Tag Archive for: BioTech and Pharma

Stewart McNaull, PhD, Joins Wheeler Bio as SVP, Chief Business Officer

Life Science Partner announces the recruitment of Stewart McNaull, PhD, to develop commercialization and expand access of Wheeler Bio’s products and service offerings.

Stewart McNaull

Wheeler Bio, a quickly growing CDMO, retained Life Science Partner to recruit their President and Chief Operating Officer in 2022 to accelerate their advancement as an industry leader in biologics development services. After a thorough search, the company hired a seasoned executive to lead their strategic business opportunities and joint ventures. Early in 2023, Wheeler Bio contacted Life Science Partner to repeat the search to better fulfill the needs of the company.

As a result of reconvening the search and in partnership with the Wheeler Bio Board, Life Science Partner recruited Stewart McNaull, PhD, former Vice President and Business Unit Head, Biologics and Vaccines for Resilience, to serve as Wheeler’s Senior Vice President, Chief Business Officer.

“With his extensive commercial experience in the CDMO industry, McNaull will have a tremendous impact on the establishment of Wheeler’s strategic alliances and sales channel development.”

Tom Callaway, MD, Founder of Life Science Partner.

While at Resilience, McNaull managed the business operations and strategy for the Biologics and Vaccines commercial franchise encompassing seven development and manufacturing sites worldwide. Leading the design and execution of the company’s network development and sales/marketing strategy, McNaull was successful in spear-heading rapid growth and expansion of the company’s Biologics and Vaccines business.

Prior to his role at Resilience, McNaull served as Senior Vice President, Business Development for KBI Biopharma where he had global responsibility for the company’s sales and marketing strategy. Earlier in his career, McNaull served in business development and scientific engineering leadership roles for Diosynth Biotechnologies and Bayer Biologics.

McNaull received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University and his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

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Behind the Scenes Discussion for Building Transformational Leadership with Life Science Partner Founder and Wheeler Bio CEO and COO.

Life Science Partner shares an inside conversation of their recruitment partnership with advanced biologics CDMO, Wheeler Bio.

In the fall of 2022, Jesse McCool, PhD, Founder and CEO and the Board of Directors of Wheeler Bio retained Life Science Partner to recruit their new President and Chief Operating Officer.  In partnership with Dr. McCool, Life Science Partner identified, qualified, and recruited Roger Lias, PhD, an industry veteran who was most recently Chief Operating Officer of Vibalogics.

Tom Callaway, MD, Founder of Life Science Partner, sat down with McCool and Lias to discuss Wheeler’s advancements in the Contract Development and Manufacturing Operation (CDMO) market and converse on the two sides of the candidate/client recruitment process.

Wheeler Bio continues their close relationship with Life Science Partner, having additionally recruited their Chief Development Officer, Brian Berquist, PhD, to accelerate their platform and emerge as a technological leader within the CDMO space.

Contact Life Science Partner to build out your transformational leadership team.

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Brian Berquist, PhD, Joins Wheeler Bio as Chief Development Officer

Life Science Partner announces the newest recruit for emerging CDMO:

Wheeler Bio, a CDMO, retained Life Science Partner to recruit their Chief Development Officer to lead their process development team and accelerate their platform as a technological leader within the CDMO space. Beginning in January 2023, Brian Berquist, PhD, will lead the team in Wheeler Bio’s newstate-of-the-art Oklahoma City facility, where they have revolutionized the speed of drug discovery and democratized the innovation-to-impact process.

Brian Berquist

Berquist’s solid scientific background and ability to problem-solve in an entrepreneurial environment makes him well-suited for the R&D and innovation advancements he will undertake at Wheeler Bio.

Tom Callaway, MD, Founder of Life Science Partner

In his new role as Chief Development Officer, Berquist will oversee operations including cell line development, cell culture process development, purification development, analytical development, and formulation development. He will serve as Wheeler Bio’s scientific subject-matter expert and will lead his team in the continuous improvement of advancing the company’s R&D and technology platforms.

Prior to joining Wheeler Bio, Berquist served as the Vice President of Process Development and Analytical Sciences for iBio CDMO where he directed the process development and analytical sciences divisions for both development and characterization of proprietary products and services. Earlier in his career, Berquist served in key scientific and research roles for Caliber Biotherapeutics and Texas A&M Health Science Center.

Berquist holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Massachusetts, and he earned his PhD in Molecular Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Maryland.

About Life Science Partner

Life Science Partner is a specialized executive search firm that recruits transformational leaders for healthcare and life sciences companies. Our high-touch, partner-led process ensures an exceptional level of service, while our backgrounds as physicians and industry executives enable us to efficiently deliver the brightest candidates in the medical device, biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and healthcare technology fields.

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Detra Glinatsis Joins Alloy Therapeutics as Vice President, Business Development and Sales

Life Science Partner announces the recruitment of Detra Glinatsis to lead Alloy Therapeutics’ enterprise sales growth within the CDMO industry.

Alloy Therapeutics retained Life Science Partner to recruit their Vice President, Business Development and Sales to manage and accelerate their growth in biologics development services. Through a community of over 100 partners and developers, Alloy seeks to democratize access to pre- competitive tools, technologies, services, and company creation capabilities that are foundational for discovering and developing therapeutic biologics.

Detra Glinatsis

Life Science Partner is pleased to announce that Detra Glinatsis, former Senior Director, Business Development from AGC Biologics with experience building and leading a sales organization, will lead Alloy Therapeutics sales team.

“As a resourceful self-starter with a talent for streamlining sales processes, Glinatsis will be an instrumental addition for supporting Alloy Therapeutics’ rapid growth within the CDMO space.”

Tom Callaway, MD, Founder of Life Science Partner

In her new role at Alloy, Glinatsis will lead a team to build out the company’s customer base and sales infrastructure. She will identify and manage strategic partnerships, alliances, and joint ventures to contribute to Alloy’s expansion within the market. Additionally, Glinatsis will have the responsibility to facilitate Alloy’s participation in industry events, creation of collateral materials, and marketing of Alloy’s position within the CDMO space.

Prior to joining Alloy, Glinatsis served in various global business development roles for CDMOs and pharmaceutical companies including AGC Biologics, Sartorius, Rentschler Biopharma, Inventiv Health and Patheon Biologics. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from the University of Akron.

About Life Science Partner

Life Science Partner is a specialized executive search firm that recruits transformational leaders for healthcare and life sciences companies. Our high-touch, partner-led process ensures an exceptional level of service, while our backgrounds as physicians and industry executives enable us to efficiently deliver the brightest candidates in the medical device, biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and healthcare technology fields.

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Roger Lias, PhD, Joins Wheeler Bio as President and Chief Operating Officer

Life Science Partner announces the recruitment of Roger Lias, PhD, to Wheeler Bio to advance their expansion as cutting-edge biologics CDMO.

Roger Lias Wheeler Bio

Wheeler Bio, a CDMO, retained Life Science Partner to recruit their President and Chief Operating Officer to accelerate their growth as an industry leader in biologics development services. With a new state-of-the-art Oklahoma City facility, Wheeler Bio has revolutionized the speed of drug discovery with their novel hub-and-spoke concept and Portable CMC® platform that fast-tracks the pathway to IND.

After a nationwide search campaign, Roger Lias, PhD, former Chief Commercial Officer of Vibalogics, was recruited by Life Science Partner to serve as Wheeler Bio’s President and Chief Operating Officer beginning in September 2022.

“Lias’ well-established credibility in the biopharma CDMO industry combined with his entrepreneurial leadership experience made him an absolute fit for growing Wheeler Bio into the global partner of choice for biological companies.”

Tom Callaway, MD, Founder of Life Science Partner

Lias will hit the ground running joining the Wheeler Bio team at the BioProcess International Conference in Boston this month, September 2022. In his new role Lias will be responsible for spearheading strategic business opportunities, alliances and joint ventures and will lead a scalable business operations team keeping Wheeler’s technology development and functions aligned with the corporate strategy as industry demand increases.

Prior to joining Wheeler Bio, Lias served as the Chief Commercial Officer for Vibalogics, a Private Equity-backed CDMO that was acquired by Recipharm AB in February, 2022.  He has an extensive track record of entrepreneurial successes including Stelis Biopharma, Avid Biosciences, Allergan, Eden Pharma, Cytovance and KBI Biopharma.

Lias holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physiology and Biochemistry from the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom. He earned his PhD from Clare College, University Cambridge.

About Life Science Partner

Life Science Partner is a specialized executive search firm that recruits transformational leaders for healthcare and life sciences companies. Our high-touch, partner-led process ensures an exceptional level of service, while our backgrounds as physicians and industry executives enable us to efficiently deliver the brightest candidates in the medical device, biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and healthcare technology fields.

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Stan Harris joins BioTissue – Vice President, Clinical Operations

Life Science Partner is pleased to announce the recruitment of Stan Harris as Vice President, Clinical Operations for BioTissue – the newly unified brand for TissueTech, Amniox, and Bio-Tissue.

BioTissue is an emerging biotechnology leader in utilizing the power of human birth tissue for regenerative healing to treat ocular surface disease and in surgical, chronic wound, and musculoskeletal applications.

Stan Harris

“For years, health care professionals have known our products—regardless of their specific applications—for providing mother nature’s most natural gift of healing so their patients can get back to the lives they love,” said Ted Davis, president, and CEO, BioTissue. “Our new, unified brand supports our entire pipeline of human birth tissue products to aid the treatment of wounds, musculoskeletal conditions, trauma-induced injuries, ocular surface disease, and burns.”

With nearly 40 years dedicated to the medical device industry and a focus on regulatory, quality, and clinical affairs, Harris brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the clinical operations team at BioTissue. The FDA and other global regulatory agencies are increasing the regulatory oversight of cell-derived therapies.  Harris will be responsible for developing and leading BioTissue’s clinical development with an emphasis in the ophthalmology, orthopedic and pain management indications.

Most recently Harris served as the Vice President, Regulatory, Clinical and Quality Affairs at Lifeline Scientific with previous clinical and regulatory roles at MiMedx, Integra Life Sciences, Ascension Orthopedics, and Wright Medical. “From his previous experience, Harris has direct relationships with key thought leaders in wound healing including excellent relations with the FDA, US, and European regulatory agencies for biological products,” states Tom Callaway, MD, MBA, Founder of Life Science Partner. “His experiences and enthusiasm will be ideal for BioTissue’s continued growth and product development.”

Harris earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Mercer University. He completed Graduate Studies in Biotechnologies from the Georgia Institute of Technology. 

About Life Science Partner Executive Search

Life Science Partner is a specialized executive search firm that recruits transformational leaders for healthcare and life sciences companies.

Our high-touch, partner-led process ensures an exceptional level of service, while our backgrounds in medicine, science, and industry enable us to efficiently deliver the brightest candidates in the medical device, biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and healthcare technology fields.

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Chad Kolean Joins Vivex Biologics as Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Life Science Partner is pleased to announce the recruitment of Chad Kolean as Vivex Biologics’ Chief Financial Officer.

Vivex Biologics is a leading regenerative medicine company that markets tissue technology products and cellular therapies focused on orthopaedic applications with an emphasis on spine related therapies. They have a diverse portfolio of current products including cellular bone matrices, amniotic tissue, general orthopaedics, and sports medicine products to meet the therapeutic demand in the areas of spine, dental, sport medicine, and wound care.

Chad Kolean

Vivex is preparing for its next stage of growth with the launch of its new product, VIA Disc. This product will be used for the treatment of Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD). As the company continues to grow in the spine and biologics industry, it sought a seasoned Chief Financial Officer who understood the landscape of this field.

Kolean previously served as the Chief Financial Officer of Titan Spine, a medical device surface technology company. One of his major milestones in preparing Titan for success was controlling and managing inventory and manufacturing challenges. His attitude helped put the company’s financial house in order.

He was also Chief Financial Officer of Cellectar Biosciences, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, where he restructured management and raised funds, which led to an uplisting on the NASDAQ Capital Market. Before that, Kolean served for Pioneer Surgical Technologies as their Chief Financial Officer. He was responsible for the financial aspects of leadership restructuring, development and execution, treasury, board support, investor relations, and operations.

Kolean’s arrival will provide tremendous guidance and leadership to Vivex Biologics as it prepares itself for the next stage of growth and development and the launch of a new product in the biologics space. By leveraging Kolean’s experience as a financial leader in the spine and orthopaedic industry, the company hopes for continued growth and preparation for a future financing event.  

About Life Science Partner

Life Science Partner is a specialized executive search firm that recruits transformational leaders for healthcare and life sciences companies.

Our high-touch, partner-led process ensures an exceptional level of service, while our backgrounds as physicians and industry executives enable us to efficiently deliver the brightest candidates in the medical device, biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and healthcare technology fields.

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Gail Farnan, MBA Joins Vivex Biologics as General Manager, Wound Care

Life Science Partner is pleased to announce the recruitment of Gail Farnan as General Manager, Wound Care for Vivex Biologics.

Vivex Biologics, a leading regenerative medicine company that markets tissue technology products and cellular therapies focused on orthopaedic applications with an emphasis on spine related therapies, has developed a diverse portfolio of current products including cellular bone matrices, amniotic tissue, general orthopaedic treatments, and sports medicine products to meet the therapeutic demand in the areas of spine, dental, sports medicine, and wound care. 

The company has a robust Wound Care division that supports their Cygnus products, amniotic derived regenerative allografts used for tissue regeneration and healing.

As the company continues to grow its wide array of therapies, it needed a strategic leader who could take charge of one of their franchises. The recruitment of Farnan as General Manager, Wound Care will bring highly focused branding campaigns for the company’s sales forces.

Gail Farnan

Farnan was the Global Director of Marketing at Medtronic where she guided business development activities for a minimally invasive circulatory support platform called CircuLite. She influenced the education and training of senior leadership on the CircuLite platforms and modeled new global opportunities using qualitative and quantitative market research.

Before Medtronic, she was the Vice President of Marketing at Abiomed where she implemented new marketing strategies for the launches of their Impella platform. She was pivotal in raising U.S. market awareness and presence for the company’s corporate acquisition. Prior to Abiomed, Farnan was the Director of Global Marketing for Novoste Corporation and a Product Marketing Manager at Johnson & Johnson’s Cordis Corporation.

Farnan is a registered nurse by training who developed into a business leader that transformed the marketing landscape of the companies in her wake. Her arrival to Vivex Biologics will improve the Wound Care division with new leadership, strategies and communication tools. With this, the company plans for continued progress in the biologics space.

About Life Science Partner

Life Science Partner is a specialized executive search firm that recruits transformational leaders for healthcare and life sciences companies. Our high-touch, partner-led process ensures an exceptional level of service, while our backgrounds as physicians and industry executives enable us to efficiently deliver the brightest candidates in the medical device, biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and healthcare technology fields.

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Ron Hebert Joins Vivex Biologics as Vice President, Marketing

Life Science Partner is pleased to announce the recruitment of Ron Hebert as Vivex Biologics’ Vice President of Marketing.

Vivex Biologics, a leading regenerative medicine company that markets tissue technology products and cellular therapies. They focus on orthopaedic applications with an emphasis on spine related therapies, and have developed a diverse portfolio of current products including cellular bone matrices, amniotic tissue, general orthopaedic treatments, and sports medicine products to meet the therapeutic demand in the areas of spine, dental, sports medicine, and wound care.

The next stage of the company’s growth is the launch of its new product, VIA Disc.

Ron Herbert

This viable allograft is delivered by a minimally invasive procedure and will be used for the treatment of Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD). As the company continues to grow in the spine and biologics space, it sought a talented Vice President, Marketing who could lead the branding campaigns and support the efforts of the geographic and product-focused sales forces.

Hebert was the Vice President, Marketing, Communications, and Growth Initiatives at MEDNAX, a physician-led healthcare organization that partners with hospitals and health systems to provide a wide range of clinical services. Coming into one of the largest physician-owned/operated national staffing companies, Hebert refocused the company strategy to the hospital-customer and provided them with proof of value. He also created programs that productized services such as women/children, anesthesia, and ENT/plastics specialists.

He also spent a majority of his marketing career at Beckman Coulter serving as Director of Global Strategic Marketing and Global Product Management and Strategy. Hebert’s notable accomplishment during his time here was being able to provide innovation within the traditional product portfolio of the hematology unit.

With the arrival of Hebert, Vivex will gain a marketing leader, an integrative thinker that focuses on the customer needs, a person with a demonstrated track record of successful product launches, and a strong communicator. By utilizing Hebert’s expertise in hospital-based marketing, Vivex Biologics hopes for continued growth of its new products and a skilled manager of its existing lines.

About Life Science Partner

Life Science Partner is a specialized executive search firm that recruits transformational leaders for healthcare and life sciences companies. Our high-touch, partner-led process ensures an exceptional level of service, while our backgrounds as physicians and industry executives enable us to efficiently deliver the brightest candidates in the medical device, biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and healthcare technology fields.

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Peter Wehrly Joins Vivex Biologics as Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Life Science Partner is pleased to announce the recruitment of Peter Wehrly as Chief Executive Officer with Vivex Biologics.

Vivex Biologics is a leading regenerative medicine company that markets tissue technology products and cellular therapies focused on orthopaedic applications with an emphasis on spine related therapies. They have a diverse portfolio of current products including cellular bone matrices, amniotic tissue, general orthopaedics, and sports medicine products to meet the therapeutic demand in the areas of spine, dental, sport medicine, and wound care. 

Peter Wehrly

Vivex is preparing for its next stage of growth with the launch of its VIA Disc product, a paradigm-changing treatment for Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD). As the company moves into the biologics space, it sought a seasoned Chief Executive to lead the company through its next stage of growth.

Wehrly is a leader in the spine and orthobiologics industries and will help lead Vivex Biologics’ expansion of their sales force and guide the company through continued growth. He is a strategic leader with a broad background in growth and operational efficiencies within public and private companies in the medical device industry. Prior to joining Vivex, Wehrly served as Chief Executive Officer with Synaptive Medical, where he led a global team launching the 2nd generation disruptive surgical robotic technology portfolio across North America, Western Europe, and Asia.

He was also Chief Executive at PQ Bypass, where he led a cross-functional team in gaining CE Mark for their Detour System, a technology designed to advance the treatment of long-segment peripheral artery disease, and approval to embark on their PMA trial in the US and Europe.

Previously, Wehrly served as Group President for Covidien where he turned around the Respiratory and Monitoring Solutions business and was later responsible for the Vascular Therapies business. Wehrly is a seasoned executive in the spine industry having led several divisions of Medtronic including Spinal and Biologics for 8 years. He played an integral role in their global market leadership positions and saw them grow from $500M to over $2.8B in compound annual growth rate.

Wehrly will play a pivotal role in helping Vivex Biologics during its next stage of growth and development as they launch a new product in the biologics space, leveraging his expertise in the spine industry and his commercial and operational strengths to ensure continued growth and preparation for a future financing event.

About Life Science Partner

Life Science Partner is a specialized executive search firm that recruits transformational leaders for healthcare and life sciences companies. Our high-touch, partner-led process ensures an exceptional level of service, while our backgrounds as physicians and industry executives enable us to efficiently deliver the brightest candidates in the medical device, biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and healthcare technology fields.

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