Company Profile

GI SAFER non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug products

PLx has focused its development efforts on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug products that have active ingredients previously approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This strategy reduces development risks, as these active ingredients have well known safety and efficacy profiles, and speeds product development, as an expedited regulatory path called the 505(b)(2) pathway is available for new drug products containing these already approved active ingredients. Similarly, the company has focused the development of its lead products on indications where there is a significant clinical need and large commercial opportunity, such as in osteoarthritis, pain, fever and cardioprevention, while advancing other candidates toward preclinical proof-of-concept in more niche markets, such as in ulcerative colitis and patent ductus arteriosus. In both cases, PLx intends to enter into one or more strategic alliances with partners who can enhance the value of these products and speed their development and commercialization.

Management

Ronald R. Zimmerman President & CEO Mr. Zimmerman has over 30 years experience in investment banking, venture workout/turnaround and startup company management and is a founding investor in PLx. He has successfully closed M&A transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $10 billion and private placements and licensing transactions with an aggregate value greater than $500 million. Ron is an investor in several life science ventures and is on the Board of Nanospectra Biosciences, Inc. and the Advisory Board of BioImagene, Inc.
Lenard M. Lichtenberger, Ph.D. Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Lichtenberger is a Professor of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He has more than 25 years of pioneering research on the biochemical basis of NSAID-induced gastrointestinal injury and the “barrier function” of gastrointestinal tissue, which has been supported by over $10 million of grants awarded by NIH, the Army, the Arthritis Foundation and the State of Texas, and has over 100 scientific publications in the field. He is on the editorial board of a number of scientific journals and also serves as the Associate Director of the Texas Medical Center Digestive Disease Center. Len is an inventor of the core technology and he continues to lead the scientific direction of the Company.
Upendra K. Marathi, Ph.D. , M.B.A. Senior Vice President Dr. Marathi is involved with all facets of PLx’s clinical and manufacturing programs. He was previously with BCM Technologies, the venture subsidiary and incubator for the Baylor College of Medicine where he was involved in the founding and launch of several biotechnology companies, including drug discovery, bio-tool and pharmaceutical companies. Prior to BCMT, Upendra was a post-doctoral fellow at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and earned a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics from Loyola University. He has more than 15 years of drug development experience in increasing the safety and efficacy of approved cancer and pain products. Upendra has served on the Faculty of the Jones School of Management at Rice University.
Jason E. Moore, M.S., M.B.A. Vice President Mr. Moore has a decade of biotech industry experience, having managed a spectrum of new-drug development and registration activities for both established and emerging biotechnology companies. Jason's drug development experience includes both small molecule and biological therapeutics and spans preclinical and CMC related projects, domestic and international clinical trials, major and minor regulatory submissions, financial modeling and strategic alliances. Among the previous companies for which Jason has worked are Amgen, Antigenics, Aronex Pharmaceuticals, and Introgen Therapeutics. He earned an M.S. in Science and Technology Journalism from Texas A&M University and an M.B.A. from the C. T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston. He has been a Visiting Scholar in the Professional Program in Biotechnology at Texas A&M University.

Board of Directors

David Anderson
Chairman of the Board

Mr. Anderson has more than 20 years of experience as an executive, advisor and investor in the life sciences industry and served for 8 years as the Chief Operations Officer and a director of Tanox. He is the CEO and Chairman of the Board of MithraGen, a cancer vaccine company and also serves as Chairman of the Board for Nanospectra Biosciences, Inc., a biotech company developing life science applications for nanoshells, a new class of materials. He is on the Board of Halsa Pharmaceuticals and serves as an Advisory Board member for Vapogenix, two early stage life sciences companies. Prior to joining Tanox in 1987, David was engaged in the private practice of law, with a focus in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, financing transactions and intellectual property licensing.

Harold Evensen
Director

Mr. Evensen has over 20 years experience in business development and administration as the President and CEO of a software Company. In addition, he has worked as a consultant to numerous small companies and startups. He is a co-founder of PLx.

David Jorden
Director

Mr. Jorden has 20 years of public and private company investment experience. He was most recently with Morgan Stanley's Private Wealth Management group where he was responsible for equity portfolio management for high net worth individuals. Prior to Morgan Stanley, David served as CFO for Genometrix, Inc., a private genomics/life sciences company focused on high-throughput microarray applications. David was previously a principal with Fayez Sarofim & Co. David has a MM from Northwestern University's Kellogg School and a BBA from UT/Austin. He holds both CFA and CPA designations. David serves on the board of two public companies, Cytomedix, Inc., a company involved with tissue regeneration therapies, and Opexa Therapeutics, Inc., a company developing novel cell therapies for multiple sclerosis. He is also on the board of DLush, a private deluxe beverage retail concept.

Tim Black, J.D. Director Mr. Black has been a partner at Integra Ventures, a Seattle based venture capital fund, for 8 years. He is the firm's lead partner for Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR), Guava Technologies, and Hawaii Biotech. Prior to joining Integra Ventures, Mr. Black was the President of SunWest International, an international consulting firm advising U.S. and Asian companies on cross border transactions. Prior to founding SunWest, Mr. Black was Managing Partner of a Seattle law firm specializing in securities and business law. He has served on the boards of United Paging Group, Westmoor Ltd., and several non profits. Mr. Black received his B.A. in Economics from Colorado College and his J.D. from Seattle University.

Scientific Advisory Board

Ferid Murad, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Murad is a Nobel Laureate and former Vice President of R&D for Abbott Labs. He has run a VC-funded start-up as CEO, currently is Director Emeritus at the Brown Foundation Institute for Molecular Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, is an active life science investor.

Barry J. Marshall, M.D.
Professor Barry J. Marshall is co-recipient of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for the elucidation of the role of Helicobacter pylori in gastric ulcerogenesis. Dr. Marshall is currently a National Health Medical Research Council Senior Principal Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia. Dr. Marshall has successfully collaborated with Proctor and Gamble on a bismuth drug and with Tri-Med on the diagnostic tests CLOtest® and Pytest®. He is also involved with Ondek, a new venture developing a vaccine based on his innovative technology.

Joe Wernicke, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Wernicke is a Sr. Research Physician with Eli Lilly and Company. He led the regulatory development of Lilly’s blockbuster drug Prozac® as well as other drugs including Strattera®. He is a former VP of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs for Cyberonics, Inc. having led their regulatory approval for an implantable device.

Haile T. Debas, M.D.
Dr. Debas is currently Global Executive Director of the University of California San Francisco Global Health Initiative. A distinguished GI surgeon, he was formerly the long time Dean of the UCSF Medical School and a past Chancellor of UCSF.

Kim D. Rainsford, Ph.D., FRCP Edin, FRCPath, FRSC, FIBiol, FIBMS, Dr(hc)
Professor Rainsford is perhaps the world's leading authority on ibuprofen and aspirin. He literally wrote the books on these NSAIDs and is a widely regarded thought leader consulting for several companies.

Brendan J.R. Whittle B.Pharm., Ph.D., D.Sc.
Dr. Whittle is an internationally recognized expert in gastrointestinal pharmaceutical research and development, with industry and academic experience. He is a long time colleague of the Nobel Laureate, Sir John Vane, has over 30 years of NSAID research expertise and drug development experience within and advising a broad range of biotech and multinational pharma companies.

CEO Advisory Group

Thomas L. Gutshall
Mr. Gutshall is a co-founder of Cepheid and Chairman of the Board having served previously as CEO. Tom is also on the Board of CV Therapeutics where he was previously President & COO. Earlier in his career Tom was a senior executive with Syntex Corporation, the firm that commercialized naproxen. Tom is also a director of Satoris Corporation.

Gary Mossman
Mr. Mossman is President of Dixie Chemical, a privately held firm whose operations include supplying the Pharmaceutical industry with intermediate API’s. Formerly he was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Cambrex Corporation where he was responsible for day to day operations and interacting with many Pharmaceutical companies for this leading Pharma contract manufacturing company.

Charles Sheedy
Mr. Sheedy is a senior member of the portfolio management team at Fayez Sarofim & Co., which manages investments for a wide range of clients including pension plans, foundations, endowments and individuals. The firm has ~$30 billion of assets under management with a long time involvement in the pharmaceutical sector. He is also a personal investor in life science and other emerging technology ventures.