Our team
An experienced team of biopharmaceutical leaders
We have assembled a strong scientific, medchem, management, and commercial team based in US, UK and Finland. Our scientific team has published seminal papers on the structural, functional, and biological mechanisms of PP2A inactivation in human cancer.
Management
Sunjeet Sawhney
CEO
Sunjeet is a seasoned pharmaceutical/biotechnology executive with more than 20 years’ experience all of which have been spent in the oncology area. He started his pharmaceutical career in clinical development moving then through global development, medical affairs and later transitioning into commercial leadership. He most recently served as the Senior Vice President, Head of the Oncology Franchise at Ipsen where he spent 3 years, previously leading the North, Central Europe & Middle East region. Prior to Ipsen Sunjeet successfully held senior commercial positions in two start up oncology biotech companies; leading both the UK & Ireland as well managing and building international partnerships across the globe. Earlier in his career he spent just over a decade at Novartis in senior medical and commercial roles across Europe and emerging markets. Sunjeet holds a BSc. Genetics from Queen Mary College, London & MSc. Immunology from The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Mikko Mannerkoski
CFO
Mikko brings Rappta over twenty years of experience in helping create and execute on value-creation strategies. He initially worked in investment banking advising major corporate and private equity clients in mergers & acquisitions and capital market transactions. He rose to a leadership position in what was at the time a leading corporate finance advisory in Northern Europe before setting on an entrepreneurial track. For the past ten years Mikko has been active in the life-science field as a founder and shareholder in a handful of companies in the US and in Finland that work in radiation oncology, immune-oncology, antibody-drug conjugates and diagnostics. Mikko has an M.Sc. from Helsinki University of Technology (currently Aalto University, Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems) and M.B.A. in finance from the Helsinki School of Economics with studies at the Ross School of Business of the University of Michigan.
Goutham Narla, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Goutham is a physician scientist and trained as a medical geneticist in the care of high-risk cancer and medical genetics patients. A professor of the University of Michigan’s Department of Medicine, he is a pre-eminent PP2A scientist having published extensively on reactivation of PP2A and its potential therapeutic applications. Goutham’s research interests focus on understanding the role of protein phosphatases in driving human cancer development and progression. Clinically, he leads the Michigan Medicine’s Division of Genetic Medicine that cares for over 3000 high-risk cancer and medical genetics patients per year. He completed residency training in internal medicine and fellowship training in Medical Genetics at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.