LEADERSHIP
Gabi Hanna, MD
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
At Lamassu Biotech, Dr. Hanna has implemented a comprehensive drug development program that prioritizes accelerated timelines to deliver treatments to patients quickly. Under his strategic guidance, two pivotal therapies, RABI-767 and SA53, are being advanced to significantly improve patient outcomes. RABI-767 has progressed to a Phase II human clinical trial in partnership with other organizations, while the company’s veterinary division, LamassuPet, is developing a canine therapy for acute pancreatitis. In the oncology program, SA53 is the lead candidate in a new class and mechanism of molecular targeted therapies that could benefit 50 percent of all cancer patients. It is currently in a Phase I/II clinical trial, demonstrating Dr. Hanna’s ability to guide promising compounds from discovery to advanced clinical development.
Dr. Hanna’s leadership is rooted in a robust academic and research background. He was the founder and executive director of the first academic drug development center at Duke University, pioneering translational research. His scholarly contributions include serving as principal investigator on numerous studies, authoring over 50 peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals, and writing multiple Op-Eds and review papers. He has secured multiple highly competitive NIH grants, underscoring his scientific expertise and ability to attract critical funding.
As a serial entrepreneur, Dr. Hanna has founded multiple successful startups, including Telecancer.com, American Remote Health, and Preclinical Pathfinder. These ventures reflect his core belief that “the best medicine is the cheapest medicine,” with the goal of delivering high-quality, cost-effective care for chronic diseases. At Lamassu Biotech, he continues to champion responsible innovation, focusing on efficient and rapid development and commercialization.
Dr. Hanna’s global strategic vision is supported by Lamassu’s intellectual property portfolio, which holds several global patents in 69 countries. He has cultivated international partnership programs, positioning Lamassu Biotech in key regulated markets such as Canada and the European Union. His leadership has also fostered collaborations with leading institutions, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, McGill University, and Ohio State University.
Beyond his entrepreneurial work, Dr. Hanna is committed to community engagement and ethical practice. He has served as Chairman of the North Carolina Society of Physician Entrepreneurs, as a board member of the Duke Institutional Review Board (IRB), and with various non-profit organizations. These roles reflect his dedication to upholding the highest ethical standards in research and development, supporting physician-innovators, and advocating for entrepreneurship.
Greg Palmer, Ph.D.
Chief Science Officer & Co-Founder
Dr. Greg Palmer is co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Lamassu Biotech. He is a biomedical engineer by training with long experience in translational oncology research. He has led the development and translation of multiple drugs from early discovery through to clinical trials, most recently the development of RABI-767 through IND enabling studies, which is currently in a phase II clinical trial in humans and a canine clinical study, as well as SA53, which is in a phase I/II trial in oncology.
He is also a Professor of Radiation Oncology with more than 20 years’ experience in cancer research in academic and entrepreneurial settings, and with more than 150 peer reviewed publications.
Rabi Hanna, MD
Co-Founder
Dr. Rabi Hanna is Chair of the Department of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, and Blood & Marrow Transplant at Cleveland Clinic Children’s, where he has led the department through transformative growth, more than doubling its size and elevating it to national prominence. He holds the Jerome and Lee Burkons Endowed research chair in oncology, and he oversees a multidisciplinary team of over 70 physicians, scientists, and healthcare professionals, focused on delivering cutting-edge clinical care and advancing research in pediatric cancer and blood disorders.
With deep expertise in bone marrow transplantation, gene and cellular therapies, and pediatric hematologic malignancies, Dr. Hanna is a recognized leader in clinical research and drug development. He has served as principal investigator on numerous PI initiated, national and industry-sponsored trials, including first-in-human studies and pivotal gene therapy trials for sickle cell disease and thalassemia. He served in many Data Safety Monitoring Boards( DSMB) in addition to serving as a key advisor to a wide range of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
Dr. Hanna also contributes to several national and international committees and scientific organizations, including the Children’s Oncology Group, the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT), and The American Society of Hematology (ASH). An accomplished educator and associate professor at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, he is committed to training the next generation of pediatric hematologist-oncologists and advancing standards of care globally through clinical research.
Samir Johna, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Samir Johna, MD, MACM, FACS, FICS is the founding director of the Arrowhead/Kaiser Permanente General Surgery Residency Program in California, a Clinical Professor of Surgery at Loma Linda University School of Medicine, and a Professor of Surgery at the Bernard Tyson Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine. He has a prolific background in research, having published over 75 peer-reviewed articles in medical journals. He has also authored three books and contributed to several medical texts.
Dr. Johna has led numerous clinical trial studies, and chaired on the IRB of Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (Institutional Review Board). In addition to his medical and academic accomplishments, Dr. Johna is the founder and president of “Without Borders,” a non-profit organization providing free medical care worldwide.
John Clemons, CPA
Chief Financial Officer
As the Chief Financial Officer, John Clemons is responsible for all the company’s financial functions.
He has over 30 years of financial leadership experience specializing in start-ups and VC backed companies across multiple industries. Throughout his entire career he has been responsible for planning, implementing, and managing all of the finance and accounting activities of the organizations he has worked with.
Prior to joining Lamassu, he has held a numerous senior level finance positions for a variety of different companies.
John is a certified public accountant and holds a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Nebraska and Master of Accounting from the University of New Mexico.
ADVISORY BOARD
Michael Ackerman, Ph.D., MBA, is the co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer for Arrivo Management LLC. Michael is also the founder of Magnatas, LLC, which supports healthcare companies and venture firms in strategy development, business planning, organizational effectiveness, and process improvement. Previously, Michael served as Senior Vice President for Global Commercial Solutions at Quintiles (IQVIA) leading the integration of clinical and commercial activities around pharmaceutical product development while guiding the Medical Communications Division through an organizational, operational and skill upgrade to significantly improve profitability and efficiency. Michael holds a BS degree in biology from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, a PhD in immunology from the Drexel University College of Medicine, and an MBA from the Kenan-Flagler School of Business at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition, he served as the Fogarty International Post-Doctoral Fellow at the National Institutes of Health/NIEHS where his research focus was in immunotoxicology and tumor immunology. He is a guest lecturer at the Kenan-Flagler School of Business at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Kelly School of Business at Indiana University.
Dr. Khayrallah is an NC Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network Entrepreneur-in-Residence. He has been involved in drug development for 28 years in executive as well as research and development positions. He acquired his experience in diverse pharmaceutical environments including large pharmaceutical, contract research, and biotechnology companies. He is presently CEO and co-Founder of Aerial BioPharma, LLC, a biopharmaceutical holding company focused on developing drugs for treating several central nervous system disorders.
Dr. Pete Anderson has been treating pediatric solid tumor patients for more than 40 years. His career had been defined by reduction of toxicity from immunologic therapy and chemotherapy (7 patents). He has been a professor at the Mayo Clinic, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Anderson has over 150 peer reviewed papers and is interested in developing less toxic and more effective outpatient oncology treatments not only in adults, but also in children and adolescents. His persistence and patient-centered perspective has resulted in commercialization of Healios, a safe and available nutritional suspension to reduce mucositis (mouth sores), esophagitis, and intestinal toxicity, common side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. He is fully engaged in translational research endeavors including use of bone-seeking radiopharmaceuticals (153-Sm-EDTMP and 223RaCl), IGF-1R antibody for metastatic Ewing sarcoma and osteosarcoma (lead investigator on an international trial), hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (DSRCT with Dr. Anderea Hayes-Jordan) and ONC201 for desmoplastic small round cell tumor(DSRCT), mifamurtide (an immune therapy for osteosarcoma), aerosol IL-2 liposomes. Current efforts include working with Tim Chan and Little Warriors Foundation to test a mRNA EWS vaccine and Dr. Joe Wooley at Cleveland Clinic and Lamassu Bio to facilitate a phase I study of best-in class MDM2 inhibitor (SA-53) which may help cancer cells with wild-type TP53 undergo apoptosis. Dr. Anderson provides >300 virtual visits and on-line consults/year for USA and international sarcoma patients and enjoys helping patients and families seeking information and education including toxicity reduction and better treatment options for high-risk sarcomas including Ewing sarcoma and DSRCT. He has become a leader family-centered cancer care through virtual visits, presenting at American Society of Clinical Oncology, International Society for Pediatric Oncology (SOIP), and Connective Tissue Oncology Society as well as numerous podcasts. He will be a guest professor at The American Society of Pediatric Oncology seminar, “Sarcoma Clinical Conundrums” in Louisville KY on May 7, 2025. He currently holds 13 State medical licenses (AZ, CA, CO, IA, IL, MN, NC, NV, OH, PA, TN, TX, WI) . Dr. Anderson provides information in an unrushed, organized and comprehensive manner with preparation before virtual visits, co-editing a summary with patients and caregivers (usually parents), then email follow-up. For on-line Cleveland Clinic consults, he often provides additional education about options with zoom visits. He has a track record of creative scientific endeavor, and can effectively guide, mentor, collaborate, and cooperate with patients & parents, caregivers, physicians, scientists, industry, FDA, and research and regulatory personnel with different and complementary skill sets – to be a catalyst (aka maven) to advocate for more patients and caregivers to find more effective and less toxic, outpatient cancer treatment.