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Dr. Arulanandam has 20+ years of research and development experience in immunology, immuno-oncology, and gene therapy research from target identification through product registration. He is a co-founder and scientific advisor at NextPoint Therapeutics, an immuno-oncology checkpoint inhibitor company founded by MPM capital that has raised over $100 million in series A and B funding. He initiated newco research activities with Dr. Gordon Freeman out of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, pitching the science and partnering with MPM capital to start the company. He was also a venture advisor and consultant at Longwood Fund, evaluating and advising newco opportunities in the immunology and immuno-oncology space and was the founder of Tolereg therapeutics, a Treg cell therapy company targeting autoantibody-producing B cells in rare autoimmune diseases.

Prior to that, he was the SVP and head of research at Agilis therapeutics, a rare-disease gene therapy company acquired by PTC therapeutics, where he became the VP and head of gene therapy, and nonclinical research. He held multiple discovery research and development positions, serving as a director and senior director at Ares-Serono, Biogen-Idec, Regeneron, and Alexion, working on multiple IND submissions in immunology and cancer indications including Dupilumab TM, Cemiplimab TM (PD-1 mAb) and SamalizumabTM (CD200 mAb). He authored 5 BLAs, including TysabriTM for multiple sclerosis (Biogen Idec), SarilumabTM for rheumatoid arthritis (Regeneron), DupilumabTM for atopic dermatitis and asthma (Regeneron), KanumaTM for LAL deficiency (Synageva/Alexion), and UpstazaTm gene therapy for aromatic acid decarboxylase deficiency (Agilis/PTC).

Dr. Arulanandam got his PhD in Immunology at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst under the mentorship of Dr. Richard Goldsby and did his post-doctoral fellowship in T and NK cell signaling and CD2 structure-function studies in the laboratory of Dr. Ellis Reinherz at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institiute and Harvard Medical school.