mechanism, as a potentially safe and effective new class of cancer therapeutics.

Our Leadership

Senescence-reStricted Apoptosis Switch
Kevin Slawin, MD

Chairman and CEO

Kevin Slawin, M.D. is the Founder and CEO at Eos SENOLYTIX, Inc., a gerotherapeutics company whose lead programs are focused on proprietary senolytic peptides, that may restore the youthful balance of aged or “senescent” and young cells throughout the organs of the body. He was the founder of Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., leading Bellicum to a successful $161 million IPO in December, 2014.

Kevin Slawin, M.D. is the Founder and CEO at Eos SENOLYTIX, Inc., a gerotherapeutics company whose lead programs are focused on proprietary senolytic peptides, that may restore the youthful balance of aged or “senescent” and young cells throughout the organs of the body. He is also the Founder and CEO of Phoenix SENOLYTIX, Inc., a longevity company developing novel gene therapies targeting senescent cells, among other fundamental mechanisms of aging. He was the co-founder of Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., leading Bellicum to a successful $161 million IPO in December, 2014. He is also Founder, Chairman and CEO of PrintBio, Inc., the only clinical- and commercial-stage regenerative medicine company solving medical challenges with custom-engineered 3D-bioprinted living implants. He currently lives in Miami, FL where he is Founder and CEO of Miami Medicos, a membership organization of physicians, founders, executives, and investors catalyzing the healthcare entrepreneurial ecosystem in Miami and worldwide.

Michael Corsello, Ph.D.

Vice President, Operations

Michael A. Corsello, Ph.D. is the Vice President of Operations at Perseus SENOLYTIX, Inc. He previously served as Director of Preclinical Development at DELiver Therapeutics, Inc, where he began his pharmaceutical career in 2022 as a research scientist focused on the development of novel tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

Michael A. Corsello, Ph.D. is the Vice President of Operations at Perseus SENOLYTIX, Inc. He previously served as Director of Preclinical Development at DELiver Therapeutics, Inc, where he began his pharmaceutical career in 2022 as a research scientist focused on the development of novel tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Michael received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at UCLA, pursuing natural products total synthesis. He then completed postdoctoral training at the Center for Drug Discovery at BCM. His research has been published in high-impact journals including Nature Chemistry and the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Michael is committed to the translation of innovative scientific discoveries into commercial products to address critical unmet needs for patients.

Kayvon Namvar

CFO

Kayvon Namar is the CFO at Eos SENOLYTIX, Inc. He has deep expertise in forecasting, valuation, litigation support, and transaction advisory support.

Kayvon Namar is the CFO at Eos SENOLYTIX, Inc.  He has deep expertise in forecasting, valuation, litigation support, and transaction advisory support.  In life sciences, Kayvon has developed dynamic patient-flow and other financial models to facilitate the forecasting and valuation of biopharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostic products, companies, complex securities, and royalty interests for transaction, bankruptcy, tax, and accounting oriented purposes. Kayvon has worked with companies ranging from large, publicly traded entities, to small, venture capital-backed organizations.

Kayvon is Founder and Manager of Lookout Ridge Capital Advisors.  Previously, he served as a Principal at RNA Capital Advisors, a financial and strategic advisory firm, and as VP, Finance & Strategic Analysis at Hawthorne Effect, Inc, a healthcare technology company focused on decentralizing clinical trials. Previously, Kayvon was a director in the consulting group at Burr Pilger Mayer, Inc., a consulting and accounting firm headquartered in San Francisco. Kayvon was also a director in the valuation and financial advisory services group within the corporate finance and restructuring division of FTI Consulting, Inc. His predecessor company, The Salter Group, LLC, a leading independent financial and strategic advisory firm, was acquired by FTI.

Kayvon holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Corporate Finance from the University of Southern California. He has been a guest lecturer and presenter at the University of Southern California and the California Institute of Technology, among others.

Daniel Jasinski, Ph.D

Vice President, Research

Daniel Jasinski, Ph.D. is the Vice President of Research at Eos SENOLYTIX, Inc. Previously, he held the position of Director of Research at Ponce Therapeutics, Inc. Prior to that , he was Research Scientist at Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, where he worked for 4 years until 2021.

Daniel Jasinski, Ph.D. is the Vice President of Research at Eos SENOLYTIX, Inc. Previously, he held the position of Director of Research at Ponce Therapeutics, Inc. Prior to that , he was Research Scientist at Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, where he worked for 4 years until 2021. Dr. Jasinski earned his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Kentucky’s College of Pharmacy.  His past innovative research has been published in several prestigious scientific journals including Blood, Advanced Materials, and Nucleic Acids Research. Passionate about translating scientific discoveries into real-world applications, Dr. Jasinski is committed to advancing the frontiers of Longevity Medicine

Kevin Slawin, MD

Board Chairman, Founder and CEO

Kevin Slawin, M.D. is the Founder and CEO at Eos SENOLYTIX, Inc., a gerotherapeutics company whose lead programs are focused on proprietary senolytic peptides, that may restore the youthful balance of aged or “senescent” and young cells throughout the organs of the body. He was the founder of Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., leading Bellicum to a successful $161 million IPO in December, 2014.

Kevin Slawin, M.D. is the Founder and CEO at Eos SENOLYTIX, Inc., a gerotherapeutics company whose lead programs are focused on proprietary senolytic peptides, that may restore the youthful balance of aged or “senescent” and young cells throughout the organs of the body. He is also the Founder and CEO of Phoenix SENOLYTIX, Inc., a longevity company developing novel gene therapies targeting senescent cells, among other fundamental mechanisms of aging. He was the co-founder of Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., leading Bellicum to a successful $161 million IPO in December, 2014. He is also Founder, Chairman and CEO of PrintBio, Inc., the only clinical- and commercial-stage regenerative medicine company solving medical challenges with custom-engineered 3D-bioprinted living implants. He currently lives in Miami, FL where he is Founder and CEO of Miami Medicos, a membership organization of physicians, founders, executives, and investors catalyzing the healthcare entrepreneurial ecosystem in Miami and worldwide.

He is also the founder and CEO of Ponce Therapeutics, Inc. (https://poncetherapeutics.com), which reunites the team that founded Bellicum Pharmaceuticals and that is using advanced technologies to develop novel therapeutics targeting the fundamental mechanisms of aging, and DELiver Therapeutics, Inc. (https://delivertherapeutics.com), which is applying high throughput DNA encoded library (DEL) drug screening combined with other advanced technologies in novel ways to deliver small molecule and peptide therapeutics that address some of the most challenging and, some previously termed “undruggable”, targets in clinical medicine.  Both have R&D facilities located at K2Bio in Houston (https://www.k2-biolabs.com/), a coworking research facility for biotech and pharma startups recently opened in Houston, where he is a co-founder, investor, and board member.  He is also the Founder, Chairman and CEO of PrintBio, Inc. (https://senothera.wpenginepowered.com), a commercial stage company with products powered by advanced bio-printing technologies.

Slawin graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biochemistry from Columbia University, where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his medical degree in 1986 from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. He trained in General Surgery and then Urology at the Mount Sinai Hospital and at Squier Urologic Clinic at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, both in NYC. Later, he was awarded a two-year fellowship, from 1992-1994, as an American Foundation of Urologic Disease (AFUD) scholar at Baylor College of Medicine to continue to study the development and treatment of prostate cancer under the tutelage of renowned prostate cancer surgeon and thought leader, Dr. Peter Scardino. Slawin joined the Baylor College of Medicine as Director of The Baylor Prostate Center in 1994 and was appointed the Dan Duncan Family Professor in Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases in 2003, established by the well-known Houston oil man and philanthropist of the same name. He is co-Inventor of the FDA-approved “prostate health index (phi)” test licensed and marketed by Beckman Coulter and utilized around the world. He has published extensively in top medical and scientific journals including the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI), and the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). He has also been routinely listed in America’s Top Doctors for Cancer (Castle Connolly Medical) and The Best Doctors in America (Woodward/White). In 2003, he was awarded the F. Brantley Scott, Jr., Award for Innovation and Creativity in Urology.  He currently lives in Miami, FL where he is Founder and CEO of Miami Medicos (https://miamimedicos.com), a membership organization of physicians, founders, executives, and investors catalyzing the healthcare entrepreneurial ecosystem in Miami and worldwide.