# Joel Barrish

> Joel Barrish is the President and CEO of Avilar Therapeutics, a Waltham, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company pioneering extracellular protein degradation. A medicinal chemist by training with a Ph.D. from Columbia University, Barrish spent 28 years at Bristol Myers Squibb rising to VP and Global Head of Discovery Chemistry, co-inventing blockbuster drugs including SPRYCEL (dasatinib) for leukemia. After stints as CSO at Achillion Pharmaceuticals and co-founder/President at Jnana Therapeutics, he founded Avilar in 2019 to build the ATAC and MTAC platforms - bifunctional molecules that hijack the body's own cellular recycling machinery to degrade disease-causing proteins outside the cell, a class of targets previously undruggable. Avilar has raised $75 million in total seed financing.

- **Role:** President & CEO at Avilar Therapeutics
- **Organizations:** Avilar Therapeutics, RA Capital Management, Jnana Therapeutics, Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Bristol Myers Squibb, Hoffmann-La Roche
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry, Columbia University, B.S. in Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania
- **Known for:** Co-invented SPRYCEL (dasatinib), a breakthrough drug for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia approved by FDA, Contributed to SOTYKTU (deucravacitinib), an oral TYK2 inhibitor for autoimmune diseases, Contributed to FILSPARI (sparsentan) for IgA Nephropathy through DARA concept development

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Research Scientist at Hoffmann-La Roche
- **~1989-2017** — 28-year career at Bristol Myers Squibb, rising to VP and Global Head of Discovery Chemistry; co-invented SPRYCEL (dasatinib), contributed to SOTYKTU (deucravacitinib) and FILSPARI (sparsentan); led teams advancing 50+ compounds to clinical development
- **~2016-2019** — EVP and Chief Scientific Officer at Achillion Pharmaceuticals, leading Factor D inhibitor research
- **2019** — Founded Avilar Therapeutics as CEO and President; also became Venture Partner at RA Capital Management
- **2019-2021** — Co-founded Jnana Therapeutics as CSO, building the RAPID chemoproteomic platform
- **2021-11** — Promoted to President and Chief Scientific Officer at Jnana Therapeutics
- **2021-11** — Avilar Therapeutics closes initial $60 million seed financing
- **2023-02** — Avilar Therapeutics expands financing to $75 million total, adding Sanofi Ventures, MEC, and Astellas Venture Management as investors

## Achievements

- Co-invented SPRYCEL (dasatinib), a breakthrough drug for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia approved by FDA
- Contributed to SOTYKTU (deucravacitinib), an oral TYK2 inhibitor for autoimmune diseases
- Contributed to FILSPARI (sparsentan) for IgA Nephropathy through DARA concept development
- Over 140 peer-reviewed publications
- Co-inventor on 40 issued U.S. patents
- Led teams advancing 50+ compounds into clinical development at BMS
- Founded Avilar Therapeutics and raised $75M in seed financing
- Co-founded Jnana Therapeutics and helped build the RAPID chemoproteomic platform

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Avilar Therapeutics exhibiting at BIO International Convention 2026
- **2026-02** — Avilar Therapeutics reports approximately 25 employees as of February 28, 2026
- **2023-02** — Avilar Therapeutics expands seed financing to $75 million with new investors Sanofi Ventures, Medical Excellence Capital, and Astellas Venture Management

## Links

- Website: https://avilar-tx.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-barrish-73a8016
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/Avilar_Tx

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/joel-barrish
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-30