Our Team
Domingo Gargallo-Viola
Founder / CEO / CSO
PhD in Microbiology and Parasitology
Domingo Gargallo-Viola has more than 35 years of experience in the discovery and development of anti-infective drugs, with a successful track record of generating value and returns in the companies in which he has worked. He is currently CEO and CSO of ABAC Therapeutics, a biotechnology company that he founded in 2014. Before joining Laboratorios Ferrer in 2008, as Infectious Diseases Manager and Head of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Safety Pharmacology, he was Director of Drug Discovery Biology at GSK for 18 years; as part of a matrix structure, he also led several projects which led to the discovery of first-in-class candidate drugs. Prior to joining GSK, he worked at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Department of Defense, Maryland, and as a professor at the University of Barcelona. He has led numerous international projects, receiving several recognitions, including the Henri Warembourg Faculty of Medicine Medal, awarded by the University of Lille, Best Project of the Year Awards from the Medicines for Malaria Venture Foundation (2003, 2004 and 2015) and five R&D Recognition Awards from GSK. He is the author of over 90 peer reviewed articles in international journals. He is a member of several expert committees, President of the Association for the discovery of new antimicrobials in Spain (AD-SP), Vice President of the Spanish Network for the development of alternative techniques to animal experimentation (REMA). Member of the Board of Directors and National Representative in Spain of the BEAM Alliance. As a complement to his career as a scientist, Domingo has a master’s degree in management from IE Business School (Madrid) and IESE Business School (University of Navarra).
Antoni Torrens Jover
Senior Vice President Medicinal Chemistry
PhD in Pharmacy
He obtained his degree from the University of Barcelona and has extensive experience in the field of drug discovery. He has been Director of Discovery Chemistry and Director of the Chemistry Area of ESTEVE Pharmaceuticals, contributing directly to the development of six compounds that reached clinical phases, one of them reaching the market. In 2020 he joined Welab where he is responsible for Strategic Alliances.
He is the author of more than 110 patents, 30 articles in international journals and editor of a book. He has a Management Skills Development Program from ESADE (Barcelona). He has been President of the Spanish Society of Therapeutic Chemistry (SEQT) and is a member of the Executive Committee of the European Federation for Medicinal Chemistry and Chemical Biology (EFMC).
Jesus Torres
Clinical Director
MD, PhD
Dr. Torres has a broad background in Clinical Pharmacology, with an over 30 years’ experience in leading clinical research and medical practice. Initially in the Baltimore City Hospital (Major affiliated to the Johns Hopkins University Medical School) in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, and later with different positions and responsibilities in The National Health Service, in Barcelona, Spain. As a senior Clinical Researcher both in Syntex Pharmaceuticals and in the Ferrer Research Center, Barcelona, Spain , Jesus took an active role in all the aspects of the research of new chemical entities, from the identification and evaluation of unmet medical needs, preclinical work, and phases I , II and III clinical trials with antiinfectives , NSAID’s, and other therapeutic areas. Always in close collaboration with experts, opinion leaders and CRO’s organizations from Europe and the USA
Soraya Ortiz
Head of Microbiology & Cell Biology
Degree in Biology, MSc
After obtaining a Degree in Biology from the Pompeu Fabra University of Barcelona (UPF) in 2008, Soraya started working in different laboratories focusing on the pharmaceutical industry, where she displayed excellent skills in processes related to the development of new drugs at the preclinical level. In 2009 she began working at Ferrer Internacional, a multinational environment that has given her a global perspective of business, ease of adaptation to new environments and circumstances and has allowed her to consolidate a solid professional career in Her academic training in this sector includes a Postgraduate Diploma in Animal Tissue and Cell Culture and a Master’s Degree in Science: Clinical Analysis Laboratory from UPF. She also has a FELASA Cat. D Certificate in the use of animals for experimentation and other scientific ends.
Catalina Chahuan
Laboratory Head
Degree in Biochemistry, MSc
Catalina has a Degree in Biochemistry from the Andrés Bello University in Chile (2009). She worked as a Researcher in Molecular Microbiology at the Andres Bello University laboratories (Chile) (2008-2010) where she studied the regulation mechanism of Salmonella typhimurium under oxidative stress conditions. During this period, she participated as speaker at several congresses and published two scientific papers. After moving to Barcelona, she worked at Aigües de Barcelona, AGBAR (2012-2014) as a Researcher in Microbiology, and was responsible for certifying the quality and safety of drinking water before she joined ABAC Therapeutics in 2015. Her academic training in this sector includes a Master’s Degree in Biochemistry 2011 from the Andrés Bello University (Chile) and a Master’s Degree in Advanced Microbiology 2012 from Barcelona University (UB).
Linda Chiappalupi
Marie-Sklowdoska Curie PhD fellow
Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences, MSc
Linda graduated in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Università degli Studi di Perugia, in 2007. She later enrolled as an internship student at Istituto Superiore di Sanità where she worked on HPV recombinant antibodies at the Department of Virology Immunology Parasitic and Infectious Diseases (ISS, Rome, Italy). In 2008-2009 she joined the Sanford-Burnham Institute for Medical Research (San Diego, CA, USA) where she worked as a medical research collaborator, conducting anticancer drugs association studies by high throughput screening technology. In 2018 she enrolled on the Pharmaceutical Biotechnologies MSc course at the Università degli Studi di Perugia (Italy). During her studies she took part in a research exchange program at the BMC (Biomedicinsk Centrum), Dept. of Biochemistry, Uppsala University (Uppsala, Sweden) and got her degree in 2020. In 2021 Linda obtained a PhD position as a Marie-Sklowdoska Curie fellow in the “INNOTARGETS” project at ABAC Therapeutics.
Francisco Cabello
Head of External Partnerships, and Preclinical Project Manager
Degree in Veterinary Medicine, MSc
Francisco has a Degree in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Cordoba (1997). After several years working in veterinary practice and public health in Spain and UK, in 2008 he started to work on the discovery and preclinical development of new drugs, at university level (UAB: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) and in Pharmaceutical companies (Ferrer Internacional and ASCIL Biopharm) prior to joining ABAC Therapeutics. His academic training in this sector includes an ECLAM residency (European College of Laboratory Animal Medicine) and a Master’s Degree in Science: a FELASA Cat. D Certificate in Laboratory Animal Welfare and Science, both from UAB. He has attended over 60 scientific courses and congresses, and is involved in the organization of five teaching and training activities.
