About Deos

The Story Behind the Name

People often hear the name “Deos” and think of the Latin word for “gods,” but we are actually referencing the Greek word for “Awesome”. When the name of your disease is “Leukoencephalopathy with Brain Stem and Spinal Cord Involvement and Lactate Elevation”, you really wish it had a different name. A few years ago, we ran a social media campaign where people who were able to correctly pronounce the name of the disease (not many did), were entered into a competition to give the disease a new name. The winner, an elementary school classmate of an affected patient, chose “The Awesome Disease” to put a positive spin on a terrible condition. Many of our patients and their families refer to themselves as part of “Team Awesome” so we brought it to the company as a reminder of who we are fighting for.

Who We Are

Deos Therapeutics is a biotechnology company pioneering gene therapies for central nervous system disorders. Led by gifted neuroscientists, and strategists, we combine world-class research with a deep sense of responsibility to patients.

What Drives Us

Precision

Every therapy is engineered with meticulous adherence to standards, backed by data, and guided by industry leading expertise

Urgency

Our motto is “Time is Myelin” and our patients cannot afford to wait so we employ the best in drug development program management to reach milestones as fast as the science allows

Partnership

We have developed a scientific ecosystem that allows us to lean on science that has already been proven safe and effective

Compassion

Our work is about our patients and improving their lives

Meet Us

Michael McGinn - Chief Executive Officer

With his wife, Beth, Michael founded Cure LBSL, formerly called A Cure for Ellie, to help find treatments for LBSL. With two therapies showing great promise, and the need for additional options to continue to fund the research toward an approved drug, he founded Deos Therapeutics, Inc. In his previous career, Michael was a strategy and technology consultant, advising Fortune 500 firms and critical government missions.

Christina Nemeth Mertz - Senior Scientific Advisor

For over ten years, Dr. Nemeth Mertz's research has focused on the use of translational systems including patient cells, models derived from these cells, and transgenic mice to probe disease mechanism and therapeutic strategies for rare pediatric disorders, including LBSL. She maintains close relationships with patient advocacy teams supporting these diseases and serves on the Medical Science Advisory Board of the United Leukodystrophy Foundation. Dr. Nemeth Mertz received her PhD from Emory University and a BA from Hamilton College.