Our Team

Jonathan David, age 59, is married and a father of five children. He holds a BBA in Accounting (1987) and a Juris Doctorate in Law (1990), both from the University of Texas at Austin. He was the founder of the former David Law Firm LLP in The Woodlands, Texas, which specialized in mass tort litigation from 1992 to 2015.

Since 2015, he has focused on philanthropy as the founder of The David Foundation, which has invested millions of dollars in education for underprivileged youth and in GIST cancer research.

In 2016, Mr. David was diagnosed with GIST cancer, which was treated surgically. Motivated by his experience, he funded a research consortium of the world’s leading GIST researchers in search of new therapies. After years of research and significant investment, a promising molecule was discovered.

Mr. David subsequently formed von Pfeffel Pharma, which exclusively licensed the intellectual property for the molecule, refined it, and conducted extensive preclinical testing. As of late 2025, the molecule is progressing toward clinical development. His hope is to leave a legacy of improved survivorship for GIST patients and, potentially, for other applications.

Dr. Zabludoff joined von Pfeffel Pharma in January 2025 as President and CMO. Prior to joining von Pfeffel Pharma, she was Vice President of Clinical Development at Nitto BioPharma, where she oversaw clinical development for oncology and fibrosis. During nearly a decade at Nitto BioPharma, she led multidisciplinary teams responsible for the development of RNA-based clinical candidates. Additionally, she held roles of increasing responsibility at Regulus Therapeutics, AstraZeneca, and Novartis Oncology for more than 20 years, working across multiple phases of research and early development for both small-molecule and RNA-based therapeutics. Her scientific focus has been in the areas of DNA damage and response, and oncogenic and fibrotic pathways. Dr. Zabludoff conducted her postdoctoral training at the California Institute of Technology and received her PhD in Reproductive Biology from Johns Hopkins University. She has authored more than 50 publications and is a co-inventor on numerous patents.

Dr. Shakespeare joined von Pfeffel Pharma in January 2025 as Chief Scientific Officer. Prior to joining von Pfeffel Pharma, Dr. Shakespeare was President of R&D at Theseus Pharmaceuticals (founder), where he oversaw two IND submissions/preparations before the company was acquired by Concentra Biosciences in 2023. Before that, he was Vice President of Drug Discovery at ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, an integrated oncology company acquired by Takeda Pharmaceuticals in 2017 (for more than US$5 billion). During his 20+ years at ARIAD, he led multidisciplinary teams that discovered three development candidates, including Iclusig (ponatinib) — approved for treatment of resistant CML/Ph+ALL; Alunbrig (brigatinib) — approved for ALK+ NSCLC; and mobocertinib — for EGFR exon-20 mutations in NSCLC. Earlier in his career, Dr. Shakespeare conducted postdoctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania with Drs. Smith and Hirschmann, studying the use of novel scaffolds in the design of somatostatin peptidomimetics. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of New Hampshire, where he studied “strained” cyclic cumulenes both experimentally and theoretically. He holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Gettysburg College. He is author or co-author of more than 70 papers and a co-inventor on more than 45 granted patents or patent applications.