Transforming Animal Health

With Leading-Edge Biotechnology Solutions

At Edge, we are passionate about animal health.

Our vision is to transform animal health by applying the latest biotechnological tools to the areas of greatest need in veterinary medicine. In recent decades, advances in biotechnology have facilitated significant breakthroughs in the prevention and treatment of human diseases. We believe animal health is yet to benefit fully from these breakthroughs.

This reality struck home for Michelle Haven, Edge’s co-founder and chief executive officer, when she lost her beloved dog “The Edge” to chronic renal failure in 2019.   Edge Animal Health carries his name and is dedicated to addressing significant unmet healthcare needs in animals.

At Edge we start by identifying the most significant unmet needs in veterinary medicine and explore the most exciting technologies being pursued to address comparable needs in human health. Our deep understanding of the disease targets helps us to identify the most appropriate state-of-the-art biotechnology tools that are being leveraged to treat human diseases and harness them for use in veterinary applications.

EdgetheDog

Edge focuses on a bi-directional approach to developing novel therapeutics and vaccines.

This starts by developing a deep understanding of the etiology and pathogenesis of diseases, followed by identification of one or more biotech platforms currently being pursued for similar human health applications.  Our programs incorporate cutting edge gene engineering tools, advanced cell therapies and tailored delivery technologies.

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Edge is changing the paradigm, bringing biotechnological breakthroughs to veterinary medicine at-pace with human medicine.

What we value

Respect

We admire and respect the unique talents and contributions of every team member. We care about and respect all animals

Passion

We work with passion and strive for excellence

Accountability

We hold ourselves and each other accountable for our words and actions

Integrity

We act with integrity in the execution of science and business

Leadership Team

Michelle Haven

Michelle Haven

Rick Peterson

Rick Peterson

Kristi Moore

Kristi Moore

Shane Lacrouts

Shane Lacrouts

Judy Jarecki-Black

Nancy Bathurst

Nancy Bathurst

Suvi Aivio

Suvi Aivio

Board of Directors

Juan Ramón Alaix

Juan Ramón Alaix

Former CEO, Zoetis

Ruhi Khan

Chief Business Officer, Caribou Biosciences

Phil Austin

Managing Partner, Anterra Capital

Michelle Haven

Michelle Haven

Chief Executive Officer

Karl Kerksiek

General Partner & CEO, Endeavor8

Advisors

James Dahlman

Ph.D.
Co-Founder Nava Therapeutics, Former Co-Founder Guide Therapeutics, acquired by Beam Therapeutics
McCamish Foundation Early Career Professor at Georgia Tech and Emory School of Medicine

Jeff Troderman

CPA, Esq.
Interim CFO and contracts counsel, Former CFO X-Chem

Nick Juleff

Ph.D., BVSc, MRCVS, FRSB
Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Mike Francis

Ph.D. EurProBiol CBiol FRSB HonAssocRCVS
Chair of the Scientific Strategy Board (SSB) Pirbright Institute, Center for Veterinary Vaccine Innovation and Manufacturing

John Dodam

DVM, MS, Ph.D., DACVAA
Professor and Chair, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery University of Missouri

Andres Garcia

Ph.D., F.B.S.E.
Petit Director’s Chair in Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology

George Harb

Ph.D.
Vice President, Sana Biotechnology, Inc, Former Cell Therapy lead at Semma, acquired by Vertex Therapeutics

Jonathan Lakey

Ph.D.
Professor Department of Surgery and Biomedical Engineering, University of California Irvine, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, XOStem, Inc.

David Curiel

MD, Ph.D.
Professor Cancer Biology Division of the Department of Radiation Oncology, Washington University St. Louis

Let’s Connect

We’re always on the look out for great partners, technology and talent!
Please feel free to Contact Us!

About Us
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Michelle Haven

Michelle Haven

Dr. Haven is the Chief Executive Officer of Edge Animal Health.  She holds a DVM, Ph.D. and is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.  She has over 25 years’ experience in the animal health industry.  As a Research Fellow at Merck and as Head of Discovery Research for Pfizer Animal Health, she played an instrumental role in the discovery and exploratory development of multiple leading animal health products on the market today.  Prior to co-founding Edge, Dr. Haven was Senior Vice President of Global Business Development, Strategy, and External Alliances for Zoetis.  She played a key role in the Zoetis IPO and led several M&A transactions.  She led multiple initiatives to advance veterinary medicine and enhance diversity including founding international collaborations to harmonize veterinary education standards, establishing academia/industry research consortia and clinical investigation centers, and initiating diversity-focused internship programs.  Michelle currently sits on the board of directors for Animal Discovery, Inc.

Rick Peterson

Rick Peterson

Dr. Peterson is the Senior Director of Genetic Engineering at Edge Animal Health and has more than 20 years of experience in synthetic biology and genetic engineering. He obtained his PhD in molecular and cellular biology from the Medical University of South Carolina and performed postdoctoral training at Yale University. Prior to joining Edge, Dr. Peterson led the Animal Science Division at Intrexon Corporation. His work there was focused on advancing DNA based technologies to animal health through partnerships with collaborators. The programs he led utilized CRISPR as well as other genetic engineering tools for discovery of advanced vaccines and gene therapy as well as gene-edited traits to improve animal health and productivity. 

Kristi Moore

Kristi Moore

Dr. Moore is the Director of Vaccine Development at Edge Animal Health.  Her postdoctoral research was at Yale University and the University of Delaware after earning Ph.D. and M.S. degrees. She has over 20 years of experience in animal health.  Prior to joining Edge, she led R&D in North America for Ceva Animal Health and was instrumental in obtaining 44 USDA biologics licenses with half of those for vectored vaccines.   

Shane Lacrouts

Shane Lacrouts

Shane is the Director of Business operations at Edge Animal Health. He has prior experience in both finance and business roles for multiple small molecule manufacturers with a focus on pharmaceutical API manufacturing. Before joining Edge, Shane was Business Manager for the Generic API division at Albemarle Corporation which was then acquired by W.R Grace. Shane has a degree in Finance from Louisiana State University and brings almost a decade of accounting, finance, sales, manufacturing and operations experience to Edge.

Judy Jarecki-Black

Dr. Judy Jarecki-Black, Senior Counsel, Contracts and IP, is an attorney licensed to practice before various state and Federal Courts, the USPTO and the Supreme Court. She attended medical school and graduate school, receiving her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, and spent several years developing recombinant vaccines including developing and licensing three vaccines for Merial, a major Animal Health company. Dr. Jarecki-Black subsequently went to law school, rejoining Merial/Boehringer Ingelheim as Global Head of IP leading both patent prosecution and litigation efforts to protect the company’s major products. Amongst other awards, she was the 2022 Feather in Her Cap winner and the Recipient of the Award for Chief Patent Counsel of the Year for Intellectual Property. In addition to pro bono representation of women and children in family law, Dr. Jarecki-Black and her husband operate Casa de Esperanza, a 501c3 rescue sanctuary for abandoned animals.

Nancy Bathurst

Nancy Bathurst

Dr. Bathurst is the Director of Therapeutics at Edge Animal Health. She obtained her veterinary degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Edge Animal Health, she was part of the global Business Development team for Dechra Limited, delivering innovative therapeutics and biologics into the pipeline. As Director of Clinical Development for Virbac Animal Health, Dr. Bathurst led project teams that developed and registered multiple animal health products globally. Dr. Bathurst has served on AHI working groups, local and state Veterinary Medical Association boards and she has a veterinary medical license in the state of Texas.

Suvi Aivio

Suvi Aivio

Dr. Aivio is the Director of Cell Therapy at Edge Animal Health, and has over a decade of experience in Cell Therapy & Regenerative Medicine research. She is a stem cell scientist trained at UCLA and Harvard, where she specialized in optimizing culture conditions and protocols for differentiating pluripotent stem cells using small molecules and CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology. Her industry experience comes from Cellino, where she continued her work on cell differentiation towards multiple therapeutic cell types and led a team of stem cell scientists through early-stage research and feasibility studies for building a platform for reprogramming and manufacturing autologous human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for therapies.

Juan Ramón Alaix

Former CEO, Zoetis

Juan Ramón Alaix is the former Chief Executive Officer of Zoetis. He successfully led Zoetis for seven years after spinning off from Pfizer Animal Health in 2013. Under Juan Ramón’s leadership, Zoetis became the global leader in Animal Health.

Ruhi Khan

Chief Business Officer, Caribou Biosciences

Ruhi serves as chief business officer for Caribou Biosciences, responsible for developing and executing on business development strategy. She brings over 20 years of business development and investment management experience focused on the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Previously, Ruhi was the head and vice president of business development for Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. Prior to Acorda, she worked in a similar capacity at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. She started her career in venture capital with Fidelity Biosciences Group (now F-Prime Capital) and MPM Capital Advisors. Ruhi holds an MBA in health care management from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and an AB in biology from Harvard College.

Phil Austin

Managing Partner, Anterra Capital

Phil is a managing partner at Anterra Capital. He has 15+ years of consulting and investment experience initially in industrial biotech with McKinsey & Company and Atlas Venture. Phil manages the Anterra biotech investment portfolio with a focus on the application of life sciences technologies across agriculture, animal health, and nutritional wellness.

Michelle Haven

Michelle Haven

Dr. Haven is the Chief Executive Officer of Edge Animal Health.  She holds a DVM, Ph.D. and is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.  She has over 25 years’ experience in the animal health industry.  As a Research Fellow at Merck and as Head of Discovery Research for Pfizer Animal Health, she played an instrumental role in the discovery and exploratory development of multiple leading animal health products on the market today.  Prior to co-founding Edge, Dr. Haven was Senior Vice President of Global Business Development, Strategy, and External Alliances for Zoetis.  She played a key role in the Zoetis IPO and led several M&A transactions.  She led multiple initiatives to advance veterinary medicine and enhance diversity including founding international collaborations to harmonize veterinary education standards, establishing academia/industry research consortia and clinical investigation centers, and initiating diversity-focused internship programs.  Michelle currently sits on the board of directors for Animal Discovery, Inc.

Karl Kerksiek

General Partner & CEO, Endeavor8

Karl is a founding partner of Endeavor8 and now serves as General Partner and CEO. Previously, Karl led investments for Finistere Ventures, where he focused on investing in cutting-edge technology solutions that positively impacted the food supply chain.

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