The selection of potential commercially viable drugs and their development to the market are complex and challenging tasks. These tasks require a qualified and multidisciplinary team with extensive experience in drug development.
Our professionals, together with our international network, have the medical, scientific and management experience necessary for the selection and development of potential pharmaceuticals from early stages up to clinical trials.
Our team have more than 20 years of experience in drug development.
MANAGEMENT TEAM
Dr. Paulo Lacativa
Dr. Paulo Lacativa
Dr. Paulo Lacativa
CEO
Paulo is a medical doctor with an MS and Ph.D. in Endocrinology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (URFJ). He was Professor of Internal Medicine at Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ). From 2004-2014, Paulo served as the Clinical Manager and Chief of the Quality Department at the Center for Clinical and Basic Research (
CEO
Paulo is a medical doctor with an MS and Ph.D. in Endocrinology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (URFJ). He was Professor of Internal Medicine at Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ). From 2004-2014, Paulo served as the Clinical Manager and Chief of the Quality Department at the Center for Clinical and Basic Research (CCBR), a dedicated clinical trial research center. He participated in more than 60 clinical trials in various areas like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemias and obesity, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, pain, Alzheimer’s disease, COPD and asthma and women’s health. Paulo is the founder and director of the Clinical Trials Designers, a group acting as a steering committee in Rio de Janeiro. He was Data Safety Monitoring Board fellow (first class) from the Multi-Regional Clinical Trial Center (MRCT) group, from the Harvard Global Health Institute. Paulo joined the Biozeus team in 2014, first as an advisor, then study manager, scientific diretor and now CEO of the company.
Viviane Ribeiro
Dr. Paulo Lacativa
Dr. Paulo Lacativa
CFO
Viviane joined FinHealth in 2015 and since then has been focused on the Brazilian healthcare sector. By analyzing and proposing investments, Viviane actively contributed for the maturation of Finhealth Fund I portfolio companies. At the same time, she joined Biozeus team as CFO, holding this position until the current moment.
Before
CFO
Viviane joined FinHealth in 2015 and since then has been focused on the Brazilian healthcare sector. By analyzing and proposing investments, Viviane actively contributed for the maturation of Finhealth Fund I portfolio companies. At the same time, she joined Biozeus team as CFO, holding this position until the current moment.
Before joining FinHealth team, Viviane worked for almost 5 year as Associate at the private equity branch of Modal bank, where she was involved in the prospection and monitoring activities related to O&G Fund, a private equity fund managed by the bank. Between 2008 and 2010, Viviane was involved in the structuring of the private equity branch for a Brazilian family office. Prior to that, she also worked as M&A analyst at Rio Bravo Investimentos and Lehman Brothers bank. Viviane holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from IBMEC Business School. She earned her CFA title in 2011, and was certificated in ESG Investing by CFA Society UK in 2021.
Development Team
Dr. Gabriela Westerlund
Dr. Gabriela Westerlund
Dr. Gabriela Westerlund
PROJECT MANAGER
Gabriela is a biologist who graduated from the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) and the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain, with a focus on the biomedical field. She holds a master’s degree in Nuclear Biosciences and a PhD in Clinical and Experimental Pathophysiology, both from UERJ. Part of her doctor
PROJECT MANAGER
Gabriela is a biologist who graduated from the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) and the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain, with a focus on the biomedical field. She holds a master’s degree in Nuclear Biosciences and a PhD in Clinical and Experimental Pathophysiology, both from UERJ. Part of her doctoral research was conducted at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, where she further developed her expertise in genetic engineering of pathogenic microorganisms.
Following her PhD, Gabriela worked for three years as a postdoctoral researcher and visiting professor in the Department of Cell Biology at UERJ, expanding her knowledge in immunology and inflammation. During this period, part of her research activities was carried out at the University of Minho in Braga, Portugal.
Gabriela joined Biozeus in 2019 as a Project Analyst and currently serves as Project Manager, coordinating the projects under development in the Biozeus pipeline. Over the years, she has accumulated experience in proteomics, immunology, pharmaceutical product development, toxicology and non-clinical safety, as well as regulatory and clinical development. She is currently a student in the Global Executive MBA (GEMBA) program at SKEMA Business School.
Dr. Camilla Nunes
Dr. Gabriela Westerlund
Dr. Gabriela Westerlund
SENIOR PROJECT ANALYST
Camilla Nunes is a biologist who graduated from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), with a focus on biotechnology. She holds a master’s and a PhD in Medical Microbiology from UFRJ. Over the years, Camilla has conducted research focused on the characterization and identification of biomarkers for the dev
SENIOR PROJECT ANALYST
Camilla Nunes is a biologist who graduated from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), with a focus on biotechnology. She holds a master’s and a PhD in Medical Microbiology from UFRJ. Over the years, Camilla has conducted research focused on the characterization and identification of biomarkers for the development of diagnostic tests for pathogenic microorganisms.
She also worked for six years at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), in the Department of Bacteriology, where she developed solid expertise in pathogenicity, molecular biology, biotechnology, and proteomics.
Camilla joined Biozeus in 2021 and currently works as a Project Analyst in drug development, accumulating experience in regulatory affairs and clinical research. She is currently a medical student.
BOARD MEMBERS
Bryant E. Fong
João Paulo Baptista
João Paulo Baptista
BOARD MEMBER
Bryant is Founding General Partner and Managing Director of BioMark Capital, a life sciences private equity fund. Prior to BioMark Capital, Bryant was Managing Director and Co-Head of Venture Capital at Burrill & Company, where he spent almost 16 years investing and managing investments in private and public biotechnology
BOARD MEMBER
Bryant is Founding General Partner and Managing Director of BioMark Capital, a life sciences private equity fund. Prior to BioMark Capital, Bryant was Managing Director and Co-Head of Venture Capital at Burrill & Company, where he spent almost 16 years investing and managing investments in private and public biotechnology companies. His recent successful investments included Pharmasset (acquired by Gilead Sciences), Ferrokin Biosciences (acquired by Shire plc), Ceptaris Therapeutics (acquired by Actelion SA), Novadaq (NVDQ), Corcept Therapeutics (CORT), WaveTec Vision (acquired by Alcon SA), and ADMA Biologics (ADMA). Prior to joining Burrill & Company, Byrant was a biochemist and molecular biologist with two early stage biotechnology companies located in the San Francisco Bay Area. His research experiences include recombinant protein expression in yeast, development of linear artificial chromosomes for pathway engineering/heterologous gene transfer in yeast and catalytic RNA technology. Bryant currently serves on the Boards of Directors of a number of private life science companies. He earned bachelor’s degree with honors in Molecular and Cell Biology-Biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.
João Paulo Baptista
João Paulo Baptista
João Paulo Baptista
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
Luis Eduardo Caroli
João Paulo Baptista
Luis Eduardo Caroli
BOARD MEMBER
Luis Caroli graduated in dentistry and law from universities in Rio de Janeiro; he obtained 5 postgraduate degrees in dentistry and an MBA in law. He started working at Delta do Prata as a lawyer, a holding company focused on investments in early stage technologies, mostly from universities. Caroli held the position of direc
BOARD MEMBER
Luis Caroli graduated in dentistry and law from universities in Rio de Janeiro; he obtained 5 postgraduate degrees in dentistry and an MBA in law. He started working at Delta do Prata as a lawyer, a holding company focused on investments in early stage technologies, mostly from universities. Caroli held the position of director of Delta do Prata from 2003 to 2012 and invested in several companies in the healthcare field participating in the board of directors of the invested companies, as a board member of Pele Nova Biotechnology and CEO of Excellion Serviços Biomédicos S.A.. During Caroli's tenure as CEO of Excelion, the company transformed research and development into a commercial cell therapy company. In 2012, Caroli co-founded Biozeus with FinHealthTeam and is the CEO of Biozeus from 2012 until 2021. Caroli is currently a member of the Biozeus Board of Directors and also a director of FinHealth.
