Primary Job Title Managing Partner Primary Organization Concept Bio
Location Los Angeles, California, United States Regions Greater Los Angeles Area, West Coast, Western US Gender Male
Website www.concept.bio LinkedIn View on LinkedIn X (Twitter) View on X
I am a biotech entrepreneur and company builder with two decades of experience translating early science into therapies and building companies around that science. Over my career, I’ve raised more than $20M in dilutive and non-dilutive funding, led programs through IND and into clinical trials, exited a company through acquisition, and launched a
commercial product into the market.
I co-founded Episona, where we raised $5M, built a 20-person team, ran a multi-center clinical trial, and launched a CLIA-certified diagnostic assay that was sold through 80+ fertility clinics worldwide and direct-to-consumer in partnership with LabCorp. At Duet BioTherapeutics, I advanced bifunctional oligonucleotide therapies for solid tumors through IND and into the clinic. Earlier, I orchestrated the acquisition of Olimmune by Scopus BioPharma, which became the foundation for Duet.
I also co-founded Concept Bio, a biotech venture studio that partners with founders, investors, and pharma to launch and scale companies. We often step in as interim CXOs to refine strategy, raise capital, and de-risk early-stage assets. Our portfolio spans gene therapy, RNA medicines, and partnerships with global pharma.
What I bring to every venture is a mix of scientific grounding, company-building experience, and an investor mindset. I’ve been in the trenches—raising capital, building teams, running programs, securing exits, and taking products to market. My goal is always the same: to get transformative therapies into the hands of patients. At Duet BioTherapeutics, Dr. Horsager leads the effort in developing targeted bifunctional immunotherapies designed to combat treatment-resistant cancers. These groundbreaking immunotherapies reprogram immune cells within the tumor microenvironment, reinvigorating the immune system's natural cancer-fighting capabilities.
Prior to his roles at Duet and Scopus, Dr. Horsager was a Consultant at L.E.K. Consulting, a premier strategy consulting firm serving the life sciences sector where he focused on oncology diagnostics and provided strategic insights to top biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
Prior to L.E.K., Dr. Horsager was President, CEO, and Co-Founder of Episona, where he led a team in developing a pioneering epigenetic-based molecular diagnostic test for infertility and other human diseases. Through multi-center trials, he validated the clinical utility of the test, secured substantial private investment, and cultivated strategic relationships that facilitated the test's international distribution to in-vitro fertility clinics and direct-to-consumer.
Before his move into entrepreneurship, Dr. Horsager served as a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California. In this role, he led a gene therapy and vision science laboratory, where he focused on developing optogenetic-based gene therapies for blindness and advancing our understanding of retinal degeneration. His collaborative work with investigators at the University of Florida and MIT yielded patents, scientific publications, and recognition through career awards, including the Coulter Foundation Translational Research Award and The Burroughs Wellcome Fund CASI Award.
Dr. Horsager earned a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Washington. His Ph.D. research centered around developing computational models of visual processing in blind patients, leading to patented technologies and the creation of a clinically approved device for treating retinitis pigmentosa.
