At TAXIS Pharmaceuticals, our mission is clear: to combat antimicrobial resistance and save lives.
Antimicrobial resistance demands immediate, coordinated action from governments, healthcare providers, researchers, and the pharmaceutical industry. By investing in innovative solutions and fostering global collaboration, we can save lives.
TAXIS Pharmaceuticals is a biotech company dedicated to eliminating the threat of current and emergent antimicrobial resistance across a wide range of infectious diseases. We are currently researching new classes of anti-resistance agents that employ novel mechanisms of action.
We are focusing our science on the disruption of the foundation of bacterial cell wall architecture — including construction, maintenance, and growth — to address elemental drug resistance mechanisms.
Meet The Team
Founder & CEO
Gregory G. Mario, MBA, President and CEO
Mr. Mario joins TAXIS with more than 20 years of experience in the life sciences industry as a sales, marketing, business development, and licensing and acquisition professional. Mr. Mario received a B.S. in Biochemistry from Trinity College. He earned an M.B.A. in Finance and Marketing from the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University.
Leadership
Ajit K. Parhi, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Parhi brings over 25 years of experience in organic chemistry, synthetic methodologies, natural product synthesis, medicinal chemistry, and drug discovery. Since the founding of TAXIS, he has served as the Chief Medicinal Chemist and has led the company’s discovery research efforts since 2018, currently overseeing all drug discovery programs.
Board of Directors
Gregory G. Mario, M.B.A – President and CEO, also serves on the board.
Ernest Mario, Ph.D.
Dr. Mario currently serves as Chairman of Capnia and Chimerix, and is a Venture Partner with Pappas Ventures, a life science venture capital firm. In addition to his current and past service on several corporate boards, Dr. Mario is active in numerous educational and healthcare organizations.
Scientific Advisors
Chris M. Cimarusti, Ph.D. also serves as a Scientific Advisor.
Marshall Morningstar, Ph. D.
Marshall Morningstar has over 20 years of experience managing small-molecule discovery teams in small biotechnology and large pharmaceutical companies, currently consulting for Sage Therapeutics (Neuroscience), Nimbus Therapeutics (Oncology), and Flatley Discovery Labs (Cystic Fibrosis).
Daryl Patrick, DVM, Ph.D., Diplomat, ACVP
Specialist in Nonclinical Development for over 30 years, starting with Merck where Dr. Patrick ultimately served as Vice President/Head, Worldwide Safety Assessment, responsible for all nonclinical aspects of potential drug development candidates. Dr. Patrick earned his D.V.M. in Veterinary Medicine from Michigan State University and his Ph.D. in Veterinary Pathology from Iowa State University.
Louis Donald Saravolatz, M.D., MACP
Dr. Saravolatz is recognized for his research in infectious disease, specifically in the areas of new drug therapies and rapid diagnostic microbiologic tests. He is currently Professor of Medicine and Chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at St. John Hospital & Medical Center.
Lynn Silver, Ph.D.
Dr. Silver’s expertise spans more than 30 years in the antibacterial discovery area, including 21 years at Merck Research Laboratories where she conducted research and supervised groups involved in discovery efforts for new antibacterials in natural products and chemical collections, support of chemical synthetic projects on improved antibacterials, pre-clinical evaluation of antibacterial drug candidates and the study of antibacterial resistance.
Vincent H. Tam, Pharm.D., BCPS (Infectious Diseases)
Vincent H. Tam is currently a full Professor (tenured) at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy in Houston, Texas. He is board certified in pharmacotherapy with added qualifications in infectious diseases. Dr. Tam is the (co-) author of over 140 peer-reviewed publications in antimicrobial pharmacokinetics / pharmacodynamics and infectious disease therapeutics.
Alan G.E. Wilson, PhD, Fellow ATS, FRSC
Alan G. E. Wilson, PhD, ATS, FRSC is currently Vice President of Drug Metabolism, Pharmacokinetics, and Toxicology and Pathology at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, the Woodlands, Texas. He is internationally recognized in drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics and has over 30 years of experience working on product discovery and development for both small molecules and bio-therapeutics.
Nashum Kaplan, Ph.D.
Consultant with more than 30 years’ experience in antibacterial discovery and development focused on compound progression & management, preclinical and clinical microbiology in vivo efficacy, and PK/PD Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) development. Previously Chief Scientific Officer at Affinium Pharmaceuticals.
Mohamed Seleem, DVM, PhD
Tyler and Frances Young Endowed Chair of Bacteriology
Director, Center for One Health Research, Virginia Tech
