About Us
Pursuing breakthroughs that could improve the lives of cancer patients
Bexion is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing a new class of biologic therapy aimed at treating solid tumors while addressing the neuropathic pain current cancer treatments often cause
A novel approach to potentially unprecedented therapies
Bexion’s lead compound, BXQ-350, is a first-in-class sphingolipid metabolism modulator with the potential to address unmet medical needs across a variety of metastatic tumors. Currently, it is being developed to treat solid tumors as well as the chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) patients often experience with the current standard of care. Backed by promising initial clinical trial data, BXQ-350 shows potential in treating additional cancer types and broadening its neuropathic pain applications. We are urgently progressing our pipeline and exploring new possibilities to prolong and improve the lives of cancer patients.
Our Leaders
Bexion is led by innovative leaders with deep experience across biotech and oncology. Meet the team who is helping us achieve new and promising cancer therapies.
Jim Beach
Chief Executive Officer
Throughout his career, Mr. Beach has held leadership positions at top healthcare organizations, including Cardinal Health, where he led Marketing and Product Management; Johnson & Johnson, where he headed Market Insights and Sales Operations; and GE Healthcare, where he served as Global Product Company Lead and was a certified Quality Leader in lean/six sigma.
He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Joyce LaViscount
Chief Financial Officer
Joyce LaViscount is an experienced healthcare leader with significant expertise in financial management, strategy development and execution and operations across pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotech organizations spanning start-up organizations to Fortune 100 companies. Prior to joining Bexion in 2022, Joyce was CFO/COO for Helius Medical Technologies where she raised over $110M in strategic capital, led NASDAQ and TSX up-listings and played a key leadership role in advancing the company from clinical stage through FDA Clearance.
Earlier in her career, Joyce spent over 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry including diverse leadership roles at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer and Endo Pharmaceuticals where she led financial strategy and planning, technical accounting and reporting, and M&A transaction and integration support. Joyce began her career as a CPA in Big 4 Public Accounting.
Tariq Arshad, MD, MBA
Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Tariq Arshad is a clinically trained internist, oncologist, and seasoned medical executive with a distinguished career spanning over two decades in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.
Dr. Arshad’s expertise includes blockbuster drug launches such as Celebrex and Dupixent. His leadership roles include blue-chip companies such as Genentech, Merck, and Pfizer and other prominent roles with Qualigen Therapeutics and Becton Dickinson where he served as Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, and Vice President, Global Head of Clinical Research & Medical Affairs respectively. Dr. Arshad also served as Chief Medical Officer at Humanigen Inc.
Dr. Arshad pursued his clinical training in Medical Oncology and holds USMLE/ECFMG certification. He has also received business training from George Washington University and Public Health training from Yale University and is a recipient of the Pharmaceutical Executive’s “Emerging Leadership Award: 45 under 45”.
His deep passion for innovation and dedication to improving cancer patient outcomes continue to drive his endeavors in the fields of oncology, immunology, and biotechnology.
Michael Gazda, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Research and Development
Previously Director, Research and Development, for Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals and Personal Health Care business units. Dr. Gazda joined Bexion in 2016 as VP, R&D. He was promoted to SVP and joined the Officer Team in January 2024. His experience includes pre-formulation, formulation and drug delivery, new technology development, and drug product scale-up and manufacturing, in the areas of pharmaceuticals, OTC products, and supplements. He has led full project teams in the IND phase of drug development and has also done consulting in the areas of early phase drug development and translational research. Dr. Gazda received his B.S. in Chemistry from Lawrence Technological University, and his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Purdue University.
Ray Takigiku, Ph.D
Founder/Scientific Consultant
Gilles Tapolsky, Ph.D., M.B.A.
VP, Pharmacology
Board of Directors
Charles R. Scheper
Chairman of the Board
Mr. Chuck Scheper was the Chief Operating Officer at Great American Financial Resources, a $20 billion life and annuity company until his retirement in 2010. Prior to that position, Mr. Scheper was president and chief executive officer of Manhattan National Life Insurance Company and president of Pioneer Financial Services. Chuck is a cancer survivor and his journey to wellness led him to become active in various causes related to cancer, including Cancer Support Community, where he has served as the National Board Chairperson and board member. Currently, he is also the Chair of Catalytic Development Funding Corp of Northern Kentucky and Covington Economic Development Authority.
Olivia F. Kirtley, CPA, CGMA
Board Member
Ms. Olivia Kirtley, a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Global Management Accountant, is a highly experienced business consultant on strategic, risk and corporate governance issues. Her career spans tenures as a corporate executive and public accounting, including as Chief Financial Officer of an international company and senior tax manager at a predecessor firm to Ernst & Young. Ms. Kirtley is also a recognized leader of the accountancy profession in the U. S. and globally, having served as President and Chairman of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and Chairman of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). She has extensive public and private company board experience and is currently a director of U.S. Bancorp and Papa John’s International.
Raymond J. Tesi, M.D.
Board Member
Dr. Tesi has a distinguished career as a biotech entrepreneur and an experienced surgeon. Currently, he is President, Chief Executive Officer and acting Chief Medical Officer of INmune Bio (NASDAQ: INMB). Prior to his role at INMB, he held leadership positions in several biotech companies in both the development and commercial sides of the businesses with responsibility for all phases of drug development, product positioning and launch, post-approval marketing support, while supporting investor relations and business development. Dr. Tesi has been an academic transplant surgeon since 1982, receiving his MD degree from Washington University School of Medicine, and has been a Fellow of the American College of Surgery since 1991.
Timothy Schroeder
Board Member
Timothy Schroeder, CEO and Founder of CTI Clinical Trial and Consulting Services, has over 35 years of clinical, academic, and industry experience in global drug and device development programs. CTI, founded in 1999, is a multi-national clinical research firm with associates in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. The firm, which is one of the 20 largest CROs in the world, has supported more than 100 drug and device approvals and currently works on behalf of approximately 135 global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
Catherine Pearce, DHSc, MBA
Board Member
Dr. Pearce is a seasoned biopharmaceutical executive with 25 years of drug development, corporate development and C-Suite experience. Dr. Pearce led hundreds of global clinical trials at Medpace, where she later built out business development and marketing teams. At Teva Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Pearce evaluated generics for repurposing, leading to the approval of Uzedy for the treatment of schizophrenia. Dr. Pearce later co-founded CinRx, a biotech incubator, which developed 6 portfolio companies including CinCor, which was acquired by AstraZeneca in February 2023. Additionally, Dr. Pearce is the founder and CEO of JucaBio and is a member of the Board of Trustees of Xavier University and an Advisor to several start-ups. Dr. Pearce holds a BS and MBA from Xavier University, and a Doctorate of Health Sciences (DHSc) from Nova Southeastern University.
Keith A. Carlson
Board Member
Keith Carlson is Co-founder, CEO and Managing Partner of Roebling Capital Partners, a lower-middle-market private equity fund that completes controlling equity transactions. He leverages two decades of experience in buy and sell-side M&A transactions, corporate finance, strategy and capital markets. Mr. Carlson is also an acting Managing Director of M&A and Shareholder at VonLehman, a CPA and Advisory Firm.
Committed to patient advocacy
Bexion is proud to collaborate with patient organizations to better support the oncology community. We actively engage with our advocacy partners to ensure our priorities are aligned with those of cancer patients and their families.
To learn more about our advocacy partnerships and explore opportunities, please reach out.
Our Partners
Addressing an unmet medical need
BXQ-350 has potentially unprecedented anti-tumor, anti-neuropathy effects that show promise in treating cancer patients whose options for new therapies have historically been limited