James Larrick

Dr. James Larrick is a biomedical entrepreneur with an international reputation in biotechnology. He has developed expertise in cytokines, therapeutic antibodies, molecular biology, and pharmaceutical drug development over his twenty-five-year career, and he has written or co-authored nine books, published over 300 papers/chapters, and submitted more than fifty patents.

Dr. Larrick earned his M.D. and Ph.D. from Duke University as a graduate of the prestigious Medical Scientist Training Program. After completing his medical house-staff training at Stanford University, Dr. Larrick contributed to the development of the first therapeutic human monoclonal antibodies for cancer and infectious diseases as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Stanford Cancer Biology Research Labs. He built upon this work as a founding scientist of Cetus Immune Research Labs, which he led during the 1980s.

In 1991, Dr. Larrick founded the Panorama Research Institute (PRI), a biopharmaceutical translational organization that he continues to lead today. Dr. Larrick’s PRI team has discovered and initiated the development of a diverse and innovative portfolio of pharmaceutical molecules addressing major unmet needs in cancer, infectious, autoimmune, cardiovascular, neurological and metabolic diseases. PRI has incubated over twenty life science projects/companies, including legacy start-ups: Kalobios Inc., Galaxy Biotechnology Inc., NuGen Technology Inc., Adamas Inc., and Absalus Inc. (now Teva). PRI has also co-founded two companies in Europe: PanGenetics b.v. (Abbvie) and TargetQuest b.v. (Dyax). To date, PRI-initiated projects and/or companies have led to seven IPOs/exits. Recent work at PRI has focused on Applied Healthspan Engineering -- the utilization of advances in molecular medicine to preserve well-being as we age.

Since the late 1990s, Dr. Larrick has served as head of biopharma project-screening for two angel investment groups, TENEX and, more recently, Life Science Angels. In 2011, he co-founded Presidio Partners-funded Velocity Pharmaceutical Development, LLC, where he currently serves as Managing Director and Chief Medical Officer in South San Francisco. Genetic Engineering News (GEN) has recognized Dr. Larrick as a “Top Serial Bio Entrepreneur” over multiple years.

Dr. Larrick has organized and led several biomedical expeditions to study nutrition, malaria, genetics, and high-altitude adaptation among native peoples of Ecuador, Peru, Guatemala, Nepal, India, Tibet, and China. In addition to providing financial support, he also currently serves on the boards of two non-profit organizations, the Sustainable Sciences Institute (www.ssilink.org) and the Sankofa Center for African Dance and Culture (www.thesankofacenter.org), which focus on education and the delivery of appropriate technology to less developed countries in Africa and Latin America and education, diagnosis, and therapy of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in Ghana, respectively. He also supports outreach clinics and hospitals in Ethiopia, Komodo Island, and Bhutan