Leading the Future of Rare Disease Treatment
Founded in 2013 by the Dean Burkin Lab and seasoned biotech leaders, Sarcomatrix is a preclinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on rare and underserved muscular diseases.
Leadership & Founders
Clinical and Business Leadership Team
David Craig
David Craig
David Craig is a pharmaceutical executive with more than 30 years of experience leading and scaling organizations to commercial success. Mr. Craig has been a member of, and led, teams responsible for the commercialization of blockbuster #1-in-market, or first-in-class, novel medicines including EPOGEN (erythropoietin alfa), NEUPOGEN (filgrastim), HEPSERA (adefovir dipivoxil) and ANDEXXA (andexanet afla). He has held leadership roles at Amgen, Sequus, Gilead Sciences, AcelRx, Portola, and the UNR Licensing Office. Mr. Craig earned a BS in Pharmacy from South Dakota State University and an MBA from the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School.
Ryan Wuebbles
Ryan Wuebbles
Dr. Wuebbles has more than 20 years of R&D experience as a translational scientist with more than 30 publications and 11 patents. He was previously Research Assistant Professor leading a research department with oversight of pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, toxicology, and bioanalysis of two medicines from preclinical to IND. His experience includes comprehensive pre-clinical programs of different modalities including small molecules, oligonucleotide, and protein therapeutics, and he has focused on treatments for all forms of muscular dystrophy. Dr. Wuebbles earned his PhD in Developmental Biology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
David Maine
David Maine
David Maine is a solutions-driven serial entrepreneur (5x) with experience leading cross-functional teams in the development of innovative businesses based on academic research. As co-founder and CFO of biopharmaceutical company Strykagen, David has designed and implemented risk-adjusted business strategies that have achieved over $3M in funding (SBIR/STTR grants and private investment from a major biotechnology company), established private partnerships, applied IP strategy, and developed a framework for IND applications, GMP manufacturing, phase 1 clinical trials, and orphan drug designations. Mr. Maine holds a BS in Environmental Resource Economics, and an MA in Economics from the University of Nevada, Reno.
J. M.
J. M.
J.M. has more than 20 years of experience in drug development and is our Chief Medical Officer and SVP for Medical and Regulatory Affairs.
Al Swarts
Al Swarts
Al Swarts is an accomplished pharmaceutical executive with deep expertise in technical operations, process development, and drug manufacturing. During his tenure at Amgen, he played a key role in scaling manufacturing processes and ensuring regulatory compliance across both small molecule and biologic programs. His core strengths include CMC strategy, supply chain optimization, and the integration of advanced technologies to improve efficiency and product quality throughout the development lifecycle.
K.G.
K.G.
K.G. has more than 18 years of experience in drug development and quality systems, overseeing drug manufacturing from pre-clinical to commercial.
Scientific Advisors
Scientific Leaders Behind Our Mission
Dean Burkin
Dean Burkin
Dr. Burkin is a recognized world expert on the role of integrins and laminin play in muscle disease and was the first to show that α7β1 integrin can serve as a surrogate for the loss of dystrophin in DMD. Additionally, his pioneering work shows laminin-111 protein can substitute for the loss of laminin-211 in LAMA2-CMD.
Rachelle Crosbie-Watson
Rachelle Crosbie-Watson
Dept. Integrative Biology & Physiology University of California Los Angeles
Crosbie-Watson specializes in the muscle proteins related to dystrophin, the problem gene in Duchenne, which she was able to isolate and named the “sarcospan.” In addition, her lab at UCLA has been dedicated to understanding the function of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex, which is crucial to increasing understanding of the disease.
Jeffrey Chamberlain
Jeffrey Chamberlain
Professor of Neurology and Medicine, McCaw Endowed Chair in Muscular Dystrophy, University of Washington, Seattle
Dr. Jeffrey Chamberlain’s lab studies mechanisms leading to the muscular dystrophies, the structure & function of dystrophin (mutated in DMD, among the most common inherited diseases), and approaches to therapy. His group developed miniaturized dystrophin genes that we named “micro-dystrophin” and were also the first to show that AAV vectors could be used for systemic gene delivery to muscle.
Alan Beggs
Alan Beggs
Professor of Pediatrics, Director, The Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston
Dr. Alan Beggs’ lab focuses on gene discovery and improving methods for identification of pathogenic mutations utilizing genomic approaches in Human patients and animal models to understand the pathophysiology of rare genetic conditions, and to develop animal models for use in creating targeted therapies to treat these devastating childhood disorders.
Business Advisors
Guiding Strategic Growth & Innovation
Mick Hitchcock
Mick Hitchcock
Member Board Of Trustees, American Council on Science and Health
Sheldon Koenig
Sheldon Koenig
President and CEO of Esperion Therapeutics
Reza Oliyai
Reza Oliyai
President and CEO, Oliyai Consulting Corporation
Dana Dunn
Dana Dunn
President, Dunn Regulatory Associates, LLC
We also draw on the expertise of other key team members and consultants. Our team possesses unique skill sets in industry-leading muscle research, platform development, IP management, regulatory understanding, and patient advocacy engagement.
Strategic Partner
Celito is a dedicated biotech growth partner with deep industry expertise. It is dedicated to streamlining operations, reducing risks, and accelerating growth.
Celito will provide Sarcomatrix with cohesive and cross-functional expertise in key functional areas of IT, Cybersecurity, Quality and G&A Infrastructure ensuring rapid, cost-effective, best-of-breed solutions tailored for Sarcomatrix’s growth posture.
