About Us
We are a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in the San Francisco Bay Area dedicated to developing novel medical food products for dietary disease management.
Revolutionary Technology for Cancer
Filtricine was founded by Stanford researchers who decoded the way to exploit cancer cell weaknesses by depriving them of nutrients without harming the rest of the body. This scientific breakthrough is known as Targeted Nutrients Deprivation (TND). We can improve lives through providing balanced nutrition to cancer patients while starving cancer cells. Tality medical food, our first product specifically designed for cancer patients, leverages our ground-breaking research in cell metabolism and nutrition science. Tality is currently being investigated in clinical studies.
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Nutrition-Based Interventions for Human Health
Managing cancer is just the beginning. We want to change the lives of millions of patients around the world without drugs. We are building on the philosophy of nutrition-based interventions for human health: “food as medicine”. Filtricine is working hard to develop products and solutions to improve the quality of life of people living with many common diseases.
Our Team
John Chant, PhD
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Dr. Chant joined Filtricine as CEO in December 2020. As a successful entrepreneur, he saw incredible potential in Filtricine and Tality. He decided to lead this revolutionary nutrition-based approach to cancer care. Previously, Dr. Chant served as founder/CEO of two successful oncology startups: G1 Therapeutics (NASDAQ: GTHX) and Gatekeeper Pharmaceuticals. In 2018 he spun out AlphaEleven Therapeutics from the University of California San Francisco to commercialize inhibitors of clotting factor XI as next generation anticoagulants. He's held research and development positions with CuraGen and Genentech. Dr. Chant holds a PhD from the University of California San Francisco and served on the faculty of Harvard University early in his career.
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“Nothing would make me more satisfied than to know we have given others a longer, healthier life with happiness.”
Jimmy Xin Wang, MD, PhD
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
CO-FOUNDER
Dr. Wang is a founder of Filtricine and is an inventor of Targeted Nutrients Deprivation. He is an authority on novel therapeutics and personalized medicine with a specialty in cancer and infectious disease. His work has resulted in three antiviral drugs in Phase II clinical trials and one vaccine candidate in preclinical study. He has published over 30 peer-reviewed papers and has filed 3 patent applications with Stanford University. Dr. Wang holds a medical degree from Tianjin Medical University in China and holds a PhD from Kagoshima University in Japan. He completed post-doctoral training at Japan Science and Technology Agency and with Dr. Yung-Chi Cheng at Yale University.
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“I hope our nutrition-based approach to cancer management can change lives around the world.”
Mike Partsuf
SENIOR FOOD SCIENTIST
Mike has more than 20 years experience in product and process development in the food, dietary supplement, and biotech industries. He has working knowledge of food technology, processing equipment, and laboratory instrumentation, and thorough understanding of ingredient functionality, product formulations, and labeling regulations. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Food Engineering and a Master's degree in Food Science. He is a co-author in two US patent applications and two international patents.
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“I lost my mother to cancer. I have a friend who is a cancer survivor—a young woman and mother of two.
It feels personal.”
Xiyan Li, PhD
CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER
CO-FOUNDER
Since launch in October 2018, Dr. Li has led Filtricine from cell-based technology to clinical trial initiation. He and the cofounders incubated the company at IndieBio and secured seed financing led by True Ventures and SOSV. As an expert in cancer metabolism, Dr. Li discovered and patented Targeted Nutrients Deprivation while at Stanford University Medical School. That patent was followed by two additional Filtricine patents. Dr. Li holds a PhD from the University of Maryland and trained with Dr. Mike Snyder at Yale and Stanford Universities.
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“I hope that we help manage more serious diseases that are currently handled only with drugs.”
Grace Xiaolu Yang, PhD
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
VP OF RESEARCH & CO-FOUNDER
Dr. Yang is a founder of Filtricine. She leads business and scientific operations at Filtricine. She is an inventor on the two patent applications filed by Filtricine.
Dr. Yang holds a PhD from Stanford University.
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“We hope Tality will become a safe and effective option of cancer care that helps patients manage their disease.”
Todd Lorenz, MD
CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT
Dr. Lorenz advises Filtricine on medical strategy and clinical trial design. His expertise spans more than 20 years of drug development and clinical trial design. Previously, he held senior leadership positions at Johnson and Johnson, Cor Therapeutics, Orexigen, Catalyst Biosciences, and Corgentech. Dr. Lorenz earned his MD at Case Western Reserve University.
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“The Filtricine approach is unique. It promises to feed the patients' bodies, not their cancers.”
Emily Sinovic
PUBLIC RELATIONS CONSULTANT
Emily is thrilled to bring her skills as an expert in media messaging to Filtricine. Emily is a graduate of the Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism. She has lived all over the country during her career and now lives internationally. Her professional accolades include awards for investigative reporting, documentary work, breaking news from scenes of natural disasters, and consumer reporting. In addition to receiving awards from the Associated Press and Society of Professional Journalists, Emily has been honored with three Emmy Awards.
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“History will look back on this moment as a revolutionary time for cancer care. There is a better way. This is just the beginning.”
Our Advisors
Peter B Hutt, LLM
Senior Counsel at Covington & Burling LLP
Peter specializes in Food and Drug Law. Formerly Chief Counsel for the Food and Drug Administration, he played an important role in drafting legislation that became the Drug Listing Act of 1972 and the Medical Device Amendments of 1976. He coined the term “medical food”. Peter advises Filtricine on medical food regulations
Mike P Snyder, PhD
Stanford University School of Medicine
W. Ascherman Professor and Chair of Department of Genetics and Director of the Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine
Dr. Snyder is a leader in the field of systems biology encompassing genomics, proteomics, metabolomics as related to human health and disease. Most recently his laboratory has pioneered the use of wearable devices and omic analysis to monitor human physiology and to guide clinical interventions. Dr. Snyder has published more than 500 papers, and he has received numerous awards. He co-founded several biotechnology companies, including Protometrix (now part of Life Technologies), Affomix (now part of Illumina), Excelix, and Personalis (NASDAQ: PSNL).
Dr. Snyder is a founder and an inventor of Filtricine’s foundational patent from Stanford University School of Medicine.
Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPh, MPH
Tufts University
Dean and Jean Mayer Professor at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, and Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine.
Dr. Mozaffarian is a cardiologist and leading scientist in nutrition science. In 2016, Thomson Reuters named him as one of the World's Most Influential Scientific Minds.
Dr. Mozaffarian advises Filtricine on nutrition science.
Danhua Xiao, MD
Atlantic Health Metabolic Center
Attending physician and metabolic specialist at Atlantic Health Metabolic Center
Dr. Xiao provides medical care to patients with nutritional needs. She has a deep understanding of the nutritional needs of cancer patients. Dr. Xiao advises Filtricine on nutritional care of patients.
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Alister Thomson, MBA
Bristol Myers Squibb (Former)
Former Director of Transformation and Continuous Improvement at Bristol Myers Squibb
Alister is an experienced drug developer with direct involvement in 20 plus new drug approvals including immunotherapy drugs Opdivo and Yervoy. Alister advises Filtricine on clinical trial strategy.
Wei Jiang, PhD
Senior Director of Medical Affairs at MorphoSys
Dr. Jiang has served in roles of Director of Medical Affairs at MorphoSys, Daiichi Sankyo, Shionogi, and Bayer. Dr. Jiang advises Filtricine on clinical studies