about rapport
A scientific partnership focused on precision neuromedicines
Revolutionary.
Relentless.
Precise.
What rapport means to us
As a word, Rapport describes relationships characterized by understanding, communication, teamwork, and trust. We reflect those qualities in our daily work, where we operate as one committed team that captures the collective knowledge and experience of all our members to maximally improve patients’ lives. And at a higher level we share an ambition and a passion to create impactful neuromedicines, with fewer side effects, that allow patients and their families to live healthier and more fulfilling lives.
On a molecular scale, our deep understanding of the intricate relationships between receptors, their associated proteins, and their distributions in specific cell types and brain regions enables us to precisely direct medicines to the neural circuits underlying disease pathophysiology.
The Rapport leadership team and Board of Directors have established track records of innovation in neuroscience and drug discovery, with past experience at Cerevel Therapeutics, Zogenix, Eli Lilly, J&J, Karuna, Incyte, and Bristol Myers Squibb.
Abe brings nearly two decades of biopharmaceutical industry experience to Rapport. He served as President of Cerevel Therapeutics from May 2021 through February 2023, and was previously CEO of Tiburio Therapeutics, where he built a fully integrated company that led to the investigational new drug enablement for a rare neuroendocrine tumor. Prior to joining Tiburio, Mr. Ceesay held positions including Chief Operating Officer at scPharmaceuticals, Head of Commercial at Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Vice President of Marketing at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, and roles of increasing responsibility at Sanofi, formerly Genzyme. Mr. Ceesay serves as Chairman of the Board for Life Science Cares and on the Board of Trustees at The Museum of Science in Boston. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College and Master of Business Administration from Suffolk University’s Sawyer School of Management.
David brings over 20 years of neuroscience drug discovery experience to Rapport. He led groundbreaking research in receptor-associated protein biology at Janssen, where he served as Global Head of Neuroscience Discovery from 2011 through 2021. Prior to joining Janssen he was Vice President of Neuroscience at Eli Lilly and Company from 2004 to 2011. He was professor of physiology at the University of California, San Francisco for ten years. David received his A.B. in Chemistry from Princeton University, and his M.D. and Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins. He was elected to the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars in 2005.
Brad has over 20 years of experience leading and building global drug development and medical affairs teams focused in pain and epilepsy, including as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Zogenix, President of the Pain Group at Nuvo Research, and Senior Medical Officer for Endo Pharmaceuticals. He and his teams provided clinical and scientific leadership for the development and marketing of rare epilepsy and analgesic medications, including Fintepla®, Lidoderm®, Pennsaid®, and Frova®. Prior to joining industry, Dr. Galer held numerous academic and clinical appointments. He has over 150 publications in epilepsy and pain management. Dr. Galer completed his medical doctorate and a neurology residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, and two pain fellowships at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and the University of California San Francisco and was on faculty at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Cheryl has over 20 years of biopharma industry experience. Her experience includes corporate strategy, corporate and business development, portfolio strategy, new product planning, marketing, sales, launch and commercial strategy in various therapeutic areas including neurology, gastroenterology, rheumatology, and orthopedics. Ms. Gault served as the Chief Operating Officer at Cyclerion Therapeutics where she played a leadership role in delivering clinical data readouts for several novel molecules in large and orphan indications and successfully completing critical transactions to increase shareholder value. Ms. Gault played a central role while at Ironwood in the successful launch of LINZESS®, the $1B market leader in IBS. Prior to that, she was at Genzyme Corporation in a variety of sales and marketing roles in the biosurgery division, including a leadership role in the launch of Synvisc-ONE, an injectable for the treatment of osteoarthritis. Cheryl brings a unique commercial perspective to our drug development team. She earned a B.S. in marketing from Boston College.
Troy joins Rapport with nearly two decades of financial leadership experience in the biotech and pharmaceuticals sectors. Over the course of his career, Troy has raised an impressive $4 billion-plus in capital for life science companies. Most recently, he was Chief Financial Officer at Karuna Therapeutics, where he led the team in the execution of a private crossover round, the company’s IPO and multiple follow-on financings. Prior to Karuna, Troy served as Chief Financial Officer at two other companies, Juventas Therapeutics and scPharmaceuticals. He has a long track record of experience in the sector, having started out at Eli Lilly and then moving on to roles of increasing responsibility at companies including Esperion Therapeutics and the former Insys Therapeutics. Previously, Troy served on the board of CinCor Pharma, Inc., where he advised on the company’s sale to AstraZeneca in early 2023. He currently serves on the boards of Vedanta Biosciences and Abivax. He is a graduate of Ferris State University, where he earned his B.S. in accounting.
Prior to joining Rapport, Swamy was a founding scientist at Incyte, where he held positions of increasing responsibility for 20 years. He was most recently Group Vice President of Drug Metabolism, Pharmacokinetics, and Clinical Pharmacology. Swamy was a key contributor to the discovery and development of Jakafi®, Pemazyre® & Opzelura®. He is a co-inventor on multiple patents and has published extensively on Incyte pipeline products. Prior to Incyte, Swamy held positions at DuPont Pharmaceuticals and at Bristol-Myers Squibb. Swamy received his bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from Madras Medical College and his master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Banaras Hindu University. He received his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of British Columbia.
Abe brings nearly two decades of biopharmaceutical industry experience to Rapport. He served as President of Cerevel Therapeutics from May 2021 through February 2023, and was previously CEO of Tiburio Therapeutics, where he built a fully integrated company that led to the investigational new drug enablement for a rare neuroendocrine tumor. Prior to joining Tiburio, Mr. Ceesay held positions including Chief Operating Officer at scPharmaceuticals, Head of Commercial at Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Vice President of Marketing at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, and roles of increasing responsibility at Sanofi, formerly Genzyme. Mr. Ceesay serves as Chairman of the Board for Life Science Cares and on the Board of Trustees at The Museum of Science in Boston. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College and Master of Business Administration from Suffolk University’s Sawyer School of Management.
David brings over 20 years of neuroscience drug discovery experience to Rapport. He led groundbreaking research in receptor-associated protein biology at Janssen, where he served as Global Head of Neuroscience Discovery from 2011 through 2021. Prior to joining Janssen he was Vice President of Neuroscience at Eli Lilly and Company from 2004 to 2011. He was professor of physiology at the University of California, San Francisco for ten years. David received his A.B. in Chemistry from Princeton University, and his M.D. and Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins. He was elected to the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars in 2005.
Steve brings over 40 years of R&D leadership experience to Rapport. He has co-founded and led multiple neuroscience-focused companies, including Karuna Therapeutics, Sage Therapeutics and Voyager Therapeutics. He currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer and President of Research and Development at Karuna, and sits on the Board of Directors at Sage. He is also a Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Steve was at the National Institutes of Health for 18 years, where he served as the Scientific Director for the National Institute of Mental Health. Following NIMH Steve held several R&D leadership positions over a 17-year career at Eli Lilly & Co., including Executive Vice President for Science and Technology and President of the Lilly Research Laboratories. He is also a former Director of the Weill Cornell Medicine Appel Alzheimer’s Disease Research Institute.
Steve currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for the NIH, and has served on many other advisory committees and received many awards recognizing his contributions to neuroscience research. Steve received his bachelor’s in Biology and Psychology from Tulane University, and his M.S. and M.D. from the Tulane University School of Medicine
Reid brings to Rapport over 25 years of operating experience in the biotechnology industry. He was a member of the founding scientific team at Incyte and served there for 17 years, ending with five years as Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer. Prior to Incyte, he held positions of increasing responsibility at DuPont Pharmaceuticals and Bristol-Myers Squibb. He has been a Partner at Third Rock Ventures since 2018, and holds board positions at Asher Bio, MOMA Therapeutics, Tango Therapeutics, Terremoto Biosciences, Bellicum Pharmaceuticals and insitro. Reid received his Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and completed his post-doctoral training at the National Institutes of Health.
Jeff has served in executive roles at several biotechnology companies, including as Executive Chairman of the Board at Delinia; President, CEO, and Member of the Board of Directors at Nora Therapeutics; and Vice President, Corporate and Product Development at Infinity Pharmaceuticals. Earlier he worked at McKinsey & Company and was a founding researcher at the Harvard Bauer Center for Genomics Research. He joined Third Rock Ventures in 2016. Jeff received his A.B. from Harvard College, A.M. and Ph.D. from Harvard University and his M.M.S. from the Harvard Medical School.
Jim is the Managing Partner at Sofinnova Investments with over twenty three years of experience in funding innovative therapies. At Sofinnova, twenty two of his investments have gone public and twelve have been acquired. Prior to Sofinnova, Jim worked at Bayer and Sanderling. He received various recognitions over the course of his career including IBF Innovator, Xconomy’s Young and Proven Biotech VC’s and named one of Fortune’s Top Life Science Investors. An immunologist by training, Jim currently serves on the boards of ArriVent, Atsena, Bolt (BOLT), Karuna (KRTX), Natera (NTRA) and Y-mAbs (YMAB). He previously served on the boards of the Executive Committee at UC Berkeley, the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). Jim received his M.D. and Ph.D. from Stanford University.
Raymond is Managing Director at Cormorant Asset Management, responsible for investing in public and private companies across all therapeutic areas. He currently serves on the boards of Arkuda Therapeutics, BiVACOR, Expansion Therapeutics, Garuda Therapeutics, and GC Therapeutics as Director, and Chroma Therapeutics, Graviton, Interius BioTherapeutics, and Umoja Biopharma as Observer. Raymond serves as an Associate Neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, where his laboratory studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying cognition and cognitive disorders. Raymond received his M.D. and Ph.D. from Stanford University.
Currently focused on the creation and launch of innovative startup companies that can deliver transformational healthcare solutions based on new growth platforms for Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical and med-tech sectors, Sanjay has held a number of roles within J&J over a combined period of 15 years, including Head of JLABS @ San Diego, Senior Finance Director Business Operations for Janssen R&D and Janssen R&D Senior Director. He also co-founded an internal venture at J&J’s Centocor which developed a Phase 2b ready cell therapy for age related macular degeneration.
Prior to joining Janssen Sanjay was an investor with healthcare VC Quaker Partners, and led preclinical development of cell therapies for cardiovascular and neurological indications at Morphogen Pharmaceuticals. Sanjay received his Ph.D. in Pharmacology and M.Sc. In Clinical Pharmacology from The University of Aberdeen, UK and his B.Sc. in Applied Biology/Biomedical Sciences at Nottingham Trent University, UK. He completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School and at the Scripps Research Institute. He is a Life Science Kauffman Fellow of Class 14, holder of 40 U.S. and 160 foreign issued patents and has 20 peer-reviewed publications.
David Julius is Chair of Physiology at the University of California San Francisco, where his laboratory studies the molecular biology of sensory transduction and ion channels. Dr. Julius received the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Ardem Patapoutian for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch. He holds numerous other honors and awards, including but not limited to the Prince of Asturias Award in Technical and Scientific Research, Passano Award and a Shaw Prize in Life Sciences and Medicine. Dr. Julius is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences.
David MacMillan, Ph.D., is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry at Princeton University, where his lab’s research centers on the field of organic synthesis and catalysis. He shared the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Benjamin List for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis. Dr. MacMillan was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in July 2022 and by King Charles at Buckingham Palace in February 2023. He was formerly the founding editor-in-chief of the journal Chemical Science, published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as well as the National Academy of Sciences.
Alan Basbaum, Ph.D., FRS, is Chair of Anatomy at the University of California San Francisco. Dr. Basbaum’s laboratory examines the mechanisms through which tissue and nerve injury produce changes in the peripheral and central nervous system that result in persistent pain. Dr. Basbaum is the former editor-in-chief of Pain and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Sciences. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society in the United Kingdom.
David Clapham, M.D., Ph.D., is Aldo R. Castañeda Professor of Cardiovascular Research and Professor Emeritus of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Clapham’s laboratory at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Janelia Research Campus studies ion channels and their control of cell signaling pathways, as well as the molecular structures in those pathways. Dr. Clapham was HHMI’s vice president and chief scientific officer from 2016 to 2022. He has published in leading scientific publications and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Jeffrey Noebels, M.D., Ph.D., is Cullen Trust for Health Care Endowed Chair in Neurogenetics and Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience and Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine. He is also Director of Baylor’s Blue Bird Circle Developmental Neurogenetics Laboratory, applying mutational analysis to learn how single genes regulate neuronal excitability and brain network synchronization. Dr. Noebels’ pioneering epilepsy gene discoveries, which include the first large-scale translational genomic research study examining variants in human ion channel genes, have appeared in leading journals such as Nature, Cell, Neuron, Science, and Journal of Clinical Investigation. He is a past President of the American Epilepsy Society and member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Wendy Young serves as a board member and scientific advisor at several biotech companies and is an advisor at Google Ventures. Previously, Dr. Young was the senior vice president, small molecule drug discovery at Genentech where she actively built and led the research & discovery organization. Under her leadership, more than 25 clinical candidates progressed into development. Additionally, Dr. Young led the BTK discovery program and is co-inventor of fenebrutinib, which is currently in Phase 3 trials for multiple sclerosis. Prior to joining Genentech, Dr. Young held roles of increasing scientific leadership at Celera Genomics and Scios, a J&J company. She is an inventor and/or author on more than 70 published patents and manuscripts.
Our story
Rapport Therapeutics was conceived and created through a partnership between Third Rock Ventures and Janssen Neuroscience. It is based on the premise that precision neuromedicines will improve lives by overcoming the well-established limitations of today’s treatments for many neurological conditions. Our first program, currently in Phase I clinical development, is designed to treat drug-resistant seizure disorders.
Our founding scientists are trailblazers in the biologic and therapeutic applications of receptor-associated proteins (RAPs), the cornerstone of Rapport’s precision neuromedicine approach. Rapport’s co-founder and CSO, David Bredt, pioneered RAP discovery more than two decades ago. While working at Janssen Neuroscience alongside many other Rapport scientific leaders, he advanced the idea of harnessing RAPs to target specific neuron circuits. Seeing an opportunity to house this robust and ground-breaking technology in a biotech company, Janssen and Third Rock Ventures partnered to create Rapport in late 2022.
Janssen has contributed to Rapport a portfolio of neuroscience assets, along with a foundational discovery platform, associated intellectual property and a seasoned scientific team.
