Dr. Christopher M. Cimarusti, Ph.D

Dr. Christopher M. Cimarusti is a consultant with broad experience in pharmaceutical discovery, development and manufacturing. He is involved with biotechnology, chemical, and pharmaceutical firms as a consultant and/or member of Development Advisory Boards, Scientific Advisory Boards or Board of Directors. Chris held executive leadership positions at Squibb Corporation and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) in discovery and development.

As a discovery leader, he co-led the antibiotic effort and became Director of Organic Chemistry for the Squibb Institute for Medical Research. Subsequently, he was responsible for all biological and chemical process development within Squibb Corporation, including technology transfer directly to manufacturing, monitoring ongoing production for quality and yield trends, and optimization of existing processes. After the merger of Bristol-Myers and Squibb, he was named Vice President of Process R&D within the Pharmaceutical Research Institute. In 1998, he was appointed Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development and led a global staff of 1200 engaged in the CMC disciplines for small and large molecules as well as global clinical supply operations. He also had responsibility for Project Management and Portfolio Management. He was a member of the Institute Executive Committee and a co-leader and/or member of operating committees that oversaw exploratory development, full development and life-cycle management, and technology transfer.

Chris personally synthesized the antihypertensive nadolol (Corgard®) and the antibiotic aztreonam (Azactam®) for the first time and designed the commercial processes for both. Under his leadership of chemical development for Squibb Corporation, more than 40 steps (including those supporting the manufacture of aztreonam (Azactam®), fosinopril (Monopril®), and gadoteridol (Prohance®) were successfully transferred to manufacturing (Europe and Puerto Rico). He also represented Squibb Corporation and BMS in direct discussions with regulatory authorities and licensing partners (US, Canada, Europe, Japan, Korea and the UK).

Chris consolidated nine pre-merger chemistry departments into five and began a program of development of human and facility resources that resulted in a $500,000,000 investment in the BMS New Brunswick facility. He led a team that examined early development productivity; strategies were developed and implemented that reduced time dramatically, led to a new paradigm for these activities, and brought BMS to Industry leadership in preclinical development time. Chris led the successful effort to develop alternative sources for paclitaxel (the active ingredient in Taxol®) and the timely technology transfer (to manufacturing in Europe) of a semi-synthetic process.

Dr. Cimarusti led the “Approval Process Study”, an Executive-Committee commissioned, cross-functional team whose recommendations have contributed significantly to the recent success of BMS with advisory committees and other interactions with regulatory bodies, and, most importantly, new product approvals..

In addition to the basic patents that claim the anti-hypertensive nadolol and the antibiotic aztreonam, Dr. Cimarusti was inventor or co-inventor on more than 60 patents in the areas of cardiovascular, steroid, and b-lactam research, including both compound and process patents. Chris received the Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award from the Research and Development Council of New Jersey for the aztreonam patent He published more than forty papers in refereed journals, most in the areas of steroid and b-lactam chemistry and contributed solicited articles to varied publications (including Chemistry in Britain, The Harvard Business Review and Trends in Pharmaceutical Sciences).

Dr. Perry B. Molinoff, MD

Dr. Perry Molinoff is a Professor of Pharmacology and the AN Richards Professor of Pharmacology Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania. He returned to a faculty position in the School of Medicine in July, 2007 after serving for three years as the Vice Provost for Research of the University of Pennsylvania. Additionally, he is a Special Advisor to the Provost for research.

As the Vice Provost for Research, Dr. Molinoff had oversight responsibility for the University’s policies and procedures that promote research excellence across the University and for management of key elements of the research infrastructure including infrastructure relating to grants, human and animal research compliance, animal care, environmental health and radiation safety, and conflict of interest and research misconduct. Dr. Molinoff developed linkages between the University and industry and was responsible for the transfer of technologies from university laboratories to the public sector for commercial application. Additionally, Dr. Molinoff provided leadership and coordination of multidisciplinary research programs and represented Penn to local and regional constituencies as well as to federal and other funding agencies. The University of Pennsylvania’s research enterprise had over $700 million in research awards during his term.

Dr. Molinoff's background includes more than thirty years of experience in both the academic and industrial sectors. From 1981 through 1994, he was the A.N. Richards Professor of Pharmacology and Chairman of the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania. Research in his laboratory focused on the molecular pharmacology of receptors and signal recognition. Prior to returning to Penn in 2003, he was the Executive Vice President of Research and Development at Palatin Technologies. Reporting to the CEO, he oversaw Palatin's research and clinical operations and helped to steer the company's products through preclinical and clinical stages toward commercialization. From 1995 through 2000, Dr. Molinoff was Vice President of Neuroscience and Genitourinary Drug Discovery for the Bristol-Meyers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute. In this position, he directed and implemented the Institute's research efforts in these areas. Clinical candidates were identified for treatment of sleep disorders, schizophrenia, stroke, Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, incontinence and sexual dysfunction.

Dr. Molinoff serves or has served on the Board of Directors of both public and private companies including Cypress Bioscience and Palatin Technologies. He has served on multiple editorial advisory boards for scientific and educational journals. He authored or edited six books including 2 editions of Basic Neurochemistry, and the 9th edition of Goodman and Gilman’s The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, as well as over 230 manuscripts. Dr. Molinoff earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University and completed house officer’s training at the University of Chicago’s Hospitals and Clinics.

Dr. David C. U'Prichard, Ph.D

Dr. David C. U'Prichard currently serves as a President of Druid Consulting LLC, consulting to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries from his base in Philadelphia, US, and as a Venture Partner at Red Abbey Venture Partners (Baltimore) and Care Capital LLC (Princeton).

In 2003 – 2004, he was a Venture Partner for Apax Partners Ltd. (London). From 1999 to 2003 he was CEO and a member of the Board of Directors of 3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Yardley PA. During that time he took 3DP public and secured large collaborations with Bristol-Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson. In March 2003, 3DP become a part of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical R&D. From 1997 to 1999, Dr. U'Prichard served as Chairman of Research and Development at SmithKline Beecham. While at SmithKline Beecham, Dr. U'Prichard oversaw the entry of approximately ten compounds into global development, the international registration of the diabetes drug Avandia® and the entry of four compounds into Phase III trials and six compounds into early clinical trials; additionally, he instituted several major restructuring efforts at the company. Prior to SmithKline Beecham, he worked for ICI/Zeneca from 1986 to 1997, as Executive Vice President and International Research Director from 1994 to 1997. Previously, Dr. U'Prichard was instrumental in the launch of Nova Pharmaceuticals, Baltimore MD in 1983, following an academic career as Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Neurobiology at Northwestern University Medical School (1978-83), and his postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University (1975-78). Dr. U'Prichard received his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Kansas, and his B.S. in Pharmacology with first-class honors from the University of Glasgow, Scotland.

He has held academic appointments at Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Pennsylvania and is an Honorary Professor at the University of Glasgow. He is also an author of more than 100 primary and review publications, was a founding co-editor of Molecular Neurobiology and co-editor of Epinephrine in the Central Nervous System and has served as a member of various editorial boards. Dr. U'Prichard is Chairman of the Board of Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: Short Hills, NJ) and Oxagen Ltd (Oxford, UK) and serves on the Board of Directors of Invitrogen Corp (Carlsbad, CA), and SR Pharma (AIM: London). Dr.U’Prichard was Chairman of the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Association 2004-2005. and has served on the boards of BioAdvance, the Biotechnology Greenhouse of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Dr. U’Prichard is a consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton, is a Trustee of the International House of Philadelphia and is on the Board of the Bioethics Institute of the University of Pennsylvania.