Joseph C. DosSantos, CPA, MBA

Acting Chief Financial Officer

Joe is an accomplished finance executive with senior-level experience optimizing and leading finance organizations for growth. He brings to Defender solid business acumen and experience in global public company financial reporting, budgeting and forecasting, accounting operations and controls, business acquisitions and collaborations and strategic planning. Additionally, Joe has participated in capital raising initiatives on behalf of private and public companies.

Joe joins Defender from Luzsana Biotechnology, where since August 2021, he served as Chief Financial Officer. As part of the executive team, Joe helped establish Luzsana globally as a subsidiary of Hengrui Medicines, the largest Pharma company in China. Previously, from 2017, he was Senior Vice President, Finance, at Celularity, Inc. (Nasdaq: CELU), a clinical-stage cell therapy biotech company spun out from Celgene Corporation, where he helped take the company public in 2021. From 2014 to 2016, Joe served as Chief Financial Officer of MYOS RENS Technology Inc. (formerly MYOS Corporation), a Nasdaq listed bio-therapeutics company focused on muscle health, which was acquired by MedAvail Holdings, Inc. From 2011 to 2014, Joe served as Executive Director, Finance Operations for Allergan, Inc., (formerly known as Actavis plc.), a global specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and distributing generic, brand and biosimilar products, which was acquired by AbbVie. Prior to that, from 2003 to 2011, Joe served as Senior Director, Assistant Corporate Controller at Celgene Corporation, which was acquired by Bristol-Meyers Squibb.

Earlier in his career, Joe held positions of increasing responsibilities at Cytec Industries and National Starch & Chemical, two multi-national chemical companies. Joe is a licensed certified public accountant (CPA) with a B.S. in Accountancy from Kean University and an M.B.A. in Finance from Seton Hall University.