Company
People
Led by Science. Inspired by People
We believe neDNA™, the enzymatic DNA manufactured at TAAV, is paving the way to a new era of gene therapy development. This technology offers an alternative to plasmids for rAAV manufacturing and is designed to transform and accelerate the traditional gene therapy development timelines.
This innovation can only be made possible through the power of science. However, science needs great minds and dedicated hands; science needs passionate people committed to change.
We aim to change patients’ lives. This is what inspires us.
More about neDNA™: Enzymatic DNA Manufacturing.
Leadership
TAAV’s Leadership team is composed of strong, dedicated and qualified professionals focused on driving your rAAV programs to success. Get to know our global management team who guides and inspires our people to deliver exceptional results for our customers bringing a wealth of development, manufacturing and commercial experience from leading life sciences companies.
Dolores Baksh, PhD
CEO
Dolores Baksh, PhD
Dolores joins TAAV as CEO, from Akron Biomanufacturing where she served as the company’s Business Unit Head and Vice President of Commercial Biomanufacturing, leading its growth strategy for the production of cGMP plasmids and gene editing nucleases. She also held various leadership positions at GE Healthcare Life Sciences; GE Venture start-up, Vineti, Inc.; Organogenesis; and others. In these roles, Dolores established innovative cell and gene therapy product development strategies through organic and inorganic approaches, brought to market software to scale and digitize cell manufacturing systems and played a leading role in the approval of the first FDA approved allogeneic cell-based product.
Dolores received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Toronto. She will split her time between Boston, Massachusetts, and TAAV’s manufacturing facility in San Sebastian, Spain.
Félix Bastida, PhD
Scientific Director
Félix Bastida, PhD
Graduated in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Zaragoza and Doctor in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University (USA), he is an expert in the management of research and development projects and the implementation of biotechnological start-ups. He has specialized in molecular biology, development and commercial production of diagnostic kits (PCR, ELISA), immunology, and virulence factors and pathogenesis of microorganisms. Throughout his career, he has held various positions as a researcher at US universities -Cornell, California-San Diego and Los Angeles- and senior executive and managerial responsibilities in biotechnology companies. He has been Development Director of ArtiVent Innovative Therapies S.L., Research Director of Vacunek S.L. and General Director of the UTE Vacunek-CZV Veterinaria.
Sergio Martín
Director of Engineering
Sergio Martín
Graduated in Industrial Engineering by the University of Navarra (Spain). He has more than 20 years of experience designing, building and maintenance of facilities for different industrial sectors, especially in healthcare. Also with experience as Industrial Plant Efficiency Auditor and BIM MEP design. Since 2013 Associate Professor of Industrial Facilities on the Master of Industrial Engineering of the University of Navarra (Tecnun). Sergio has joined TAAV in March 2020 where he currently works as Director of Engineering.
María Dolores Gálvez, PhD
Supply Chain Director
María Dolores Gálvez, PhD
Graduated in Biology from the University of Navarra (Spain) and Doctor in Biology from the Public University of Navarra (Spain) with research stay at the Utrecht University (The Netherlands) and pre-doctoral stay at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (USA). PMP® certified by the Project Management Institute. As a researcher, she focused on the study of genetic markers for the differential diagnosis of mental disorders in the Clinic University of Navarra (Spain), funded by the Alicia Koplowitz Foundation. She has worked for 12 years at 3P Biopharmaceuticals holding responsibility positions in Upstream, Planning and Logistics and Project Management. She has extensive experience in recombinant proteins and monoclonal antibodies.
Lara Pascual
Financial Director
Lara Pascual
Graduate in Economy and Business Management, Master in International Management, Financial Audit and Management Development by Universidad de Deusto (Spain). With wide experience in financial auditing in different industrial sectors and several years in Financial Department of a multi-national firm, Lara has joined TAAV in 2019 where she currently works as responsible of company financial management.
Jaime Vaquerizo
Director of Quality
Jaime Vaquerizo
Degree in Biochemistry from the University of the Basque Country and Master's Degree in Research, Development and Innovation of Medicines from the University of Navarra. He has been a Quality Assurance Technician at the Center for Research in Applied Pharmacobiology (CIFA) and Director of Quality Assurance and Quality Control at 3P Biopharmaceuticals. He is an expert in quality management, GMP regulations and the design, construction and qualification of biotechnology companies, as well as in the implementation of GXP quality systems and regulatory standards.
Sebastián Almeida
Biomanufacturing Director
Sebastián Almeida
With over 20 years of technical operations and biomanufacturing experience, Mr. Almeida brings strong leadership skills and significant experience in biopharmaceutical product management, development and manufacturing. Mr. Almeida has specialized throughout his career in bioprocess development, technology transfer and manufacturing. He holds a degree in Molecular Biology from the CAECE University (Argentina) and Quality Management Postgraduate Diploma from the ITBA (Argentina). His extensive international experience has allowed him to manage and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams in South America, Europe, Asia and North America.
Lucía San Miguel
Quality Senior Manager
Lucía San Miguel
Graduated in Pharmacy and Master's Degree in Research, Development and Innovation of Medicines from the University of Navarra (Spain). She has served in TAAV as Quality Senior Manager since 2019. She worked for 11 years in Quality Assurance and Quality Control fields in the CDMO biotech industry, including positions as Analytical Services Director and Qualified Person. She has expertise in the implementation and maintenance of Quality Management Systems, in GMP regulations, in the design, construction and qualification of biotechnology companies, as well as in the management of human teams and resources.
Leticia Agúndez, PhD
R&D Senior Manager
Leticia Agúndez
Leticia graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of the Basque Country (Spain) and obtained a PhD in Molecular Microbiology from the University of Cantabria (Spain). During her post-doctoral research work at King’s College London (KCL), she focused her studies on AAV biology. Later, at University College London (UCL), she worked on gene editing and gene and cell therapies for the treatment of retinal disorders. With more than 15 years of experience in basic and translational research, she is an expert in the fields of molecular biology, AAV and gene therapies. Since August 2019, Leticia leads the R&D department at TAAV.
Sergio Cuesta
Manufacturing Senior Manager
Sergio Cuesta
Graduated in Biotechnology from the Valencia Polytechnic University (Spain) and Master’s degree in Health Science Research from the Public University of Navarre (Spain). Throughout his career, Sergio has specialized in the biomedical field and specifically in molecular biology and genetic engineering of human pathogens and the study of virulence factors and pathogenesis. He has worked as a researcher at different groups at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) where he developed strong organizational and leadership skills. Sergio joined TAAV in 2020 and currently leads the areas of neDNA™ production and manufacturing process improvements.
Shalom Pérez
Human Resources Senior Manager & Head of Compliance
Shalom Pérez
Bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Steinbeis Hoschule in Berlin (Germany). Shalom brings more than 20 years in Human Resources working with companies in different industries and countries, such as Siemens in Mexico, Latin-American and Germany and Woco Automotive Group in Germany and Spain. She joined TAAV in June 2022 where she now heads the implementation and standardization of all human resources matters and compliance system aligning them to AskBio Inc. and Bayer Group Policies.
Cecilia Folio, PhD
Senior Project Manager
Join Us
If you are passionate about innovation, science and improving people’s lives, you will be a perfect fit to our team of more than 80 enthusiastic and brilliant minds.
Come join our team of experts. Together, we have the power to make it happen.
