Relentless Pursuit to Cure
About Ibex Biosciences
Our Mission & Vision
Ibex Biosciences' mission is to aggressively develop or help finance lifesaving therapies and diagnostics in the race to effectively treat a number of medical conditions plaguing humanity. The company's long-term vision is to invest into promising new technologies, capable scientists, and new targets.
Ibex's objectives are:
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To actively seek out and evaluate new molecules and new methods to develop more effective therapeutics in order to improve the outcome of a multitude of unmet medical conditions.
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To actively seek out and evaluate scientists and their early-stage discoveries with the intent of offering these innovators opportunities so they may further their product's development goals.
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To evaluate its non-therapeutic discoveries for commercial diagnostic and disease monitoring potential.
Our Management
Vidal F. de la Cruz, Ph.D., Co-Chief Executive and Chief Scientific Officer (Candidate)
Vidal de la Cruz, Ph.D. joined Ibex Biosciences in 2022. For over 20 years, he has led preclinical discovery research and product development, technology and asset scouting and assessment, management, and business development and licensing operations with start-up, mid-size and large international biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Dr. de la Cruz is the inventor of Peptide Phase Display Technology, a key technology contributing to the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Prior to joining Ibex, he founded Fomento Pharma, LLC, in 2012, a pharmaceutical and consulting business development practice focused on a range of research and development areas including cancer inflammation, autoimmunity, women’s health, vaccines and gene therapies.
Dr. de la Cruz received a Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of California, Los Angeles, a B.S. in Biology from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and completed his Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, (NAID) National Institutes of Health. He is the co-author of over four dozen scientific publications and is the inventor of nine issued patents.
Norman Z. Lai, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer
Norman Z. Lai, Ph.D. joined Ibex Biosciences in 2016. For over 20 years, Dr. Lai has held several positions in academia, science and in the biotechnology industry. His work has focused on the development of recombinant viral gene vectors and the establishment of cell-based in vitro and in vivo assays resulting in new research technologies for the treatment of neurological metabolic disorders, autoimmune diseases, and early human cancer detection.
His early research includes gene therapy delivery effectiveness, in collaboration with Dr. Roscoe O. Brady, an international leader in the field of metabolic and enzyme replacement therapy at the National Institute of Nonlogical Disorders and Strokes (NINDS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and as Executive Director of Research and Development at U.S. Precision System Science Inc., where he worked on new diagnostic platforms for detecting single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) mutations sites of genetic metabolic disorders.
Dr. Lai received a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Bioscience and a Master of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Uppsala Sweden. He was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics at Indiana University School of Medicine and an outstanding Research Fellow at Developmental and Metabolic Neurology Branch, NINDS, NIH. He also serves on the Board of Directors of US MediGene Inc, and serves as Vice Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board Rafagen Inc. He is the co-author of numerous scientific publications and is the co-inventor of many patents and patent applications.
A. Murat Croci, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Cofounder
Murat Croci co-founded Ibex Biosciences in 2015. Mr. Croci has worked in a managerial capacity in early-stage biotechnology for over 15 years and is an inventor on four patents in the biotech and software disciplines.
Prior to founding Ibex, he worked as a financial controller for Seneca Biotech, an early-stage biotechnology company focused on cancer diagnostics. Mr. Croci received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland Global Campus in 2000 and is a decorated veteran who served in the United States Army from 1990 to 1996.
Michael J. Karlin, Chief Business Officer and Cofounder
Michael J. Karlin co-founded Ibex Biosciences in 2015. Mr. Karlin has over two decades professional experience in legal, finance, and business in the biotechnology and technology sectors. He is also a co-founder of other technology startups focused and is an inventor of several patents in biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and software.
Early in his career, he practiced law and tax consulting at several global New York based firms, including Andersen, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, and Morrison Cohen. Mr. Karlin received a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, an MBA in Finance and a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from the George Washington University School of Business.
Saule Dairabayeva, Foreign Markets Manager
Saule Dairabayeva joined Ibex Biosciences in 2018. Saule Dairabayeva is an international affairs professional with over a decade of experience working in the international community and in the private sector. Ms. Dairabayeva has worked for several U.S. and international organizations, think tanks, and universities, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, W. Wilson International Center for Scholars, U.S. Embassy Astana, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency mission, where she was responsible for executing cross-functional projects and engaging with multiple stakeholders including foreign governments, media, and businesses.
Saule is a recipient of multiple awards and fellowships, including recognition for an outstanding Support to the Nuclear, Chemical, Biological team, and the Cooperative Threat Reduction mission of the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
Ms. Dairabayeva received a Master of Arts degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University.