Our science makes novel drug therapies less novel.

We’re dedicated to developing innovative therapeutic, dermatological and dietary products that enhance brain, skin and overall health, and to getting them to market quickly. The way we think about it, our discoveries serve no one if they never leave the lab.

Our science plays well with others.

We believe that the best way to move forward, to advance our own scientific platform and the work that comes from it, is through partnerships with leading researchers and institutions. Because good company leads to good science. 

Research Collaborators

Our science believes in a team approach.

At Signum, we think great ideas should be shared. So we work with a number of leading researchers and institutions to advance our programs, our ideas, and the scientific foundation of our platform.

Jeffry B. Stock, PhD at Princeton University

Signum has extensive ongoing interaction with the Research laboratory of Jeffry Stock, Ph. D., in the Dept. of Molecular Biology. Signum licensed its foundational PP2A and AFC technology from Dr. Stock’s laboratory which
continues to do basic research to elucidate the underlying biochemistry of these systems. Dr. Stock’s laboratory has been able to perform various sophisticated tests on some of Signum’s active agents, and continues to be a source of knowledge and expertise.

Donald C. Lo, PhD at Duke University

Dr. Lo is Co-Director of the Center for Drug Discovery at Duke University. His work focuses on translating basic neuroscience research into identification of novel therapeutics for neurodegenerative disorders. Application of high content screening techniques in intact neural tissues forms the cornerstone of his works in the areas of Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

New York State Institute For Basic Research In Developmental Disabilities

In collaboration with Khalid Iqbal, Ph. D., a pioneer in Alzheimer’s neurofibrillary degeneration Professor and Chairman, Department of Neurochemistry, at the NY State Institute for Basic Research, Dr. Iqbal’s lab is exploring the effects of our STMs in various rate and mouse models in Alzheimer’s.

M. Maral Mouradian, M.D., Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

M. Maral Mouradian, M.D., is the William Dow Lovett Professor of Neurology and Director of the Center of Neurodegenerative and Neuroimmunologic Diseases at the Rutgers – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She was named the chief editor for “Neurotherapeutics” and her work focuses on the molecular pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease and follows an extensive career that has led to the development of important therapeutics for treatment of this disease.

Angus C. Narin, Ph. D., Yale University

Dr. Narin is the Charles B.G. Murphy Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Pharmacology at Yale School of Medicine. He is an expert in the structure and function of protein kinases and phosphatases. His particular interests have focused around dopamineric signal transduction with implications for a broad range of neurological conditions including Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia and ADHD.

The National Institutes Of Health (NIH)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research.

Our science applies the rigor of drug development to the development of consumer products.

Because we see the human element in all the science, what we do isn’t just science for the sake of science. It has a very real, direct effect on people’s lives. We share these products with our families. For that reason, we take the development of  consumer products every bit as seriously as we do prescription products. We set the bar very high. In everything we do. From the moment we set out, to the moment of discovery, to the moment it leaves our hands for yours.

What We Do

Our science shines light into dark corners.

At Signum Biosciences, we’re curious. We’re restless. We’re never satisfied with “it can’t be done.” As scientists, we simply refuse to believe that there’s anything that can’t be done. So we set ourselves tough tasks. Alzheimer’s. Parkinson’s. Rosacea. Aging. Inflammation. And we set out, not for the easy answers, but for the difficult ones. The ones that give others pause. The root causes. The problems. Because we believe, in those difficult places, the greatest discoveries are made.

Who We Are

Our science sees disease as a systemic problem, not a symptomatic one.

At our core, this is what makes us different. While others devote time and energy and science to symptoms, we see an opportunity to restore balance to a system that’s been skewed. That simply isn’t working right anymore. From problem to symptom. We work further up the continuum to try and eliminate symptoms altogether. Whether that means inflammation, the pains of aging, or neurodegenerative disease. 

How We Started

It could be said, rightly, that Signum Biosciences CEO Maxwell Stock grew up in the lab, a child of research science. Following his father, Dr. Jeffry Stock, Chairman of Signum Biosciences and Professor and Independent Investigator at Princeton University to work, Max’s earliest memories are of the chemicals being studied, the tools being used, the conversations around the dinner table of cells, biochemistry, micro-organisms and bacteria. And the fascination of what it could all mean.  A fascination that never abated, through a major in molecular biology at the University of Colorado, to work in the science industry to 3 years of bench work generating data to the formation, with his father, of Signum Biosciences. The close relationship of this father / son team, their shared entrepreneurial spirit, and their belief that great science must go from the bench all the way to the shelf where it can help people in their real lives with real solutions to real problems, has made Signum Biosciences what it is today; a biotechnology company with a reputation for great science, operating in the lab and in the lives of real people. Pursuing, in everything we do, the science of staying healthy.

Our science is the result of putting
a lot of smart heads together.

Formulating the right group of people, the right culture, is like formulating anything else. When done right, the results can be remarkable. From our roots in academia to our entry points into the consumer world, we think we have the right mix of the right minds. The results of our work would seem to confirm that.

Maxwell Stock, President & CEO

Has the primary responsibility of spearheading Signum's business development efforts in combination with developing strategic plans to advance the company's mission and objectives. An inventor on Signum patents and a co-founder of the company, his extensive laboratory experience and familiarity with our science have been critical in executing and maintaining Signum's strategic partnerships. He majored in molecular biology at the University of Colorado, conducted research efforts at Synergen, Inc., and founded several startups before founding Signum and joining professor Stock's Princeton laboratory to develop the technologies upon which Signum is built.

Eduardo Perez, PhD Chief Scientific Officer

Leads our R&D and business development efforts in combination with supporting nutraceutical development. Since joining Signum in 2006, Eddie has been a key contributor in securing funding for the company via executing out-licensing deals and government funding. Prior to joining Signum, he received his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from UMDNJ studying the role of methylation in signaling systems. He received his BA in Biology from Rutgers University.

Michael Voronkov, PhD Vice President of Medicinal Chemistry

Leads our small molecule and preclinical development effort at Signum Biosciences. Before coming to Signum, he led R&D at MosChemPharm (Russia) and prior to that he worked in Drug Discovery at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals. He received his PhD in Organic Chemistry from Emory University and his BA in Chemical Engineering from St. Petersburg Institute of Chemical Technology (Russia).

Jose Fernandez, PhD Director of Research & Development

Jose is focused on developing new and innovative dermatological products with a commitment to quality, efficacy and safety. He provides in vitro and in vivo assay systems and robust analytical expertise including safety, efficacy and claim substantiation for cosmetics, botanicals, nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals. Leads the team in specializing and producing customized cosmetic claim support and/or efficacy tests providing robust scientific data to support advertising or packaging claims.

Masanori Tamura,  Director of Product Development

Masoanori Tamura, Markie, is an expert formulator who will be responsible for developing new formulations that synergize with Signum’s novel library of therapeutic agents. He will lead the team in developing new product ideas, new formulations, as well as enhancing the performance of existing formulations. Markie’s keen eye for identifying and solving problems as they relate to product manufacturing and product development will be invaluable in producing our next generation of  products. His 10 years of experience in skin care will allow Signum to continue to be leaders in the dermatological field.

Stephen Modzelewski
Board Member

Has been active in the field of finance since 1982, when he joined Salomon Brothers, which is now a part of Citicorp. In his 5 year tenure there, he created various mathematical models for valuing fixed income securities, developed the conceptual framework for “option adjusted spread,” which has become a standard analytical metric for complex fixed income securities. In 1988, he and a colleague left Salomon and established the hedge fund Parsec Trading Corp., which has been a successful fixed income arbitrage fund for over 13 years. At the end of 2002, Modzelewski established his own trading and investment firm, Maple Engine L.L.C., a private multi-strategy investment and trading fund focusing on speculative trading and venture investment. He serves on the Boards of the Reason Foundation and the Institute for Justice.

Yoichi Kambara
Board Member

Rohto Pharmaceutical Co.’s Managing Director, Corporate planning & administration.  He is an energetic and dynamic leader with a progressive global vision for the growth and development of Rohto’s shareholder value. He has served as the President of Medicare Systems at Rohto Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. , Managing Director of Tokyo Mitsubishi Toshin Toshi Komon K.K since June 2001,  President and Representative Director at Mitsubishi Tokyo Wealth Management Shoken K.K since March 2002 and has been a Director at Rohto Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. since June 6, 2008. He has led Rohto’s visionary long-term investments in R&D and has directed the continuous and dramatic growth of sales in recent years in spite of a weak economy in Japan. In the short term he has focused all activities on the goals of achieving further growth in Rohto’s operations and improving earnings by introducing value-added products and using the overseas network to expand operations. Strategically Rohto will continue to concentrate on sales of beauty care products and reinforce R&D capabilities, primarily at Rohto Research Village Kyoto, in order to develop and launch new products globally. Our mutual research collaboration will contribute to Rohto’s strategic goals, while enhancing the commercial, business development and market focus of Signum’s research priorities. We look forward to a productive and long-term relationship.

Scott Vafai, MD
Board Member

Dr. Vafai is Director of the Mitochondrial Therapeutics Accelerator at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. His research group is developing novel therapeutics targeting mitochondria in rare and common disease. Dr. Vafai is also a co-founder of Metavention, a medical device company that is developing sympathetic denervation as a therapy for type 2 diabetes. He is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Medical School and is clinically trained in internal medicine and endocrinology.

Jeffrey Cummings, MD
Board Member

Dr. Cummings is Director of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas. Previously he was the Augustus S. Rose Professor of Neurology and Professor of Psychiatry and Bio-behavioral Sciences at UCLA. He founded and directed the UCLA Alzheimer’s Disease Center and the Deane F. Johnson Center for Neurotherapeutics at UCLA. Dr Cummings interests embrace clinical trials and the development of new treatments for neurodegenerative disorders and other neurological diseases. He is past president of the Behavioral Neurology Society and of the American Neuropsychiatric Association and in 2005 was named Edward Henderson State-of-the-Art Lecturer by the American Geriatrics Society. He has authored or edited 20 books and over 450 peer reviewed papers.

Khalid Iqbal, PhD
Board Member

Dr. Iqbal is currently Professor and Chairman, Department of Neurochemistry, at the New York State Institute for Basic Research in Staten Island, New York and co-founded the biennial International Conferences on Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Disorders, (ICAD). Dr. Iqbal has authored over 200 scientific papers in prestigious American and international scientific journals and edited eight books on research advances in Alzheimer’s disease. His major research interests are the neurobiology of Alzheimer’s disease and related neurodegenerative disorders, especially the molecular mechanisms of neurofibrillary degeneration. His pioneering studies on neuronal protein pathology and discoveries of the involvement of the tau protein and its abnormal hyperphosphorylation in Alzheimer disease have won him several prestigious honors and awards, including the Potemkin Prize from the American Academy of Neurology and the Zenith Award from the Alzheimer’s Association.

Yigong Shi, PhD
Board Member

Dr. Shi is Dean of the School of Life Sciences, and Professor of the Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. Previously, he was the Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Professor in the department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University. He has determined the crystal structure of several critical apoptotic proteins, and is a world leader in x-ray crystal structure determination. For his research contributions, Dr. Shi has received a number of recognitions, including the 2003 Irving Sigal Young Investigator Award from the Protein Society.