OTOMAGNETICS - Key Persons
Dr. Aleksandar Nacev is an engineering professional with deep expertise in magnetic systems engineering developing compact magnetic resonance systems. Prior to joining Promaxo, he was a Principal at Weinberg Medical Physics, a technology incubator specializing in novel imaging devices and image guided drug delivery systems. After earning his doctoral degree from the Fishcell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland College Park, Alek extended upon his research on magnetic drug targeting techniques to develop a novel method of precisely controlling and concentrating magnetic particles to a remote location. Alek also co-founded Iron Focus Medical, a medical device company developing a combination image guided therapy platform.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Co - Founder
- Member of the Faculty at the Institute for Systems Research
Dr. Didier Depireux, PhD, is member of the faculty at the Institute for Systems Research at the University of Maryland. As co-founder and chief scientific officer of Otomagnetics, Inc., he is the hearing and neuroscience expert, leading the animal model research.
Dr. Jerome Lewis, MBA PhD, is co-inventor of all three AMAG approved drug products, Feraheme, Feridex I. V. and GastroMark and several other drug products at various stages of development. Feraheme and Feridex are FDA-approved nanoparticle products, and have been used to treat millions of patients. At AMAG, Dr. Lewis was Head of Chemistry R&D and was responsible for product development,scale-up, and manufacturing of all products during development and for commercial sales. He was responsible for the manufacturing and microbiological sections of NDAs and INDs, both US and foreign.
Dr. King Lee has more than 25 years in the pharmaceutical/medical device industry, mostly in regulatory affairs related to US and worldwide regulatory submission. Dr. Lee previously held senior positions at Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Acorda Therapeutics, Inc., ATON Pharma, Inc. (acquired by Merck), VION Pharmaceuticals, Inc., IBEX Technologies, Inc., and Sterling-Winthrop. He has been involved with multiple projects leading to FDA approval, such as ZOLINZA™ (vorinostat) for leukemia, Primacor (milirinone) for congestive heart failure, Omniscan™ (gadodiamide) as a MRI contrast agent, and several in vitro diagnostic (IVD) medical devices for hematologic testing. He is the founder of the consultant company, King Lee PhD, LLC. Dr. Lee's consultant company provides services to companies in regulatory submission and clinical development, leading to FDA approval, of pharmaceutical, biologics and medical devices. He is a partner of Axella/Brightech, a unique joint venture investment plus Clinical Research Organization (CRO) company for clinical development, clinical trials, data management, statistical, FDA submission, regulatory affairs, etc. of pharmaceutical products, biologics and medical devices. Dr. King C. Lee is an adjunct professor at Quinnipiac University. He has authored over 40 peer-reviewed manuscripts, over 100 abstracts, and numerous presentations at scientific/professional conferences. Dr. Lee received his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Kentucky.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- CEO of Kyto Technology
Dr. Paul Russo is CEO of Kyto Technology and Life Science, and the Founder & Chairman of GEO Semiconductor. Paul also serves as a Director of SnapDNA, Teslonix, WOO Sports and several other technology ventures (Peekaboo, Dynamount, Illuminati, Thrive, Semplus, InBay and other technology start-ups). He is heavily involved with the Band of Angels and other similar organizations. Paul was the founder, Chairman and CEO of Genesis Microchip and guided the company through an IPO and post IPO acquisition by ST Micro.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Business & Technology Advisor
Dr. Sanjay Srinivasan serves as an advisor and actively works with the Otomagnetics team in the areas of business development, capital raising, and magnetic nanoparticle technology and formulation development. Dr. Srinivasan is the founder of Accent Advisors, a management consulting company which provides integrated business, technology innovation, operations, and commercialization solutions to companies in life sciences, pharma, medical devices, healthcare, specialty chemicals, and bio-renewables verticals in the areas of market research, strategic planning, capital raise, gathering voice of the customer, business development, profitability improvement, operational excellence, and improving customer experience. Dr. Srinivasan is an advisor to Promaxo, an early stage medical devices company that is developing and commercializing a novel single-sided magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device for cancer detection/diagnostics. He is also an advisor to Navaux, an early stage life sciences company that has developed a novel blood test based biomarker to detect prostate and ovarian cancer.
Prior to founding Accent Advisors, Dr. Srinivasan worked at IBM as a management consultant delivering management consulting solutions to Fortune 1000 clients in the areas of strategy implementation, supply chain optimization, organizational design, business transformation, business model innovation, change management, and in business development of applications development and support via global delivery.
Prior to founding Accent Advisors, Dr. Srinivasan worked at IBM as a management consultant delivering management consulting solutions to Fortune 1000 clients in the areas of strategy implementation, supply chain optimization, organizational design, business transformation, business model innovation, change management, and in business development of applications development and support via global delivery.
Prior to working at IBM, Dr. Srinivasan worked at Ethyl Corporation/Afton Chemical, a Fortune 1000 specialty chemical company as a scientist, and technology group leader where he as a team member developed novel specialty chemical formulations and polymers for customers including ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Chevron, Petro-Canada, Total, Valvoline, GM, Ford, Daimler, VW, BMW, Audi, and ZF and contributed to generation of over $1B in revenue, over $250M in operating profits, and an increase in market share of specialty chemical products. Dr. Srinivasan was also responsible for a $150M specialty polymers P&L where he turned around the business, managed R&D projects, product commercialization, process improvements, supply chain management, sales, marketing, & business development, international business, and customer relationship management.
Dr. Srinivasan has 15 US and European patents and has published papers in scientific peer reviewed journals. Dr. Srinivasan is trained in six-sigma/lean sigma black belt and has worked in India, China, and also worked on projects in Europe.
Dr. Srinivasan received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Oklahoma State University and an MBA from The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University.
Dr. Kraus' areas of expertise include medical and surgical treatment of pediatric and adult diseases of the ear and vestibular system including: hearing improvement and restoration, evaluation and treatment of acute and chronic sensorineural, conductive, and mixed hearing losses, treatment of otitis media and Meniere's Disease, chronic ear surgery, middle ear and mastoid reconstructive surgery, ossicular chain reconstruction, stapedectomy, cochlear implants (MedEL, Cochlear Americas, and Advanced Bionics) and hearing implants (BAHA, Ponto, BoneBridge, Envoy Esteem, and other advanced hearing technologies).
Eric M. Kraus, M.D., M.S., F.A.C.S., Otologist and Founder/President of The Ear Center of Greensboro, P.A., graduated from Swarthmore College with a B.A. in Biology with Distinction in 1973 and from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Cum Laude in 1977. He completed two years of general surgery residency at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. While at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics from 1979-83, Dr. Kraus completed his Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery residency, obtained a Master's of Science Degree, and completed an American Cancer Society Head & Neck Cancer Fellowship. He became Board Certified in Otolaryngology in 1983 by the American Board of Otolaryngology. Dr. Kraus has been practicing otologic surgery at The Ear Center of Greensboro, PA, Greensboro, NC, since 1989. He is an Adjunct Clinical Professor at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Department of Communications, Greensboro, NC, where he also serves on a Ph.D. review committee. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, and has been teaching otolaryngology residents the art of otologic surgery.
Dr. Kraus is currently involved in two research activities. He is currently finishing clinical research concerning long-term hearing results for the Kraus K-Helix Prostheses. Dr. Kraus has been serving on the Scientific Advisory Board of Otomagnetics, LLC, Gaithersburg, MD. The group is developing a targeted drug delivery system using magnetic nano-particles. The particles can deliver targeted medications, as well as viruses, stem cell, proteins, and antibodies, to tissue without needles using magnetic field technology. The research is currently investigational and is focused on therapies for treatment of eye, ear, and skin disorders before being scaled up to treat other body systems. Several F.D.A. clinical investigations are planned and are expected to be applicable for use to treat many medical conditions.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Scientific Advisor
Mr. Dushyant Chipalkatty, also known as Chip, founded PACK Pharmaceuticals, LLC in 2005 and serves as its President of Global Business Development. Mr. Chipalkatty previously worked as the Chief Operating Officer of Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since 1999. He has over 28 years of experience in the pharmaceutical technology field. He joined Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from Carter-Wallace in Cranbury, New Jersey. and worked at Carter Wallace from 1979 -1999. He has extensive experience in operational cGMP, cost control and plant modernization. At Morton Grove, Mr. Chipalkatty is responsible for supply chain and technology management. He has a Bachelor's in Pharmacy and Masters in Pharmacy (Pharmacognosy) degree from Nagpur University, India and a Master's degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Rutgers University.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- EVP and Chief Commercial Officer at Promaxo
Mr. Michael Bartholomew is the EVP and Chief Commercial Officer at Promaxo. He has broad therapeutic experience across nearly twenty diseases covering large and small molecules, medical devices and diagnostics. Michael manages the go to market strategy, voice of customer, partner relationships and tactical implementation relating to corporate infrastructure. Prior to Promaxo, Michael was a Principal at Porzio Life Sciences, as well as Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Dohmen Life Science Service, where he developed and launched several commercial initiatives achieving sustained sales growth. Before Dohmen, he served in various sales and brand leadership positions for Pfizer, Pharmacia and Baxter. Michael proudly served in the US Air Force as a decorated combat aviator, where he achieved the rank of Captain. He received his Masters of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University and his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Indiana University.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Director
- Member of the Board
- Founder and Managing Director of Advanced Biopharma Consulting
Ms. Abhita Batra, MS, MBA, serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Director at Otomagnetics. Abhita is also the Founder and Managing Director of Advanced Biopharma Consulting (ABC), a strategic advisory firm that offers business development and commercialization services to life science companies. Previously, she served as the Vice President of Business Development and Marketing at Admac Group of Companies, wherein she managed a product portfolio encompassing 150 generics. She is a co-founder and former COO of Navya, a biotechnology company developing and commercializing PHF for destruction of solid tumors. Abhita completed her Global MBA at UCLA Anderson and NUS, and has a Masters in Biotechnology with specialization in Pharmaceutical Sciences from University of Pennsylvania.
Job Titles:
- Scientific Advisor
- Healthcare Executive
Tony is a seasoned healthcare executive, with over 30 years of experience at both large and small companies in the pharmaceutical and diagnostic industries. He is currently an Executive Vice President at Strawn Arnold & Associates, an executive recruiting firm focused on the life sciences. Prior to his current role, Tony served as the Chief Commercial Officer for Otonomy, a specialty pharmaceutical company, after having the same role for Prometheus Labs and EKR Therapeutics. He previously served as the General Manager for the Western U.S. Operating Unit of Novartis Pharmaceuticals, after serving as the President of Innovex, the U.S.-based pharmaceutical sales and marketing services division of Quintiles Transnational. Mr. Yost also held various commercial, international, and general management positions at Schering-Plough, Boehringer Mannheim Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly and Company. Tony earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy from Purdue University.