Management Team
- Jerry McMahon, Ph.D. - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
- Ronald A. Martell - President and Chief Operating Officer
- Caroline M. Loewy - Chief Financial Officer
- Robert De Jager, M.D., FACP - Chief Medical Officer
- David A. Karlin, M.D. - Senior Vice President, Clinical Development
- Cheni Kwok, Ph.D., CLP - Vice President, Business Development
- Anna Lewak Wight, J.D., CLP - Vice President, Legal
- Janet R. Rea, MSPH, RAC - Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality
Jerry McMahon, Ph.D.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Jerry McMahon, Ph.D., was appointed chief executive officer in May 2004, chairman of the Board of Directors in June 2004 and president in June 2005. Previously, he was president of SUGEN, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel, targeted small-molecule drugs from March 2002 to January 2004. Prior thereto, he held a number of research and development management positions at SUGEN and played a key role in the discovery and development of several innovative cancer products, including Sutent®, a multi-targeted protein kinase inhibitor for the treatment of advanced cancers, recently launched by Pfizer, Inc. SUGEN, which Dr. McMahon joined in 1993, was acquired by Pharmacia in 1999, which subsequently was acquired by Pfizer in 2003. Dr. McMahon currently is a director of Trellis Biosciences, Inc., a development stage biotechnology company. He holds a B.S. in biology and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Ronald A. Martell
President and Chief Operating Officer
Ronald A. Martell was appointed president and chief operating officer in May 2007. He joined the Board of Directors in June 2006. He recently served as senior vice president of Commercial Operations at ImClone Systems Incorporated and member of ImClone Systems' management committee. In that position, he oversaw sales, marketing, and project and alliance management. He also guided corporate, strategic and portfolio planning and management for the Company. He built ImClone Systems' Commercial Operations and field sales force to market and commercialize Erbitux® for the treatment of certain patients with colorectal and head and neck cancers with partners Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck KGaA. Prior to joining ImClone Systems, Mr. Martell worked for 10 years at Genentech in a variety of positions, most recently as manager, oncology products. At Genentech, he was responsible for marketing Herceptin® for metastatic HER-2 positive breast cancer and Rituxan® for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Caroline M. Loewy
Chief Financial Officer
Caroline M. Loewy was appointed chief financial officer in June 2006. She has more than a decade of senior management experience in equity research at top-tier Wall Street firms, including serving as executive director of biotechnology equity research at Morgan Stanley Inc. In addition, she held various positions at Prudential Securities Inc., including managing director of biotechnology equity research. Prior to joining Prudential, Ms. Loewy served as a senior financial analyst at BankAmerica Corporation. Most recently, she has been a consultant to various biotechnology companies, advising on strategy and finance. Ms. Loewy holds an M.B.A. from Carnegie Mellon, Graduate School of Business, and a B.A. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.
Robert De Jager, M.D., FACP
Chief Medical Officer
Robert De Jager, M.D., FACP, was appointed chief medical officer of the Company in February 2008. Prior to that, he served as senior vice president, chief medical officer at Kosan Biosciences. His experience in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry also includes positions at Conforma Therapeutics Corporation, a biotechnology company acquired by Biogen Idec Inc., at Biogen Idec, Daiichi Pharmaceutical Corporation, Rgene Therapeutics, Inc., Perlmmune, Inc. (formerly Akzo-Organon Teknika/Biotechnology Research Institute) and Sanofi Research. Dr. De Jager has held academic appointments at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the Institut Jules Bordet (Brussels, Belgium), New Jersey Medical School and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. He has been a principal investigator and served on committees of many cancer organizations, including the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), the Southeastern Cancer Study Group and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group. He is the author of more than 180 publications and abstracts and is the recipient of multiple grants and awards for his work in cancer research and development. Dr. De Jager earned his M.D. and B.S. in premedical sciences from the Free University of Brussels in Belgium. He completed his internship at Lenox Hill Hospital, his residency in internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic and a fellowship in medical oncology and clinical pharmacology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
David A. Karlin, M.D.
Senior Vice President, Clinical Development
David A. Karlin, M.D., joined the Company as senior vice president of clinical development and regulatory affairs in July 2005. Prior to that, he served as vice president of clinical research at Cellegy Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Karlin's experience in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry also includes positions as vice president of clinical development for Genteric, Inc., a privately-held company specializing in gene therapy, and senior medical director at Matrix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an oncology therapeutics development company. Dr. Karlin has also served as vice president for clinical research and medical director at SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and held various positions at Syntex Corporation, including director of medical research. Before joining the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Karlin was an associate professor at Temple University School of Medicine and an assistant professor at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute. He received his M.D. from the University of Chicago and completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Michigan and a fellowship in gastroenterology and gastrointestinal oncology at the University of Chicago. He holds a B.S. in Biology from the University of Illinois.
Cheni Kwok, Ph.D., CLP
Vice President, Business Development
Dr. Kwok joined the Company in July 2006 from Celera Genomics, where she led the business development efforts for Celera's small molecule therapeutic programs. Prior to Celera, Dr. Kwok was associate director of business development for Exelixis Inc., where she initiated multiple partnerships and served as the alliance manager for the GlaxoSmithKline collaboration. Prior to joining Exelixis Inc., Dr. Kwok held various research management, technology assessment and alliance management roles at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals. She received a bachelor's degree in biotechnology from Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of London, U.K. and a Ph.D. in human molecular genetics from the University of Cambridge, U.K.
Anna Lewak Wight, J.D., CLP
Vice President, Legal
Anna Lewak Wight joined the Company in 1994. Previously, she was a partner in the law firm of Morrison & Foerster, managing its Seattle intellectual property practice. Ms. Wight was also a partner in the intellectual property law firm of Harness, Dickey and Pierce in Michigan, where she established and chaired the Biotechnology and Medical Arts Group. She has worked with many high-profile biotechnical and biomedical projects for academic and research institutions, including gene therapy for cystic fibrosis and neurofibromatosis and CD28 immunoregulation. Ms. Wight received a J.D. from Wayne State University Law School and an M.S. from the Genetics Program at Michigan State University.
Janet R. Rea, MSPH, RAC
Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality
Janet R. Rea joined the Company in 2008. Previously, she served as vice president, regulatory affairs and quality at AVI BioPharma. Ms. Rea previously held positions at Targeted Genetics, MDS BioPharma, Immunex (now Amgen) and American Hospital Supply (now Baxter). In addition, Ms. Rea ran her own consulting practice. She has nearly 30 years of ethical drug and biologics industry experience in regulatory affairs, quality assurance, quality control, product development and commercialization. Ms. Rea received both her BS in microbiology and her MSPH from the University of Washington, and in 2006, received her RAC from the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society.
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