Management Bios

Dr. Bijan Almassian is a biotechnology entrepreneur, drug development executive, and scientific leader with over 35 years of experience bridging advanced biological science and translational therapeutics. He is best known as the co-founder and long-time CEO of CaroGen Corporation, a Yale School of Medicine spin-out established on the Virus-Like Vesicle (VLV) platform technology licensed from Yale in 2012.

Dr. Almassian earned his PhD in 1985 and has spent his career translating cutting-edge scientific discoveries into real-world therapeutic platforms. Across multiple leadership roles in biotechnology, including President & CEO, COO, and founder, he has built and scaled discovery-stage innovations into development-ready pipelines and strategic organizations.

At CaroGen, Dr. Almassian was the driving force behind the development of the AVIDIO™ VLV platform — a novel, replicating mRNA, non-pathogenic artificial virus system engineered to elicit potent and durable immune responses while avoiding the safety liabilities associated with traditional viral vectors. Under his scientific and strategic leadership, the platform advanced two key therapeutic programs with high unmet need:

• CARG-201 — aimed at achieving a functional cure for chronic Hepatitis B, supported by both NIH and Department of Defense funding
• CARG-2020 — designed to prevent tumor recurrence across multiple solid tumors, including ovarian cancer

These programs have been validated through multiple peer-reviewed publications, backed by over $11 million in non-dilutive federal funding, and advanced through pre-IND interactions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Dr. Almassian has led CaroGen’s scientific strategy, intellectual property growth, regulatory engagement, academic collaborations, and government partnerships. He has cultivated enduring relationships with leading investigators at Yale, University of Connecticut, Wayne State, Albany Medical College, and other research institutions, and has overseen the assembly of a broad global patent estate protecting the VLV platform and its applications.

As a new company Viridion Therapeutic forms to drive oncology applications of the VLV platform, Dr. Almassian serves as the scientific architect,CEO and founding visionary, providing continuity of innovation, deep platform expertise, and strategic guidance while supporting the transition to new operational leadership.

Beyond his executive and scientific accomplishments, Dr. Almassian is widely respected for his ethical leadership, resilience, and unwavering commitment to advancing therapies for major unmet medical needs. His career reflects a rare blend of scientific depth, operational excellence, and entrepreneurial persistence in building mission-driven biotechnology ventures from inception to clinical readiness.