Franco Lori, MD, PhD
CEO / Founder
Founded RIGHT, Genetic Immunity, TreosBio
20+ years of Biotech Management, EU, USA

Franco Lori founded ViroStatics in 2005, serving as President and Chief Executive Officer. With 25 years of extensive experience in Biotech management, Dr. Lori has successfully overseen the start up of several biotechnology companies. Dr. Lori has experience in investigative preclinical and clinical research interacting with a network of clinical, pharmaceutical, government, and basic researchers in the US and Europe. In 2000, Dr. Lori was recognized as a “Hero in Medicine” for his achievements in HIV therapy. He has co-authored over 100 international peer-reviewed publications and been an inventor on 20 patent applications.

Dr. Lori received his MD from the University of Parma and earned his PhD at the University of Pavia, Italy. He was senior investigator in the laboratory of tumor cell biology at the National Cancer Institute under the leadership of Robert Gallo before co-founding RIGHT (Research Institute for Genetic and Human Therapy, http://www.rightinstitute.net/) in 1994, where he serves as vice-President. 

Richard Pollard, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Professor of Medicine, UC-Davis
30+ years leader in virology research

Richard B. Pollard researching HIV/AIDS has been involved in the development of new therapies for the Herpes viruses, Hepatitis viruses and HIV treatment for more than thirty years. He became an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas at Galveston and was appointed as a Professor of Internal Medicine, Pathology and Microbiology in 1989. He relocated to the University of California, Davis Medical School in Sacramento in 2001, where he is Professor of Internal Medicine and Microbiology and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases.

Dr. Pollard has authored over 200 publications. He currently serves as the Principal Investigator of the Immunology Specialty Laboratory, Chair of the ACTG Laboratory Evaluation Subcommittee, and Principal Investigator of the California Research Center for the Biology of HIV in Minorities.

Davide De Forni, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
15+ years of laboratory research
10+ years drug development experience

Davide De Forni is a biologist, PhD in immunology and microbiology, and is the Chief Scientific Officer in ViroStatics, coordinating the screening and development of new drug candidates. He gained experience in the HIV field in the laboratories of the Department of Oncology and Surgical Sciences, Reference Centre for AIDS (University of Padua), where he studied immune reconstitution in HIV-1-infected children on antiretroviral therapy.

He was then employed by the Biotechnology Research Institute of Altavilla Vicentina (Vicenza, Italy) in the biochemistry laboratory dealing with purification of recombinant proteins from cell cultures. Davide has 15+ years laboratory background, with expertise in biochemistry and both molecular and cellular biology, and 10+ years of drug development experience. 

Sjlva Petrocchi
Chief Operating Officer
RIGHT Board of Directors
15+ years of administrative experience

Sjlva Petrocchi began her career in 1993 with SNAMPROGETTI S.p.A (ENI group) as Executive Secretary for an Algerian and French engineering delegation. In 1995, she was given responsibility for all Chinese delegations and was promoted to assistant manager of customer service.

Ms. Petrocchi joined RIGHT in August of 1997 as Chief Administrative Officer in Italy with responsibility for managing all organizational and public relation initiatives. She has been the Chief Operating Officer at ViroStatics srl since 2007. In addition to her duties for ViroStatics, Ms. Petrocchi is also a member of the RIGHT (ViroStatics’ parent Company) Board of Directors.