Company Profile
GI SAFER non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug products
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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.
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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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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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. |
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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.
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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.
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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.
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