OUR TEAM

PRANA BIOSCIENCES Inc.

PraNa Biosciences leadership team was created from a group of highly experienced pharma and biotech executives who in the past have successfully developed transformative therapeutics from discovery, through development and clinic and through onto the patients

Mahesh is a seasoned drug hunter. After his PhD in Bombay University and post-doc training in Harvard Univ, he joined Abbott Labs (AbbVie) as a Pharmacologist supporting Oncology and Autoimmune disease franchises. Thereafter Mahesh joined Pfizer Inc where he led several programs in Alzheimer’s disease, Schizophrenia and depression franchises. He also co-created and led Autism unit. As Director of External Research unit, Mahesh developed several programs in Rare disease and Inflammatory disease units, which were carried out in Asian and European countries.

Mahesh has served as Chief Scientific Advisor to the Infectious disease unit of US Army. Last 10 years he has led early-stage biotech companies to achieve strategic and financial goals as part of the C-suite. Mahesh has helped more than a dozen biotech companies conduct successful campaigns to raise funds as well as achieve planned exits.

Theresa O’Keefe joined Prana Biosciences Inc. in 2022. Previously she had her own consulting firm, Silladar Consulting LLC, where she assisted multiple small companies, including Elicio Therapeutics, ONEighty C Technologies and Premas Biotech, develop their biotherapeutics and medical devices. Over the years she has worked for a number of biopharma and pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Critical Therapeutics and Millennium/Takeda where she created and led multiple antibody development groups and programs. During her time at Millennium, she invented nLDP02 that went on to be approved as Entyvio, Takeda’s antibody for Crohn’s and UC, as well as its high expression manufacturing system. Her postdoctoral training and early academic career were spent at the MRC-Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK, where she trained under Michael Neuberger and Caesar Milstein. Theresa currently teaches a class in biotherapeutic drug development at UMASS Medical School and is an inventor on over 30 issued patents and has 15 publications including multiple Tier 1 publications.
Theresa obtained an A.B. cum laude in Biochemistry and Biological Sciences from Mount Holyoke College, a M.S. in Veterinary Physiology from Purdue University and a Ph.D. in Immunology from Tufts University’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

Geevarghese Easo (“Gee”) is the SVP of Operations at PraNa Biosciences Inc., a Massachusetts based biopharma company. Gee received his Diploma and BS degrees in Pharmaceutical Sciences in India from St. John’s College and Vivekananda College, respectively.

Gee started his pharma career at Kali Laboratories in 2001 as a R&D Chemist focused on Analytical Sciences.  At Kali Labs, Gee was involved in analytical development and testing of a large portfolio of products, which were successfully approved by the FDA. Kali Labs was acquired by Par Pharmaceuticals in 2004.  Gee continued his role at Par Pharmaceuticals with increasing responsibilities that also included Quality and Compliance activities.  Since 2009, Gee worked for Sun Pharmaceuticals before moving to Ranbaxy Laboratories in New Jersey where he spent 7 years in the QA function of increasing responsibilities related to regulatory compliance, product quality and data integrity.  Gee has successfully worked with several marketed generic products.

Gee has a passion for pharmaceutical problem solving and applying this innovatively in the fast-paced entrepreneurial setting.  In 2015, he decided to realize this dream by accepting the role of Head of R&D Operations at PraNa Biosciences.  At PraNa, he successfully established a fit for purpose R&D lab and carried out product development campaigns that have resulted in improved in-vitro performance and in-vivo performance in animals and human.  As the programs and project portfolio continue to evolve, Gee is taking on the responsibilities of product development for clinical studies leading to commercial production by growing the R&D Operations and managing the activities via internal and outsourced channels.  Gee is currently supporting operations involving complex biologics R&D activities.