Our Team

Manijeh is the Founder and CEO of Privo, a biopharmaceutical company revolutionizing localized drug delivery for oncology. With over 25 years of experience spanning large corporations and startups (one acquired for $475M), she brings a proven track record of leadership and innovation.

As CEO, Manijeh has cultivated strategic partnerships, including close collaborations with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). She successfully lobbied for Privo's flagship product, PRV111, to be included in an NIH-funded clinical study and has overseen its development into second-generation products. Currently, PRV111 (a topical treatment for early carcinomas), PRV211 (designed for intraoperative use to reduce residual cancer cells), and PRV131 (an intratumoral injectable for solid tumors) are in human clinical trials showing promising results.

Manijeh is driving Privo's growth through business development, clinical trial execution, and the expansion of its transformative pipeline. She holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, an MS in Health Sciences and Technology from Harvard Medical School , an MBA from MIT Sloan, and an MS in Computer Science and Mathematics.

James co-founded Crystalys Therapeutics in 2024 and led the successful $205m Series A financing in September 2025. Prior to Crystalys Therapeutics, James founded Kateran Consulting, Inc in 2023 a consultancy business that provides drug development and organizational leadership consulting to biotechs and large pharma. Prior to founding Kateran Consulting, James was CEO and Co-Founder of Aristea Therapeutics, an immunology focused company developing treatments for rare inflammatory disorders and was instrumental to the company raising $138m between 2018 and 2023. James was previously President & CEO of Ardea Biosciences from 2013 to 2018 following a 30 year career at AstraZeneca working across the agrochemical, industrial chemical and pharmaceuticals. James led project teams that took 6 drugs through to approval and commercialization across multiple therapy areas.

James has played a pivotal role in the San Diego Ecosystem since his arrival in 2013 and has been a member of the Board and Executive Committee of CONNECT since 2014, was Chair of CONNECT Board of Directors from 2021 to 2023/2025-2026 and has been a Board member of BIOCOM since 2016. James is also a member of the Board of Advisors of Life Science Cares – San Diego and a member of the angel investor group, NuFund. James is a former Board member of the San Diego Economic Development Corporation (EDC), Arthrosi Therapeutics and a past President and Chairman of Ardea Biosciences.

James is an independent Board member for Privo Technologies and MatriSys Biosciences, and independent Board Chair of Curadh MTR, Nuvig Therapeutics and Resolute Science. James also holds several biotech Board Advisor roles and is a co-founder of Lipidio Pharmaceuticals.

James has a BSc in Genetics and PhD in Medical Genetics from Aberdeen University, Scotland.

Dr. Albert Collinson has over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. He was the president and Chief Executive Officer at Theracos, Inc. from 2009 -2024 during which the company successfully developed Brenzavvy, an SGLT-2 inhibitor to FDA approval and market introduction. Prior to this, Dr. Collinson founded and served as president and Chief Executive Officer of Opsonic Therapeutics from 2009 to June 2014, a privately held biotechnology company engaged in the development of the next generation of antibody therapeutics. Dr. Collinson also served as the Chief Business Officer of Rib-X Pharmaceuticals from 2004 to 2009, the senior vice president of business development at Phylos, Inc. from 2000 to 2004, and the vice president of global research & development licensing at BASF Pharma from 1998 to 2000.

Dr. Collinson is a member of the Board of Directors for Harbour Biomed, Privo Technologies and Yosemite Biosciences and serves as an advisor for several early stage biotechnology companies.

Dr. Collinson began his career as a scientist at ImmunoGen, Inc. Dr. Collinson received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Brandeis University in 1987 and his bachelor's degree in science in Biology (General) from the University of Rhode Island in 1980. Dr. Collinson was a post-doctoral fellow at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School.

Ms. Hirsh was Founder, President, and CEO of Copley Pharmaceutical, Inc., a large, successful generic pharmaceutical company. During her tenure, the Company completed over 80 ANDAs and attained revenues of $160 million prior to its acquisition.

In 1993, Hoechst Celanese Corporation acquired 51 percent of Copley Pharmaceutical Inc. for $546 million. In 2000, Copley was sold to Teva Pharmaceuticals. Jane is a co-inventor on over 9 patent applications and has over 40 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and related healthcare industries.

In 2003, Ms. Hirsh co-founded and served as Chairman of Collegium Pharmaceutical. As a specialty pharmaceutical company, Collegium focused on intellectual property development under Jane's leadership. Onset Therapeutics, a dermatological specialty company, was founded in 2007 as a subsidiary of Collegium and sold to Precision Dermatology in 2010.

In addition, Jane has served on the Board of Trustees for Tufts University and the Museum of Science, Boston.

Patrick Ha, MD is a Professor and the Chief of Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery (OHNS) at the University of California, San Francisco. He also holds the Irwin Mark Jacobs and Joan Klein Jacobs Distinguished Professorship in Head and Neck Surgery. After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard University, he received his medical degree from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Ha completed his one-year internship at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, and he also completed an otolaryngology residency, followed by advanced training in head and neck surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Dr. Ha’s clinical expertise covers the full breadth of head and neck surgery, including a focus on thyroid and parathyroid surgery, as well as endoscopic laser and transoral robotic approaches for throat cancers. His current area of research is focused on the molecular changes occurring in salivary gland adenoid cystic carcinoma, and he has held multiple NIH and foundation grants towards this aim. In addition, he serves as the Editor in Chief for the journal 'Head and Neck' and is on the editorial board of several other journals. He has nearly 200 published journal articles. While at Johns Hopkins, he held the role of associate residency program director and won several teaching awards for his work with medical students and residents. In addition to his clinical and research work, he serves as the Vice Dean of Clinical Affairs and Partnerships for the UCSF School of Medicine.

Dr. Nishant Agrawal is the director of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology at the University of Chicago Medicine. Dr. Agrawal specializes in the management of patients with benign and malignant tumors of the head and neck. His work has achieved international recognition in the field of head and neck surgical oncology, and head and neck cancer genetics.

Prior to joining the University of Chicago, Dr. Agrawal was an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Agrawal's lab is devoted to the study of the genetics and molecular diagnostics of head and neck cancer.

The group has described the genomic landscape of head & neck squamous cell carcinoma, esophageal cancer and medullary thyroid cancer, and has developed assays using tumor DNA as a biomarker in saliva and plasma. His lab's research is focused on the application of cancer genetics to design diagnostic approaches to reduce morbidity and mortality from head and neck cancer.

D. Kyle Hogarth, MD, is a Professor of Medicine and Director of Bronchoscopy and Interventional Pulmonary and specializes in the minimally invasive diagnosis, management, staging and treatment of lung cancer through bronchoscopy. Dr. Hogarth was the first doctor in the United States to use the Noah Galaxy — the first Image Embedded Robotic Assisted Bronchoscopy navigation system with 3-D imaging technology, Tomosynthesis, and always on vision built into a robotic scope that allows him to reach deeper into the lung than ever before to detect and/or biopsy nodules and masses. He also uses endobronchial ultrasound to concomitantly biopsy lymph nodes and performs minimally invasive procedures to help patients with lung cancer. He’s the Founder and a Past President of the Society for Advanced Bronchoscopy.

Gail McIntyre, Ph.D., is an accomplished biopharmaceutical executive with over 30 years of experience, including roles at Aravive, Meryx, Furiex Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD) LLC and IntelliDev Consulting. She has led the development and licensing of multiple drugs, including Nesina™, Priligy™, and Viberzi™. Dr. McIntyre played a pivotal role in the $1.1B acquisition of Allergan in 2014 and successfully negotiated with Controlled Substances Staff on scheduling for Viberzi® which resulted in payment of a CVR.

Most recently, Dr. McIntyre served as Aravive’s Chief Executive Officer, Chief Scientific Officer and head of R&D over a 7-year period and led the development of batiraxcept from discovery through the Phase 3 pivotal studies. Dr. McIntyre has authored more than 30 regulatory submissions. Her experience covers multiple therapeutic areas and therapeutic modalities. Dr. McIntyre is board-certified in Toxicology and Clinical Pathology. Dr. McIntyre earned a B.A. in Biology from Merrimack College and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Biochemistry and Biophysics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Cuthbert (Cutty) is Sr. Manager in Withum's Boston office and leads their OASyS practice (Outsourced Accounting Systems and Services). Cutty has extensive experience in areas of financial reporting, financial management, financial systems, and operating consulting.

He works with C-Suite executives and he is an expert at assisting start-ups through various stages of growth. He is an active member of the Firm's Life Sciences Services Team. In addition, Cutty provides business valuation, litigation support and consulting services for closely-held businesses.

Cutty received his MBA with Finance concentration from Drake University and his B.A in Accounting from Grand View University. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) as well as member of Iowa Society of Certified Public Accountants (ISCPA) and Massachusetts Society of Public Accountants (MSCPA). Cutty is also Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) by the AICPA.