About DomainOne Therapeutics
Our Mission & Vision
At DomainOne Therapeutics, our mission is to develop novel small molecule therapies that provide much needed relief for patients with critical unmet needs. By selectively targeting TSP-1, we provide an alternative method of suppressing the highly sought after TGF-β pathway. We aim to halt fibrosis at its source and envision a future of relief for the hundreds of millions of patients experiencing AKI and CKD, with plans to expand to other TGF-β-driven diseases including liver, lung, and cardiac fibrosis.
Our Story
DomainOne Therapeutics was founded to translate cutting-edge academic research into first-in-class therapies for fibrosis. Our approach is built on the groundbreaking work of Joanne Murphy-Ullrich, PhD, a renowned expert in TGF-β biology and fibrosis. Currently a Professor Emerita at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Dr. Murphy-Ullrich discovered and elucidated the mechanism of TSP-1-mediated TGF-β activation, establishing TSP-1 as a critical therapeutic target in fibrosis and tissue remodeling.
Dr. Murphy-Ullrich’s research demonstrated that blocking TSP-1 can prevent excessive TGF-β activation at sites of tissue damage and inflammation, offering a highly specific way to inhibit fibrosis while maintaining TGF-β’s homeostatic functions. This discovery led to the development of DomainOne Therapeutics’ novel small molecule antagonists, designed to preserving normal tissue repair processes and halt fibrosis at its source.
Founded by Orange Grove Bio, DomainOne Therapeutics is advancing this pioneering science into a transformative new class of targeted fibrosis therapies. With a lead program focused on attenuating acute kidney injury (AKI) and preventing progression to chronic kidney disease (CKD), we are poised to deliver first-in-class treatments for fibrosis and related diseases.
Our Leadership Team
DomainOne Therapeutics is led by a team of scientists, biotech innovators, and industry leaders with expertise in fibrosis, small molecule drug development, and translational medicine.
Dr. Michael Kalos is a Senior Venture Partner and Head of Cell Therapy at Orange Grove Bio. In addition to this role, he serves as the CEO of Orange Grove Bio subsidiary companies IpiNovyx and DomainOne Therapeutics. An internationally recognized expert in T cell therapy and immunotherapy, Michael brings over 30 years of scientific and operational expertise to these fields, focusing on cell therapy, oncology vaccines, and immunooncology.
Throughout his career, Michael has held leadership and C-suite executive roles at several prominent organizations. He is also a member of Scientific Advisory and Corporate Boards for various public and private biopharmaceutical companies.
Most recently, he was the Executive Vice President and Head of R&D at ArsenalBio, a synthetic biology-based cell therapy start-up, where he led the R&D and product development strategy for the company’s first product. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Immuno-Oncology and Oncology Cell Therapies at Janssen, leading corporate strategies in cell therapy, neoantigen vaccines, and immuno-oncology. At Eli Lilly and Company, he was the Chief Scientific Officer of Immunooncology, where he established and integrated internal and external strategies in immunooncology, including biologics, bi-specifics, vaccines, and cell therapy.
William H. Miller, Ph.D. is VP & Head of Medicinal Chemistry at Orange Grove Bio. He is an accomplished “drug hunter” with over 30 years of experience in preclinical drug discovery research in the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Miller has a strong background in medicinal and synthetic organic chemistry, with an established track record for successfully advancing initial hits to viable development candidates, and for identifying creative solutions to complex drug discovery challenges. His experience spans multiple therapeutic areas, including antibacterials, cardiovascular, dermatology, inflammation, neuroscience, oncology, ophthalmology, osteoporosis, and supportive care, as well as multiple target classes, including enzymes (such as bacterial enzymes, epigenetic enzymes, kinases, prolyl hydroxylase, sirtuins, thrombin), receptors, and ion channels. He has contributed to the identification of 18 development candidates, is an inventor on over 70 issued US patents, and is an author on over 40 journal publications. At OGB, Dr. Miller leads our medicinal chemistry efforts, participates in technical diligence reviews of new licensing opportunities, engages directly in management decision-making, and serves as an executive and advisor for OGB portfolio companies. Dr. Miller earned a BS in chemistry at the University of Connecticut, a Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry at Yale University, and worked as an NIH postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University.
Brittany de Kouchkovsky is an immunologist and life science professional who is passionate about connecting science and business to advance breakthrough therapies. She brings 5 years of experience sourcing and translating academic science into IND stage, investable therapeutics by supporting diligence, operational strategy, project management and team growth. She obtained her PhD from Yale University in Immunobiology, with expertise in anti-tumor T cells and immunogenic solid tumor model development. Prior to her PhD, she worked for over 5 years in academic and industrial laboratories on discovery assay and diagnostic development and molecular biology programs, and obtained her B.S. in Molecular Biology from the University of California, San Diego.
Chris Ryan is the Vice President of CMC at Orange Grove Bio. He has over a decade of experience managing internal and external teams developing, testing, and manufacturing cosmetics, drugs, and medical devices. He has worked on developing, manufacturing, and testing drug substances and products for parenteral, respiratory, mucosal, ocular, and oral administration. Dr. Ryan’s experience includes manufacturing cosmetics, small molecule drugs, biologics, and medical devices for indications in wound healing, oral care, transfusion medicine, respiratory disease, immunology, infectious disease, oncology, and gastrointestinal disease. His experience in medical device manufacturing includes product development, commercial manufacturing, and distribution.
While his primary responsibilities have been leading manufacturing and quality control, Dr. Ryan has also served as project manager, head of quality assurance, regulatory lead, head of operations, and other supporting roles. He has authored CMC sections for pre-INDs, INDs, and IMPDs. In addition, he has written, submitted, and led correspondence with the FDA of multiple 510ks for medical device clearance. Dr. Ryan has a background in host-pathogen interaction, molecular biology, and biochemistry, focusing on polysaccharide chemistry and RNA biology. He obtained a BS in Biochemistry from the University of Rochester and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Buffalo.
Laura Crawford is a pharmacologist, board-certified toxicologist, and regulatory affairs professional, bringing 10 years of drug development experience to Orange Grove Bio. She has expertise in identifying novel drug candidates and moving them strategically into development programs. As Senior Director of Drug Development at Orange Grove Bio she oversees programs from discovery and IND candidate selection through IND submission and early clinical development. Prior to joining Orange Grove Bio, Laura worked at Athenex, where she led the nonclinical development efforts for 5 clinical products, primarily in oncology. More recently, Laura worked as an Associate Principal Consultant at SciLucent, providing advisement on nonclinical development strategy and study execution, and as Senior Director of Drug Development at Nirogy Therapeutics.
Laura has contributed to numerous investigational new drug applications (INDs) and new drug applications (NDAs) and was a key contributor to the development of Klisyri® (tirbanibulin) from early preclinical development through FDA/EMA approval.
Laura holds a B.S. in Biology from Canisius College and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Therapeutics from SUNY Buffalo. She is a certified Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology (DABT) and maintains Regulatory Affairs Certification (RAC).
Malachi Blundon is the grant administrator at Orange Grove Bio. Malachi received his PhD in Cell and Developmental Biology from Carnegie Mellon University, where he was dual mentored in the field of cancer signaling pathways and large-scale proteomics. He expanded his expertise in genomics and clinical cancer research during his postdoctoral training as a T32 Ruth L. Kirschstein Fellow at The University of Texas in Austin, and as President of the Association of Postdoctoral Scholars at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Along with his research background, Malachi brings 11+ years of experience in technical writing, as well as 5+ years of experience in grant preparation and management. His proven track record of success has generated a success rate 3-times the national average. To do this, he leverages his large breadth of knowledge in the areas of Biotechnology, Cancer Biology, Genetics, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Metabolism, Genomics, and Proteomics. Malachi has been successful in winning R&D grants for small businesses from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Defense (DoD).
Dr. Joanne Murphy-Ullrich is a leading expert in extracellular matrix (ECM) biology and TGF-β signaling, with a distinguished career spanning 37 years at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Her pioneering research identified thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) as an activator of latent TGF-β, uncovering its role in fibrosis, cancer, diabetic complications, and vascular diseases.
An internationally recognized researcher, Dr. Murphy-Ullrich has received continuous funding from agencies such as the NIH, NSF, and Department of Defense, has published extensively with over 20,400 citations, and holds eight patents. She has served in leadership roles in the American Society for Matrix Biology, as Editor-in-Chief of Matrix Biology and Matrix Biology Plus, and as Director of UAB’s Cell Adhesion and Matrix Research Center.
Now Professor Emerita, she continues to contribute to scientific advancements through ongoing research collaborations on TSP-1 variants in glaucoma and cartilage tissue engineering, while maintaining her editorial leadership in ECM research.
Hua Liao, Ph.D. oversees preclinical biology and biochemistry as well as biologics drug discovery at Orange Grove Bio. He has over 20 years of experience in drug discovery research in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry with strong expertise and broad knowledge in the areas of preclinical biology, biochemistry and biophysics, biomarker discovery, DMPK, and biotherapeutics. He has worked on numerous drug discovery projects in the areas of oncology and immunology, including both small molecule and protein therapeutics projects, and has contributed to the discovery and development of serval marketed therapeutics. Dr. Liao earned his Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry from The Ohio State University and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School.
Keith Stayrook is a biologist and pharmacologist with over 20 years of drug discovery and development experience. He has led and supported multi-disciplinary teams in both pharmaceutical and biotech settings, pursuing novel small molecule, biologic, and RNA therapeutics for the treatment of autoimmune, metabolic, neurodegenerative, and oncology-related diseases.
Prior to joining Orange Grove Bio and DomainOne, Keith worked at Eli Lilly & Company, where he led pre-clinical drug discovery programs in immunology, endocrine, and musculoskeletal diseases—delivering multiple clinical candidates for development. More recently, he served as Vice President of Biology & Pharmacology at the biotech startup Asteroid Therapeutics, where he helped build a fully virtualized drug discovery (VDD) infrastructure and led R&D strategy and management in collaboration with a network of CRO and academic partners.
Keith holds a B.S. in Biology from Valparaiso University, an M.S. in Biology from Purdue University, and an M.S. in Pharmacology from Indiana University School of Medicine.
Help Us Shape the Future of Fibrosis Therapy
Whether you’re a potential partner, investor, or advocate for advancing fibrosis research, we invite you to connect with us. Let’s bring life-changing treatments to patients in need.