What We Do

Dr. Brenner has a strong history of success heading drug discovery and development teams at several of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Company, Pfizer Inc., and Merck Research Laboratories. Most recently, Dr. Brenner served as the CSO at Pfenex Inc., which, using its patented Pfēnex Expression Technology^® platform, created an advanced pipeline of therapeutic equivalents, vaccines, biologics and biosimilars. Pfenex was acquired by Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated for approximately $516 million in October 2020. Previously, Dr. Brenner served as the CSO at Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a company focused on accelerating drug discovery for rare diseases and diseases with high unmet medical need. Prior to his time at Recursion, he was Vice President and Head of Research & Early Development at Stoke Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company using antisense oligonucleotides to increase gene expression for the treatment of rare diseases. Prior to Stoke, he was Executive Director at Merck, where he built a biotech unit from scratch, focusing his team’s research on diabetes and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Earlier in his career, Dr. Brenner was the Senior Director and Head of cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism (CVRM) biosciences at AstraZeneca. In addition, Dr. Brenner was an Associate Research Fellow at Pfizer where he led the islet biology and in vivo pharmacology in the CVMED Target Exploration Unit before assuming the role of Head of the Insulin Resistance Group.

Mr. Duran served as iBio’s Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) from April 2021-February 2023. In that capacity, he played a strategic role in the Company’s forecasting, business planning, management reporting, and business analytics activities. From 2016 to 2021, Mr. Duran served as the Executive Director (CFO), of Lupin Latin America, a subsidiary of Lupin Pharmaceuticals, which is the third largest generic pharmaceutical company in the United States. During his tenure at Lupin, Mr. Duran increased regional net sales by double digits by implementing robust commercial pricing strategies. He also spearheaded the subsidiary at a time when it became a positive EBITDA business in the region. In addition to his Latin America duties, he ran the U.S. R&D finance group, managing and providing guidance on strategy and pipeline. Prior to joining Lupin Pharmaceuticals, he held numerous strategy positions at Teva Pharmaceuticals in both its growth markets and Latin America offices. Mr. Duran also worked as a Manager, FP&A for both Bupa and Noven Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Duran holds a B.A. in Finance and an M.B.A from the University of Miami.

Mr. Banjak joins iBio with over 15 years’ experience in the biotechnology and contract research industries. He previously served as the first general counsel of both Istari Oncology and Dova Pharmaceuticals, leading the legal and compliance functions within both organizations. While at Dova, Mr. Banjak advised the company through a number of clinical and corporate milestones, including FDA and EMA approvals, a secondary public offering and the acquisition of Dova by Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB. Prior to that, Mr. Banjak negotiated strategic contracts, advised on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and Anti-Bribery matters, and labor issues at PRA Health Sciences. His industry experience spans rare disease biotechnology companies, global contract research organizations, and medical device companies.  Prior to entering the biotechnology and contract research industries, Mr. Banjak served as an active duty officer in the U.S. Air Force in a variety of legal roles. Mr. Banjak was admitted to the Colorado state bar. He earned his JD from the University of Denver School of Law and a BA in Psychology from Franklin and Marshall College.

Ms. Sarno has approximately 25 years of life sciences’ industry experience, in roles in business development, strategic alliance, program management, and research at companies including Pfenex Inc. (acquired by Ligand Pharmaceuticals), Latham Biopharm Group, and Crucell (acquired by J&J). Most recently she served as the Vice President of Business Development and Corporate Strategy at Homology Medicines, where she led partnering discussions, played an instrumental role in complex deal-making processes, and provided strategic input for decisions that supported its mission to cure rare diseases. Ms. Sarno also served as the President of Women In Bio (WIB) and was a board member for five years. As President of WIB, Ms. Sarno oversaw the organization’s launch of the Boardroom Ready program, which continues to succeed in seating women on corporate boards. She earned her Master of Liberal Arts degree in Biology at Harvard University and her B.S. in Biology at Syracuse University.