Prevail Therapeutics Leadership

Franz Hefti is our Chief Development Officer, bringing more than 15 years of experience in the biotech industry as an executive, board member, co-founder and scientific advisor of many early-stage neurology companies. Prior to Prevail, he was Chief Operations Officer at Proclara Biosciences, President and Chief Executive Officer of Acumen Pharmaceuticals, Chief Scientific Officer at Avid Radiopharmaceuticals (acquired by Eli Lilly and Company), and was Executive Vice President of Drug Development at Rinat Neuroscience (acquired by Pfizer). Earlier in his career, Franz was Senior Vice President of Neuroscience Research at Merck & Co. and Head of Neuroscience Research at Genentech. He also held several positions in academia as a Professor at the University of Southern California and Associate Professor at the University of Miami, where he carried out discovery research on therapeutic approaches to neurodegenerative diseases. He has published more than 250 papers on neurotrophic factors and topics in neuropharmacology. He has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Alzheimer’s Disease Imaging Initiative since 2013. Franz holds a Ph.D. from the University of Zurich and completed his postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Asa Abeliovich is Prevail’s Chief Executive Officer and Founder, bringing more than 25 years of academic and industry experience in research and the understanding of genetic and molecular mechanisms that underlie neurological disorders of aging, such as Parkinson’s disease. Prior to Prevail Therapeutics, Asa was Co-Founder of and consultant to Alector, a biotechnology company which is developing antibodies for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Asa was previously a tenured Associate Professor of Pathology, Cell Biology, and Neurology at Columbia University, as well as a member of the Taub Institute for Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain. He has also previously served as an Attending Physician in Neurology at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital and the New York Psychiatric Institute. Asa was awarded the Lamport Award for Excellence in Basic Science Research at Columbia University in 2005. Asa is on the Scientific Advisory Board of The Silverstein Foundation for Parkinson’s with GBA. Asa holds M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), respectively, and Bachelor’s degrees in life sciences and humanities from MIT. Asa was awarded a Medical Scholar Training Program Fellowship and completed his residency training in neurology at the University of California, San Francisco.

Jeff Sevigny is our Chief Medical Officer. With more than 15 years of clinical research experience, Jeff brings executive leadership and technical expertise across the development spectrum of multiple neurological diseases. Beyond drug development, Jeff has been integral in driving multiple business development agreements, active in multiple public-private partnerships and was recently Chairman of the Alzheimer’s Association Research Roundtable. Jeff joined Prevail from F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, where he was Vice President and Global Head of Translational Medicine Neuroscience, leading a group of physicians, clinical and biomarker scientists, and project team leaders. There, he oversaw the successful early development of the company’s HTT ASO program in Huntington’s disease and balovaptan in autism. Prior to Roche, he was Senior Director of Clinical Development at Biogen, where he led the development of the Company’s early and late stage neurodegeneration portfolio. Before that, he held positions at Novartis AG and Merck & Co. Earlier in his career, Jeff held academic appointments as Assistant Professor of Neurology at Albert Einstein School of Medicine and Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Jeff holds an M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine and an A.B. in biochemistry from Bowdoin College. He completed a neurology residency at the Neurological Institute of New York at Columbia University Medical Center and a fellowship in Aging & Dementia and Neuro-Epidemiology at Sergievsky Center at Columbia University and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

Brett Kaplan is our Chief Financial Officer. Prior to Prevail, he was Managing Director at Evercore, where he spent eight years concentrating on biopharma M&A and equity financings. Prior to Evercore, Brett was an Equity Research Analyst at Cowen, where he covered large cap pharmaceuticals. Earlier in his career, he held senior positions at Cubist and Lilly focused on corporate and business development. Brett holds an MBBCh and an MBA from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa.

Emily Minkow is our Chief Business Officer. Prior to Prevail, Emily held positions of increasing responsibility at Celgene Corporation for seven years, most recently as Executive Director of Business Development. There, she led deal evaluation and execution across a broad range of licensing transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and collaborations, with a focus on immunology, oncology and neurodegeneration. Emily was Director of Global Marketing during Celgene’s worldwide launch of Otezla for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, providing leadership in strategic planning and brand management. At Celgene she was also the Integration Team Leader following the company’s $7.2 billion acquisition of Receptos, and Principal to the company’s Chairman and CEO. Earlier in her career, Emily was a consultant for Frankel Group, where she advised biotech and pharmaceutical companies on clinical and commercial strategy. Emily holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor’s degree in public and international policy from Princeton University.

Franz Hefti is our Chief Development Officer, bringing more than 15 years of experience in the biotech industry as an executive, board member, co-founder and scientific advisor of many early-stage neurology companies. Prior to Prevail, he was Chief Operations Officer at Proclara Biosciences, President and Chief Executive Officer of Acumen Pharmaceuticals, Chief Scientific Officer at Avid Radiopharmaceuticals (acquired by Eli Lilly and Company), and was Executive Vice President of Drug Development at Rinat Neuroscience (acquired by Pfizer). Earlier in his career, Franz was Senior Vice President of Neuroscience Research at Merck & Co. and Head of Neuroscience Research at Genentech. He also held several positions in academia as a Professor at the University of Southern California and Associate Professor at the University of Miami, where he carried out discovery research on therapeutic approaches to neurodegenerative diseases. He has published more than 250 papers on neurotrophic factors and topics in neuropharmacology. He has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Alzheimer’s Disease Imaging Initiative since 2013. Franz holds a Ph.D. from the University of Zurich and completed his postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Asa Abeliovich is Prevail’s Chief Executive Officer and Founder, bringing more than 25 years of academic and industry experience in research and the understanding of genetic and molecular mechanisms that underlie neurological disorders of aging, such as Parkinson’s disease. Prior to Prevail Therapeutics, Asa was Co-Founder of and consultant to Alector, a biotechnology company which is developing antibodies for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Asa was previously a tenured Associate Professor of Pathology, Cell Biology, and Neurology at Columbia University, as well as a member of the Taub Institute for Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain. He has also previously served as an Attending Physician in Neurology at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital and the New York Psychiatric Institute. Asa was awarded the Lamport Award for Excellence in Basic Science Research at Columbia University in 2005. Asa is on the Scientific Advisory Board of The Silverstein Foundation for Parkinson’s with GBA. Asa holds M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), respectively, and Bachelor’s degrees in life sciences and humanities from MIT. Asa was awarded a Medical Scholar Training Program Fellowship and completed his residency training in neurology at the University of California, San Francisco.

Franz Hefti is our Chief Development Officer, bringing more than 15 years of experience in the biotech industry as an executive, board member, co-founder and scientific advisor of many early-stage neurology companies. Prior to Prevail, he was Chief Operations Officer at Proclara Biosciences, President and Chief Executive Officer of Acumen Pharmaceuticals, Chief Scientific Officer at Avid Radiopharmaceuticals (acquired by Eli Lilly and Company), and was Executive Vice President of Drug Development at Rinat Neuroscience (acquired by Pfizer). Earlier in his career, Franz was Senior Vice President of Neuroscience Research at Merck & Co. and Head of Neuroscience Research at Genentech. He also held several positions in academia as a Professor at the University of Southern California and Associate Professor at the University of Miami, where he carried out discovery research on therapeutic approaches to neurodegenerative diseases. He has published more than 250 papers on neurotrophic factors and topics in neuropharmacology. He has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Alzheimer’s Disease Imaging Initiative since 2013. Franz holds a Ph.D. from the University of Zurich and completed his postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Asa Abeliovich is Prevail’s Chief Executive Officer and Founder, bringing more than 25 years of academic and industry experience in research and the understanding of genetic and molecular mechanisms that underlie neurological disorders of aging, such as Parkinson’s disease. Prior to Prevail Therapeutics, Asa was Co-Founder of and consultant to Alector, a biotechnology company which is developing antibodies for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Asa was previously a tenured Associate Professor of Pathology, Cell Biology, and Neurology at Columbia University, as well as a member of the Taub Institute for Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain. He has also previously served as an Attending Physician in Neurology at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital and the New York Psychiatric Institute. Asa was awarded the Lamport Award for Excellence in Basic Science Research at Columbia University in 2005. Asa is on the Scientific Advisory Board of The Silverstein Foundation for Parkinson’s with GBA. Asa holds M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), respectively, and Bachelor’s degrees in life sciences and humanities from MIT. Asa was awarded a Medical Scholar Training Program Fellowship and completed his residency training in neurology at the University of California, San Francisco.

Jeff Sevigny is our Chief Medical Officer. With more than 15 years of clinical research experience, Jeff brings executive leadership and technical expertise across the development spectrum of multiple neurological diseases. Beyond drug development, Jeff has been integral in driving multiple business development agreements, active in multiple public-private partnerships and was recently Chairman of the Alzheimer’s Association Research Roundtable. Jeff joined Prevail from F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, where he was Vice President and Global Head of Translational Medicine Neuroscience, leading a group of physicians, clinical and biomarker scientists, and project team leaders. There, he oversaw the successful early development of the company’s HTT ASO program in Huntington’s disease and balovaptan in autism. Prior to Roche, he was Senior Director of Clinical Development at Biogen, where he led the development of the Company’s early and late stage neurodegeneration portfolio. Before that, he held positions at Novartis AG and Merck & Co. Earlier in his career, Jeff held academic appointments as Assistant Professor of Neurology at Albert Einstein School of Medicine and Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Jeff holds an M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine and an A.B. in biochemistry from Bowdoin College. He completed a neurology residency at the Neurological Institute of New York at Columbia University Medical Center and a fellowship in Aging & Dementia and Neuro-Epidemiology at Sergievsky Center at Columbia University and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.