Errant Gene Therapeutics, LLC™ was formed in October of 2003. Its founder, Patrick Girondi, and the management team share a common vision for the science and business strategy of EGT and in particular the development of therapies for rare disorders.
Patrick Girondi
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Pat Girondi is a trader and market maker of securities through his companies operating in the U.S. and Europe, and has long been involved in philanthropic activities related to rare diseases. In 1983 he was instrumental in the start-up of Robin Hood Association, a non-profit organization providing financial aid for medical services to patients with rare diseases. In 1992, he later focused his efforts to the life-threatening blood disorder, thalassemia. A partnership was later formed with Emerging Pharmaceutical Technology (EPT) to advance the development of treatments for thalassemia. In 1995 EPT became the foundation for the start-up of Beacon Pharmaceuticals and its successor, Beacon Laboratories. Beacon focused on the discovery and development of small molecules regulating gene expression in cancer from 1995 through 1998. In 1998, Beacon's discovery focus was extended to HDACI and its subsidiary, CircaGen Pharmaceuticals was formed. Mr. Girondi was a member of the Board of Directors of Beacon and remained in this position until EGT acquired the company's intellectual property in 2004.
Sam Salman
President
Mr. Salman became EGT’s President as of March 1, 2009, to provide strategic leadership for its accelerated product launches. He also serves as Chairman and CEO of New Reality Solutions (“NRS”), a strategic merchant bank, focused on developing market wide initiatives that capture the critical issues of our time. Among NRS's strategic development projects is the creation of a global insurance platform to provide coverage for gene therapy treatments, addressing today's coverage void. NRS is assisting EGT in the implementation of its business and financial structures and in further shaping its strategic vision. Previously, he has also held senior leadership positions in the development of a science, technology and media based initiatives, as well as being active in the world of banking, capital markets and real estate finance, including as Executive Chairman of the Board of a publicly traded real estate developer.
Charles Columbus
Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Columbus brings to EGT, as its Chief Operating Officer, an expertise in management and corporate finance. He also serves as Chief Operating Officer and Partner of (“NRS”), a strategic merchant bank, focused on developing market wide initiatives that capture the critical issues of our time. He has years of experience in leading, managing, and developing new ventures, including co-venture and private equity fund businesses. As the Head of Real Estate Investment Banking at HSBC, he was responsible for the launch of the HSBC Amanah Global Properties Income Fund (GPIF), the first open-end, Shariah-compliant fund with over $2 billion in real estate portfolio assets. As Managing Director of WestLB’s NY Structured Finance Department, he formed and managed the bank’s successful entry into project and aircraft financing, asset securitization, and leveraged finance. Prior to his decade at WestLB, he was a Managing Director of Chase Manhattan Bank where he helped launch the bank’s investment banking effort. During his 20-year career there Charles was responsible for the bank’s private placement business and was a senior member of the team advancing its investment banking product introductions including, euro-bond and domestic underwriting, securitization, derivatives and its general corporate advisory businesses. He holds a BS degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from NYU Graduate School of Business and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Charles is an Adjunct Professor of International Finance and Capital Markets at Brooklyn College.
Jason Feldman
Director of Business Operations
Jason Feldman joined Errant Gene Therapeutics in 2004 and serves as Director of Business Operations. Mr. Feldman has extensive business experience in strategic development and project coordination, with a specialty in integrated marketing communications. Mr. Feldman is a graduate of Miami University (Oxford) and The University of Chicago, Graham School.
Christopher Ballas, PhD
Director of Gene Therapy
Dr. Ballas is a gene therapy research scientist. Dr. Ballas earned a B.S. in Cell and Developmental Biology from Purdue University and a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Pathology from Vanderbilt University. Dr. Ballas then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Case Western Reserve University. During his education and research training Dr. Ballas gained extensive experience in stem cell biology and gene therapy of stem cells. After several years managing a clinical grade viral vector production facility, Dr. Ballas joined EGT as Director of Gene Therapy.
