PANAVANCE - Key Persons
Ben Steinmetz - Chief Commercial Officer
Ben Steinmetz comes to Panavance with a wealth of pharmaceutical launch experience and oncology expertise. Since 2018, he has been the Managing Director of the Steinmetz Advisory Group, specializing in the development and commercialization of oncology products. He serves as acting Chief Commercial Officer, as he is doing for Panavance, for pre-commercial stage oncology companies and is engaged with clients on projects ranging from development & commercial strategy for IND stage assets to market access strategy and execution for phase III and launch-stage products.
In 2015, Ben joined Churchill Pharmaceuticals as SVP Commercial, leading the launch of a new oral anticancer agent in a >$4 billion market. He established the product launch plan reflecting the competitive set, the differential timing of commercial and government payer reviews, the critical differences between physician dispensing and specialty pharmacy models, evolving US political and reimbursement environment, and the need to effectively deploy valuable human and monetary resources. Prior to Churchill, he was VP Reimbursement and Patient Access for GlaxoSmithKline and VP Policy and Payer Insight, Oncology/Biopharmaceuticals, in GSK's US managed care division. Ben was VP Global Commercial Strategy, Oncology, and accountable for global product management, scientific communications, and health outcomes for GSK's oncology portfolio. Product responsibilities included therapeutic and supportive care products such as Votrient®, Tykerb®, Arzerra®, Arranon®, and Promacta® as well as many discovery and development stage products. Before joining GSK, he worked in senior roles at Exocell, a development stage biotechnology company, and Eastman Pharmaceuticals/Sterling Winthrop (now Sanofi).
Job Titles:
- Leader
- Lead Director & Chair, Compensation Committee
Cynthia (Cindy) Collins, is a recognized leader in cell and gene therapy, genomic medicine, molecular diagnostics, life sciences, and therapeutics. Prior to her most recent position as CEO of Editas Medicine (Nasdaq:EDIT), she served as CEO of Human Longevity Inc, a genomics-based company. Prior to Human Longevity Cindy served as CEO/GM of General Electric's Healthcare Cell Therapy Business, Lab Businesses and Clarient Diagnostics. Before GE, Cindy served as President and CEO of GenVec (Nasdaq:GNVC) and Group Vice President, Cellular Analysis Business of Beckman Coulter. Prior to Beckman Coulter, she served as President and CEO of Sequoia Pharmaceuticals. Earlier, Cindy served as President of Clinical Micro Sensors, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Motorola. Prior to Motorola, she spent 17 years with Baxter Healthcare in a variety of executive roles, including President of Oncology, Vice President of Strategy and Portfolio Management of BioScience, Vice President & General Manager of Cell Therapies, and Vice President of Business Development of Transfusion Therapies. She began her career with Abbott Laboratories where she spent 6 years in various operating roles. Cindy received her BS degree in Microbiology from the University of Illinois, Urbana and her MBA, from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Cindy is a member of the board of directors of DermTech (Nasdaq:DMTK), Certara (Nasdaq:CERT), and Poseida Therapeutics (Nasdaq:PSTX).
Job Titles:
- Head, Non - Clinical Research
Dr. Duane Sofia received his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Pittsburgh. He has over 45 years' experience in the pharmaceutical industry as an active employee and more recently as a consultant. During his career Dr. Sofia has held increasingly responsible positions from Senior Research Pharmacologist to Director of Pharmacology and Toxicology and ultimately to Vice President of Preclinical Research. He has been intimately involved in the successful submission of a number of INDs, some of which led to NDA approval. He has been an active member of several professional societies including the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, the Society of Toxicology, and the American Epilepsy Society. He has authored or co-authored over 200 research articles in peer-reviewed journals dealing with the pharmacology, toxicology, drug metabolism and mechanism of action of experimental and newly developed drug therapies. In addition, he has authored or co-authored 11 book chapters. He also is the holder of 11 U.S. patents. Dr. Sofia has presented papers at numerous scientific meetings with abstracts totaling greater than 150.
Dr. Erich Platzer brings expertise in financing startup companies focused on life sciences to Panavance. He is currently the chairman of Alzheimer company Vivoryon Therapeutics NV (Euronext, Amsterdam) and board member of oncology focused Aptose Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ, TSE). He serves as Chairman or board member of Swiss private companies AOT, LMD, and Peripal. He is a Board member and HealthcarePartner of Swiss VC firm MTIP which is focused on digital health. Dr. Platzer has been a Business Angel since 2010; and President of StartAngelsNetwork, Switzerland. From 2001 to 2015 he was co-founder and investment advisor of HBM BioVentures (now HBM Healthcare Invest ments). He has had multiple roles as chairman or board member of various biotech companies, public or private. Dr. Platzer spent 10 years at Roche (development and business) with his last position as therapeutic area head business oncology. Prior to his roles in industry he spent 12 years in academic medicine and research and was the co-lead team that purified human G-CSF at MSKCC, licensed to Amgen (Neupogen®). Dr Platzer is board certified for Internal Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology. He is a medical faculty member at University of Erlangen, Germany since 1989: Dr. med. habil ( M.D.Ph.D.).
Job Titles:
- Head, Research & Development
Dr. James Costin has an extensive career in drug development in the pharmaceutical industry and is an interventional cardiologist by training. He completed his MD at Emory University School of Medicine and his house officer training at Yale University School of Medicine consisting of internship, residency, cardiology fellowship. Thereafter, he joined the cardiology section's academic staff at Yale where he was primarily involved with the cardiac catherization laboratory and research. Following his position at Yale, he joined ICI's pharmaceutical division where he was involved with all phases of drug development with a focus on marketing and Phase 4 studies. Dr. Costin joined Carter-Wallace pharmaceutical company as Vice President of Medical Affairs, and quickly advanced to Vice President of Research and Development, and ultimately Corporate Vice President of Medical and Scientific Affairs and Chief Medical Officer. While at Carter Wallace, Dr Costin established a drug development partnership with Geistlich Pharma AG. Following Carter-Wallace's sale, he was Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of a new company, Perosphere, Inc., where he directed the development of a drug in the anticoagulation field. For the past 6 years, Dr Costin has consulted again with Geistlich Pharma to head the research and development of GP-2250 program.
Job Titles:
- Chief Medical Officer
- Director of Apex Oncology
- Is Director of Apex Oncology
Dr. Jose Iglesias is Director of Apex Oncology, a clinical development consultancy focused in the areas of solid tumor oncology, and he is consulting Chief Medical Officer to Panavance Therapeutics. Dr. Iglesias brings 30 years of global experience in the pharmaceutical industry to Panavance, including large pharma and biotech. He has proven leadership in designing and leading all phases of oncology clinical trials, including large Phase 3 registration studies with over 2,000 patients. Since 2019 Dr. Iglesias has been an independent oncology consultant focused in the areas of solid tumor oncology, immuno-oncology and translational medicine, in early phase to mid-phase clinical development. Earlier in his career he held roles of increasing responsibility at Abraxix BioScience including Vice President of Global Clinical Development and Chief Medical Officer where he was responsible for worldwide development of Abraxane and all other pipeline molecules. Dr. Iglesias also served as Vice President of Clinical Development at Celgene where he was responsible for Phase 3 development of Abraxane for pancreatic, lung and metastatic breast cancer. He has also held senior level medical roles at Bionomics, Biothera, and Apobiologix where he oversaw the global clinical development of its oncology biosimilars program. He is widely conversant with regulatory bodies worldwide, government reimbursement agencies, oncology cooperatives and patient advocacy groups. He has extensively published in the oncology literature with over 8,000 citations. Dr. Iglesias graduated from medical school in 1986, spent 2 years as a fellow at Duke University and 2 years in oncology clinics and in private oncology and hematology practice prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry.
Job Titles:
- Head, Scientific & Regulatory Communications
- President of Glenmere Research
Dr. Kathryn (Kate) Martin is the President of Glenmere Research, a consulting firm located in Franklin Lakes NJ, that has been providing regulatory and medical editorial services to the pharmaceutical industry for more than 30 years. After receiving her BS from Northeastern University and PharmD from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Kate was the Director of Oncology Pharmacy Services for the Albert Einstein Cancer Center in the Bronx, NY. Her experience in the industry began at Lederle Laboratories in Pearl River, NY, in Medical Affairs and the Medical Research Division. Since founding Glenmere Research in 1995, Dr. Martin has provided regulatory and medical editorial services to large pharma and has assisted numerous small to mid-size companies with US, European, China, and Japan submissions. She has experience writing regulatory documents across the full product lifespan and is familiar with ICH guidelines, standardized templates, and electronic document management systems. Dr. Martin has written manuscripts that have been published in top tier journals including New England Journal of Medicine, Vaccine, Blood, and Contraception, as well as abstracts and posters at numerous domestic and international congresses including ASCO, ESMO, ACC, SABCS, and ASH. She has written content and developed internal medical education slide decks on topics including pathophysiology, therapeutic management, nonclinical and clinical data summaries, and competitive analysis. Her training and primary area of expertise is in oncology/hematology, including transplant and CAR-T therapy, and immunology.
Job Titles:
- Chief Medical Officer at the Vaniam Group
Dr. Robert Coleman is the Chief Medical Officer at the Vaniam Group. He was previously at US Oncology Research as its Chief Scientific Officer, and previously served as the Ann Rife Cox Chair in Gynecology and a professor in the Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC), as well as executive director for MDACC's Cancer Network Research Program. He is also a member of the board of directors for the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) Foundation and co-director of GOG Partners. Dr. Coleman won the Rosalind Franklin Excellence in Ovarian Cancer Research Award (2018) and is a past president of the Society for Gynecologic Oncology (2015). He is the current president of the International Gynecologic Cancer Society. In 2020 Dr. Coleman was included in the top 15 Giants in Cancer Care program recognition program which celebrates the achievements of leading researchers and educators whose discoveries have helped propel the field forward and established the building blocks for future advances.
Job Titles:
- Head, Intellectual Property & Patents
Dr. Robert Hrubiec is an intellectual property attorney with over 25 years' experience in all aspects of intellectual property, specializing in pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device/diagnostic patent management, strategic IP evaluation, litigation support, business development, mergers/acquisitions, licensing, FDA regulations, trademarks and patent preparation and prosecution. Dr. Hrubiec is currently the Consulting Intellectual Property Counsel for Panavance Therapeutics and is primarily responsible for providing general intellectual property consulting services, evaluating the company's patents and patent applications, providing creative patent strategies to further protect key technologies and making intellectual property recommendations to upper management. Dr. Hrubiec is also the founder and President of Innoventiv IP, an intellectual property management and consulting company focused on advising high technology companies on legal matters, patent portfolio management, strategic planning, life-cycle management, licensing/acquisitions/confidentiality/clinical trial and other agreements, due diligence, maximizing value, cost reduction and litigation support. Prior to founding Innoventiv IP in 2012, Dr. Hrubiec was Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at Cephalon, Inc., where he was responsible for creating, developing and managing the company's global IP department as well as all IP aspects of business development. Prior to joining Cephalon in 1999, Dr. Hrubiec was an intellectual property attorney with GlaxoSmithKline and directed a research laboratory at Cytogen Corporation focused on cytotoxic agents conjugated to monoclonal antibodies for use in treating cancer. Dr. Hrubiec received his Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry from the University of Connecticut followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in pharmacology/molecular biology at the Yale Medical School Comprehensive Cancer Center. He obtained his law degree from the North Carolina Central University School of Law and is licensed in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and the USPTO.
Greg Bosch brings over 30 years in healthcare to Panavance with leadership of commercial, operations, and R&D teams in the US and Europe. His general management experience in the life science industry spans the pharmaceutical, biologics and medical device segments including building a biosurgery business to $220M in 5 years, acquiring public and private companies, and taking public a company. Prior to joining Panavance Greg was Chief Executive Officer of Geistlich Pharma North America where he led a cross functional team to achieve the market leadership position in regenerative medicine in the US dental field. While at Geistlich, he also led the company's global oncology program and was responsible for the team developing Panavance's proprietary small molecule drug compound GP-2250 from early R&D through to the clinical studies. Earlier in his career he was the President and Chief Executive Officer of PuriCore PLC where he led a successful IPO on the London Stock Exchange. Prior to his experience with PuriCore he held roles of increasing responsibility at Baxter International including General Manager of the BioSurgery Business, Vice President of Strategic Planning and Assistant to the President. Greg currently serves on the Board of Kibow Biotech, Inc. Greg earned his B.A. in Public Policy from Duke University and MBA from DePaul University.
Job Titles:
- Head, Pharmacology
- Professor Em
Hanns Möhler is Professor em. at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich and the University of Zurich, Switzerland. He has held a professorship in pharmacology in the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, as well as in the Medical Faculty of the University of Zurich, where he was director of the Institute of Pharmacology.
He was the first director of the Swiss National Center of Neuroscience Research and director of the Center of Experimental and Clinical Pharma Sciences at the University and the University Hospital of Zurich. Prior to his academic positions, Hanns Möhler was vice-director in the Research Department of Hoffmann-La Roche, Basle, Switzerland.
His discovery of the benzodiazepine receptor and his work on sleep disorders, the regulation of anxiety states, the gene therapy of epilepsy and the neuronal organization of memory was honored by numerous awards. In recent years, his work has been focused on cancer therapy. He is a member of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences and the European Academy of Sciences.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Audit Committee
- Business Executive
James Brady is an experienced international business executive who served in multiple leadership roles of increasing responsibility for AstraZeneca prior to his retirement. His more than thirty years of progressive experience at AstraZeneca included successful national, regional and global finance roles in corporate operations, manufacturing, commercial, marketing, market access, audit, international business, and biologics discovery & development. James most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of MedImmune, the biologics division of AstraZeneca. During his tenure at MedImmune, biologics grew to represent more than half of the product development portfolio of AstraZeneca and five biologics were successfully brought to market. Throughout his career at AstraZeneca, James had P&L and management responsibilities for significant operating units and finance functions including MedImmune, the Asia Pacific Region, US Government, Policy and Managed Markets, and Global Marketing. James also served as the Chief Audit Executive for AstraZeneca. His experience spans the full product development cycle from early research and clinical development to sales and product contracting. James currently serves as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Directors and Audit Committee of Verona Pharma plc (Nasdaq: VRNA). He previously served on the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee and as Chair of the Audit & Finance Committee of the Montgomery County, Maryland Economic Development Corporation. James is a CPA and worked at Arthur Andersen & Company. He holds a B.S in Accounting from Saint Joseph University and an MBA from Drexel University.
Lex Smith is an independent consultant working in all areas of CMC product development. Mr. Smith holds a total of 35 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, working with both small and large pharma companies, including Burroughs Wellcome/GlaxoWellcome, UCB Pharma, Serenex, Inc., Viamet Pharmaceuticals, Fulcrum Pharma Developments and G1 Therapeutics. Lex has significant pharmaceutical development experience with solid dosage forms, instant and modified release, and parenteral dosage forms. Mr. Smith received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from UNC-CH and an MS in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from Lehigh University.
Over his career, Lex held positions of increasing responsibility in Pharmaceutical/Chemical Development, CMC Regulatory Affairs, and CMC project management. Previous roles include vice-president level positions in four companies, most recently, VP - Technical Operations for G1 Therapeutics with responsibility of drug substance and drug product development for three clinical stage compounds. Lex provided major scientific contributions for over 125 INDs and over 10 NDAs including Zyban® SR Tablets, Valtrex®Tablets, Retrovir® Capsules, Emtriva® Capsules, Keppra®Tablets and Trilaciclib Sterile Powder submitted June 2020. Additional experience includes GMP auditing and the preparation of Drug Master Files.
Job Titles:
- CEO and President of WOMN LLC
- Chairman of Nomination & Governance Committee
Marla Persky is CEO and President of WOMN LLC, a company dedicated to helping women succeed in the business of law by increasing their knowledge of and acuity with financial drivers, client development, and leadership. Marla retired in 2013 as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Boehringer Ingelheim Inc. She was a member of Boehringer's executive management team and a director of the company and several of its subsidiaries. Prior to joining Boehringer Ingelheim, Marla spent 19 years at Baxter International Inc. where she held numerous business and legal positions, the most recent of which was Acting General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Marla currently serves on the Audit and Chairs the Governance Committees of Xeris Biopharma Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: XERS), a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing unique therapies for patient populations in endocrinology, neurology, and gastroenterology. Additionally, she is on the Board of Directors of REVOLO Biotherapeutics which develops therapies to reset the immune system to achieve long-term remission for patients with autoimmune and allergic diseases. Ms. Persky also serves on the Audit and Strategic Planning Committees of the Board of Directors of YGEIA, a medical informatics technology company. Previously, she served on the Board of Directors of Cytyc Corporation (NASDAQ: CYTYC) a device and diagnostics company specializing in women's health. In addition to her corporate activities, Ms. Persky is on the Board of several not-for-profit organizations such as the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Primary Stages (Off-Broadway Theater Company) and World Neighbors Inc. Ms. Persky received her JD from Washington University School of Law and her BS from Northwestern University.
Job Titles:
- Consultant for the European Medicines Agency
- Expert
- Specialist in Medical Oncology at the Department
Michele Reni, MD, is a Specialist in Medical Oncology at the Department of Medical Oncology at the San Raffaele Research Hospital in Milan. He is Director of the Strategic Program of Clinical Coordination of Pancreatic Center, and a Member of the Multidisciplinary team involved in the management of pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
Dr. Reni is an expert consultant for the European Medicines Agency (EMA); faculty member of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) for brain tumors; teacher at "Vita e Salute University"- School of Medicine and Surgery; peer reviewer for several international scientific journals and scientific societies; coordinator of the AIOM (Italian Association of Medical Oncology) guidelines for the management of pancreatic cancer; coauthor of the AIOM guidelines for the management of central nervous system tumors; steering committee member, chairman, co-chairman, or sub-investigator in more than 20 Phase II and III clinical trials.
Dr. Reni is also the author or co-author of more than 230 scientific articles published in peer-reviewed journals, and he has a national scientific qualification to university teaching as first-level professor.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Director of the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center
Thomas Herzog, MD, is the Deputy Director of the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center and is the Paul and Caroline Flory Endowed Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UC College of Medicine.
Dr. Herzog graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in 1986. He completed his residency at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati followed by a fellowship in gynecologic oncology at the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, before becoming a faculty member at Washington University and then director of the gynecologic oncology fellowship program. In 2004, he became the director of the division of gynecologic oncology at Columbia University and started the fellowship at Columbia and Cornell Universities.
Dr, Herzog is a National Institutes of Health- and American Cancer Society-funded researcher with over 320 published manuscripts. He's also been in a leadership position of a number of national professional societies including the Society of Gynecologic Oncology, American College of Surgeons, for which he was also on the elected board of governors, the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, among others. Dr. Herzog served as editor-in-chief of the journal Gynecologic Oncology Research to Practice and The Women's Oncology Review in addition to being on the editorial boards for a number of other peer-reviewed journals. He currently serves as the Associate Director of the GOG-Partners clinical trials organization.
Mr. Hess is a seasoned executive with more than 25 years of experience in managing and leading teams as well as overseeing the financial and operational responsibilities of private and publicly traded life sciences companies. Mr Hess is currently serving as the part-time CFO of Hillstream Biopharma and Organova. Over his career, he has served as CFO for several companies including most recently Genomind, Inc., The Keane Organization, Yaupon Therapeutics, Inc, and Adolor Corporation. Mr Hess was a senior manager with KPMG and is a Certified Public Accountant. He received his B.S. in accounting from The Pennsylvania State University and his MBA from Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh. He also currently serves on the Board of Life Sciences PA and the Alumni Council of Penn State.