Meet Our Team


JOHN REILLY, MS, MBA

John Reilly is Chief Executive Officer of Damona Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Reilly brings extensive experience in the biotechnology industry, with deep knowledge and expertise in corporate strategy, business development, and leading teams in preclinical R&D and clinical development. Most recently, he served as CEO, President, and a member of the board of directors of Apic Bio, a gene therapy company focused on rare neurodegenerative and liver diseases. At Apic Bio, Mr. Reilly advanced the company’s ALS program to IND approval and orchestrated a global licensing agreement.

Mr. Reilly previously served as Vice President of Business Development at Tetragenetics, which was acquired by Abcellera (Nasdaq: ABCL). While at Tetragenetics, he led strategic partnering efforts with a number of companies including Amgen, Pfizer, and MedImmune and helped transform the company from a drug discovery platform to a product-focused company. Prior to Tetragenetics, Mr. Reilly co-founded and served as CEO of Gendyne Therapeutics and conducted research in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology in Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Mr. Reilly is active in the Massachusetts biotechnology ecosystem, having served as a mentor for the MassBioDrive Program, and he sits on the committee for Cornell Innovation & Venture Advisors (CIVA). He received a B.A. from Hamilton College and M.S. and M.B.A. degrees from Cornell University.

Mr. John Reilly is Chief Executive Officer of DAMONA PharmaceuticalsTM

Dr. Etienne Sibille is co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of DAMONA PharmaceuticalsTM


ETIENNE SIBILLE  Ph. D.

Dr. Sibille is the CSO and co-founder of DAMONA. He is also a Senior Scientist in the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute and holds the Campbell Family Chair in Clinical Neuroscience at CAMH. Dr Sibille is also a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Sibille’s goals have consistently focused on translational research aimed at identifying the cellular and molecular bases of depression, specifically of the mood, affect and cognitive components of the illness in order to develop novel therapeutic avenues.


THOMAS D. PREVOT Ph. D.

Dr. Prevot is a Project Scientist and the acting Director of Operations, Research & Development of DAMONA Pharmaceuticals TM. He received his PhD in Neuropsychopharmacology from the University of Bordeaux in France in 2015, and pursued his career as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Scientist in CAMH since 2016.

Dr. Prevot combines a research interest in the neurobiology of memory and emotion processes, and managerial skills to drive the development of Damona Pharmaceuticals TM. He is actively involved in the translational research and medicine landscape at the University of Toronto, working across disciplines and being an advocate for bench-to-bedside discovery.

Dr. Thomas Prevot is the acting Director of Operations, Research & Development of DAMONA PharmaceuticalsTM

Mrs. Mehrab Ali is the acting Director of Corporate Operations of DAMONA PharmaceuticalsTM


MEHRAB ALI MSc.

Mrs. Ali is the Director of Corporate Operations of DAMONA. She is also the Program Manager in the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, supervising daily operations for the functioning of Dr. Sibille’s laboratory.

Mrs. Ali’s goals have been to foster the growth of Damona since its inception, using her resources to assist Dr. Sibille and Dr. Prevot with administrative duties, budget, and overall strategy for Damona’s growth.