OTHERA Management TEAM
Chairman and CEO
Mr. Joseph is a Co-Founder of Othera with a thirty-year career of highly successful entrepreneurship and management in ophthalmics and medical technology. He retired as Chairman and Director of Orthovita (NASDAQ:VITA), a company he co-founded, where he also served as President and CEO. Prior to Orthovita, Mr. Joseph co-founded two medical device companies: Surgical Laser Technologies, Inc. and SITE Microsurgical Systems, which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson Corporation. He also has extensive health care experience, and served as Executive Director of Wills Eye Hospital. Mr. Joseph received the Greater Philadelphia Venture Group’s Raymond Rafferty Entrepreneurial Excellence Award in May 2005 for having founded four successful venture-backed companies and for his influence on the ophthalmic and medical technology industries.
Chief Science Officer
Dr. Rickles is a 37-year veteran of the medical community. He previously served as a Fellow for the Center for Science and Technology, Healthcare Division of Noblis, a non-profit healthcare organization where he developed health care strategy and national policy. Additionally, he has served as Executive Director of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), a coalition of 21 leading life science research organizations. He also served as a scientific advisor for multiple leading pharmaceutical companies. Currently, Dr. Rickles serves as Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine at the George Washington School of Medicine, and is an attending physician at the National Children's Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Rickles is also a member of multiple editorial boards, medical association committees, and science advisory boards.
Senior Vice President of R&D
Dr. Patil is a Co-Founder of Othera and a medicinal chemist with over 28 years of experience in drug discovery. He began his career in drug discovery with Bristol-Myers Corporation in Canada, and subsequently served as Research Group Leader in Medicinal Chemistry at DuPont Critical Care/DuPont-Merck Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Patil also served as Vice President of Research and Development for a venture-backed pharmaceutical company. Dr. Patil is inventor/author on over 40 patents and publications.
Senior Vice President of Clinical Development
Dr. Reaves has over 20 years experience in the clinical development of new ophthalmic pharmaceutical products for retinal diseases, glaucoma, inflammation, pain, allergy and dry eye. Following five years in clinical development at Alcon, Dr. Reaves held senior management positions at Xenon Vision, Novartis Ophthalmics and Neurotech. He has authored more than 40 publications in ophthalmology.
Medical Director
Dr. Parver has maintained an active Retinal Surgery practice in the Washington, DC area for over 30 years. He holds the rank of Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Georgetown University School of Medicine and is on staff at the Wilmer Eye Institute of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He has been the recipient of two NIH Research Grants and is the author of numerous publications. As a principle in Metropolitan Eye Care Associates, a disease management company, he successfully led the effort to establish physician networks in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions. He has served as a consultant to many major ophthalmic pharmaceutical companies.
Vice President of Finance and Business Development
Mr. Heifetz has over ten years of research and business experience in the life sciences. Prior to joining Othera, he was Co-Founder, CFO and Director of Business Development for a venture-backed biotech company. Mr. Heifetz has a degree in Chemistry from Georgetown University, and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Vice President of Marketing
Ms. Romero has over 15 years of biotechnology and large pharmaceutical experience. She has led 7 products through various stages of market development including product launches with Ortho-McNeil (Johnson & Johnson) and Endo Pharmaceuticals. Ms. Romero also serves as an advisory board member for Drexel University’s Pharmaceutical Marketing MBA program.
Senior Director of Biostatistics and Data Management
Mr. Koester has over 15 years of experience in the clinical development and FDA approval of ophthalmic drugs in AMD, allergy, glaucoma, inflammation and pain. With a background and training in biostatistics, Mr. Koester helped grow Novartis Ophthalmics from a small start-up division within Ciba Vision, to a large international ophthalmic pharmaceutical company within Novartis.
Senior Director of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Dr. Maher has over 26 years of pharmaceutical toxicology experience. He has been a study director for over 200 studies and has directed completion of over 100 toxicology reports. Dr. Maher has worked for both large and small pharmaceutical firms, including Dupont-Merck and Guilford Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Maher is certified by the American Board of Toxicology. During his career, he has authored over 15 journal publications.
Senior Director of Drug Development
Dr. Patel has over 20 years of pharmaceutical drug development experience for large and small molecules, as well as immediate and sustained release formulations for parenteral and oral dosage. He has published 14 research papers and has 5 formulation related patents. Dr. Patel has also prepared CMC documents for regulatory submission.
|
