What Happened?
Emeryville, CA-based Pareto Biotechnologies has Promoted Michael Mendez as Chief Technology Officer
About the Company
Pareto Biotechnologies has pioneered development of a revolutionary synthetic biology platform that produces naturally derived, high value “designer molecules.” Pareto’s technology is the result of over a decade of academic and private sector research and intellectual property focused on one particular polyketide pathway. Building on Dr. Joe Noel’s groundbreaking research at the Salk Institute, this pathway – previously dismissed as the “poor man’s pathway” – is the foundation of Pareto’s platform, capable of generating known products and novel molecules. In the near term, Pareto will introduce “designer molecules” as cosmetics, flavors and fragrances including molecules with properties unlike anything previously experienced. In the long term, Pareto’s molecules will be designed to enhance nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and industrial commodities. Pareto’s potential is limitless. Join us as we ignite a molecular revolution
About the Person
With over 20 years of experience in San Diego’s cutting edge biotechnology sector, Mike Mendez is a renowned leader of the molecular biology revolution, and a successful entrepreneur. Over the course of his career, he has transitioned his groundbreaking scientific discoveries into nine startups, four of which he founded. Mendez is a pioneer in the development of fully human antibodies, and was the lead author and co-inventor of the Xenomouse platform technology that formed Abgenix. This company was subsequently acquired by Amgen for $2.2 billion, and is widely considered one of the most successful start-ups in the history of biotechnology. Mendez then turned his sights on gene therapy, becoming the world-class virologist who created the viral vectors for the cancer vaccine technology, GVAX. He then went on to establish a novel platform for the over-expression, purification, and crystallization of membrane proteins for rational drug design; a field that has had a massive impact on a broad spectrum of common pharmaceuticals on market today. Most recently, Mendez applied his scientific talents to the field of renewable energy, as Co-Founder and Vice President of Technology at Sapphire Energy. Sapphire is the world’s leading algae-based fuel company, having raised over $350M in public and private funds, with a company valuation of over one billion dollars. At Sapphire, Mendez transformed the field of algae engineering and created a novel trait-mining platform to discover genes in algae that could be applied to large-scale agriculture. He leveraged his trait-mining platform to establish a multi-year collaboration between Monsanto and Sapphire Energy, and simultaneously transformed algae into an energy crop that transformed the energy sector. Mendez has served as a genetic consultant and scientific adviser for numerous biotech and academic institutions, including Geron Corporation, Expression Systems, Ablexis, Vaxart, and the California Institute of Technology. He is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Boards of Pregene and Calysta Energy.
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