I really appreciate that Ossium has challenged me in ways that totally throw me out of my comfort zone. It's a wonderful place to learn and grow.
Brian Johnstone
VP of Research
Working At Ossium
Who We Are
At Ossium, we believe that science is humanity’s best weapon in the fight against disease, and we embrace the challenge of mobilizing the world’s healthcare ecosystem to win that fight. In pursuit of this goal, we empower our employees, maintain the highest standards of excellence, and are a force for good.
Listen to Kevin Speak About Our Vision
Impact
We are mission-driven and results-oriented. We believe that a healthier world is a better one and that our work should drive positive change.
Truth
Embracing the truth empowers us to learn from both our successes and our mistakes. We follow the data wherever it leads.
Ownership
We hold ourselves and each other to the highest bar. We care deeply about the work we do and know that even the smallest details can make a difference.
Inside Look
Day in the Life
Donor Field Services Managers
These donor tissue recovery experts work with our OPO partners to continuously improve our tissue recovery processes. They’re masters of Ossium’s recovery protocols and practices.
Production Associates
These processing experts make our cell therapy products. They’re skilled in tissue processing, cell processing, and cryopreservation.
Clinical Trial Project Managers
These project management meastros ensure that our clinical trials are run with diligent care. They work with clinical investigators and healthcare institutions to manage our research.
Words from the Team
Brian Johnstone
VP of Research
For the past 15 years, Dr. Johnstone has been actively involved in translating adult stem cell therapies into treatments for a host of diseases affecting the major organs of the body. In 2004, he co-authored one of the first studies demonstrating the potential for treating cardiovascular diseases with novel adult stem cells isolated from fat.
Since then, Dr. Johnstone has continued to develop and test new medical uses for adult stem cells as part of his own research as well as in collaboration with international academic centers and pharma / biotech firms.
Outside of the research setting, Dr. Johnstone co-founded NeuroFx, an early-stage biotech firm developing a novel therapy for neurological disorders. Dr. Johnstone led the R&D program at NeuroFx for two years, where he was directly responsible for preclinical and chemistry, manufacturing, and controls development activities. He continues to act as an advisor for NeuroFx. Additionally, Dr. Johnstone has formed two other biotech companies, Chemigen, which is developing a small molecule drug for treating Lou Gehrig’s disease, and EmphyMab Biotech (now Allinaire), which is developing biologics to treat serious lung diseases.
Before becoming an entrepreneur, Dr. Johnstone was an early employee at Sangamo Biosciences for 6 years, where he managed the preclinical development program for their lead gene therapy candidate for cardiovascular diseases, which is currently in Phase II clinical testing. Dr. Johnstone received his PhD from the University of Maryland, College Park, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles.
From the first day I started at Ossium, we had a clear goal to save lives. I come to work every day with that in mind. Getting to work on such a critical cause with the wonderful folks at Ossium makes this an incredible place to be.
Margie Mathewson
VP of Business Operations
Margie Mathewson
VP of Business Operations
Dr. Mathewson’s career has focused primarily on helping start-ups and small businesses build out robust operations, from internal structures and systems to external partnerships. Prior to joining Ossium, Dr. Mathewson was the 7th team member at Point, a FinTech start-up offering non-traditional options for home equity funding, where she led Business Operations. While there, she drove development of an underwriting process for nontraditional, complicated customers that allowed funding of Point’s initial set of homeowners, including the first to successfully exit the investment. She also communicated complex mathematical concepts to homeowners to educate them on the Point investment model and how their equity sale would work.
Dr. Mathewson also worked as a consultant for McKinsey & Company, where, among other projects, she helped develop a rapid growth strategy for a successful health system, overhauled a sales and supply chain planning process to improve communication and ensure every customer got what they ordered on time, and restructured the international sales team for a major global telecom. Dr. Mathewson completed her PhD at the University of California, San Diego, where she was an NSF Fellow and founded a successful mentorship program for first generation college students in engineering.
What’s exciting about where we are at this time is that the regulatory space is new; the path and challenges ahead of us are just beginning. And our amazing team – they have the entrepreneurial spirit and drive to make it happen. I love it.
Oliver Cácananta
Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs
Oliver Cácananta
Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs
Mr. Cacananta is a 24-year veteran of the pharmaceutical industry, having worked broadly with biologics, combination medical devices, and small molecule drugs. He has been involved with a myriad of approved filings in the United States and abroad, spanning Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. This includes collaboration or leadership in filing BLAs, MAAs, PMA, CE Mark, 510(k), NDA, INDs/IDEs, as well as CMC, clinical and other pre- and post-approval commitment filings. He has organized and participated in regulatory meetings with FDA and other agencies (e.g., advisory panel, PDUFA). Mr. Cacananta’s experience spans multiple therapeutic areas including vaccines for influenza and biodefense MCMs (anthrax, botulism), diabetes, metabolic diseases, endovascular disease, and cell therapy for ophthalmology.
Mr. Cacananta’s career and contributions to research and science are rooted in the intersections of the biotech and pharmaceutical industry and the quality and regulatory pathways by which treatment and technological innovations reach patients. As a regulatory professional, his impact comes from shepherding research products through the product lifecycle, from clinical trials to market approval, all the while ensuring that products are safe and efficacious and are within the regulatory parameters set forth by governing agencies.
Mr. Cacananta has worked at a variety of large and small biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Cerus, Medtronic, Amgen, Emergent BioSolutions, BioMarin Pharmaceuticals, and Chiron. Mr. Cacananta received his BS in Biological Sciences from Cal State East Bay.
