Tag Archive for: Chief Executive

PrognostiX Board Welcomes Dr. Vijay Aggarwal

Life Science Partner recruits industry veteran to board of directors for emerging cardiovascular diagnostics firm

Life Science Partner announces the placement of Vijay Aggarwal, Ph.D., as a member of the board of directors for PrognostiX, Inc. Basing its work largely on research from The Cleveland Clinic, PrognostiX focuses on the role of inflammatory processes in cardiovascular, respiratory, and other disease areas.

“Early-stage companies like PrognostiX can really benefit from the advice and guidance of marketplace veterans,” says Thomas H. Callaway, Life Science Partner’s founder and president. “Vijay is an entrepreneurial CEO with an impressive history at market-leading clinical lab companies. He knows the diagnostic testing business, so we’re pleased that we were able to connect Vijay with PrognostiX’s board.”

Dr. Aggarwal is a seasoned executive who has held senior-level positions in the diagnostic lab sector as well as in pharmaceutical and medical device development. He agreed to join the board based on his assessment of PrognostiX’s core platform of laboratory tests, which show promise in enhancing cardiovascular diagnoses. He is currently CEO and president of Aureon Biosciences, which is developing pathology technologies that predict individual clinical outcomes by analyzing tissue.

Prior to Aureon, Dr. Aggarwal was president at aaiPharma. In addition to leading all research and development activities for this specialty pharmaceutical company, he was responsible for a $100 million contract product development business that served start-up, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies.

With Quest Diagnostics, as president of Quest Diagnostic Ventures, Dr. Aggarwal oversaw e-commerce strategy, pharmaceutical clinical trials, medical diagnostic equipment, medical informatics, point-of-care testing and other high-growth opportunities. He also held P&L responsibility for an existing product portfolio and headed the lab operations integration team during the merger between Quest and SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories (SBCL).

With SBCL for more than a decade, Dr. Aggarwal rose from his position as a regional technical director to vice president and director of U.S. laboratories, with responsibility over $1.2 billion in sales.

Dr. Aggarwal has also consulted in the areas of e-prescribing, pharmacogenomics, healthcare informatics, clinical diagnostics and technology licensing for companies such as WebMD, Genomic Health, InstantDX, and Plexus Ventures.

Dr. Aggarwal holds a doctorate in pharmacology and toxicology from Virginia Commonwealth University, Medical College of Virginia Campus, and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Case Western Reserve University.

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Shelley Hartman Tapped To Lead GMP Companies

Life Science Partner places healthcare industry strategist and investment banker to guide medical device company.

Life Science Partner announces the placement of Shelley Hartman as president and chief executive officer for GMP Companies, Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In addition to her overall responsibilities for global strategy, finance, and operations, Hartman will direct GMP Companies’ continued expansion and transformation toward a greater emphasis on commercialization of its innovative products. GMP Companies’ pharmaceutical, diagnostic and medical device technologies help treat medical conditions including diabetes, glaucoma, genetic diseases, cardiovascular diseases, immunologic diseases, cancer and neurological disorders.

“Shelley will be able to put her broad talents and knowledge of the industry to great use for a company with such farreaching complexity like GMP,” says Thomas H. Callaway, Life Science Partner’s founder and president. “As a financier who has worked with some of the biggest names in the medical device and healthcare services fields, she’ll impact GMP’s strategic partnership portfolio and commercialization efforts.”

Hartman is an experienced investment banker with a background in corporate strategy and mergers and acquisitions.

Before joining GMP Companies, Hartman was vice president and managing director of Goldman Sachs’ medical technology investment banking division, a group she created to serve both emerging and established medical device companies. Also at Goldman Sachs, Hartman held the same title at the healthcare services division. In these roles, she
has helped senior executive teams define strategy at some of the nation’s largest healthcare companies.

Hartman began her career at First Boston, where she held several positions, including vice president of the mergers and acquisitions division in the firm’s healthcare division.

Hartman is a graduate of Wellesley College, with a degree in economics and math.

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Adherex Selects Brian Huber As Chief Scientific Officer

Life Science Partner connects accomplished research executive with cancer therapeutics company

Life Science Partner announces the placement of Brian E. Huber, Ph.D., as chief scientific officer (CSO) at Adherex Technologies, Inc., in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. As CSO, Huber will lead a 20-person research and development team focused on the preclinical development of compounds.

He and his team will provide scientific intelligence and guide decisions about potential clinical effectiveness and regulatory strategies. A biopharmaceutical company, Adherex discovers and develops cancer therapeutics through its pioneering platform for tumor vascular targeting.

“Brian’s a prime example of a scientist who thrived after his original transition from academia. In the ’90s, he was at Glaxo, which was known for its modern, innovative research organization,” says Thomas H. Callaway, Life Science Partner’s founder and president. “During that time, he demonstrated great entrepreneurial instincts and an ability to build high-performance drug development infrastructures. Adherex’s broad oncology pipeline should benefit from his work.”

A successful manager, Huber has managed multiple departments and large staffs at one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. As a researcher who has secured many patents, he has contributed extensively to the literature and has frequently lectured at and organized symposia.

Huber comes to Adherex from GlaxoSmithKline where, most recently, he held the position of vice president of biology and pharmacology drug discovery. In this role, he was accountable for seven departments with total staff numbering 170, held therapeutic responsibility in more than a dozen areas, managed the portfolio from strategy through target selection and preclinical development, and chaired both joint ventures and major strategic alliances.

Under Glaxo Wellcome, he was director, and more recently vice president of the division of pharmacology with responsibility for the departments of cancer biology, rheumatic diseases, the metabolic diseases and virology.

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Sandy White to Lead Technology Transfer for UAB Research

Life Science Partner places pharma and business development veteran to champion commercialization at Birmingham’s nationally-acclaimed research center.

Life Science Partner announces the placement of William S. “Sandy” White as chief executive officer at the UAB Research Foundation at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). White will guide patenting, commercializing and licensing efforts for products and technologies developed by UAB and Southern Research Institute faculty and staff.

The UAB Research Foundation, established in 1987, identifies, assesses, protects, and markets intellectual property developed at the nationally-renowned UAB medical research center and at Southern Research, an affiliated not-for-profit drug discovery and technology development organization.

“Sandy has extraordinary experience in both the commercialization of technology from the pharmaceutical industry and in regional, high-tech development,” says Life Science Partner Founder and President Thomas H. Callaway. “This unique combination of entrepreneurial talents suits him well for the partnering work and economic outreach he’ll be asked to undertake as a champion of the biosciences community in Alabama.”

An accomplished biotech corporate leader and MBA with degrees in pharmacy and biology, White moves to UAB from his role as president and CEO at the Columbus Technology Council. At this non-profit organization that fosters growth in central Ohio’s high technology sector, White oversaw ongoing operations, an organizational merger, and the development and adoption of overall technology commercialization plan including venture capital, incubators, research parks and basic academic research.

As an independent consultant, White provided business development and management consulting services. He also served the University of Georgia’s first Venture Fellow, assisting and promoting the development of early-stage companies at the University.

White also previously served as president, CEO and director at BioCache Pharmaceuticals, an early-stage biotechnology company focused on development and commercialization, as it sought to grow from an academic setting with a basic research approach into a commercially driven entity.

Until shortly after the Monsanto-Pharmacia merger, White was president and business leader for Integrated Protein Technologies, a unit responsible for creating and developing new pharmaceutical-based businesses within the corporation. White held responsibility over the technical and commercial evaluation of business opportunities in the earliest stages of development for this enterprise held up as exemplary in Monsanto’s efforts to advance global healthcare.

While vice president of commercial development and planning for pharmaceutical R&D at the Storz Ophthalmics division of American Home Products Company, White managed development and marketing research for both pharmaceuticals and devices at this $250 million organization.

White was director of business development at a Boehringer Ingelheim subsidiary, Clinical Research Foundation, a clinical research organization for which he developed the initial business plan. At Adria Laboratories, a pharmaceutical company focused primarily on oncology, he served as manager of new business development and licensing. White began his career as a manager of regulatory affairs and, later, new product planning at A.H. Robins.

White holds a bachelor’s in biology from the University of Virginia and a bachelor’s in pharmacy from the Medical College of Virginia. He earned an MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Life Science Partner’s high-quality executive and scientific recruiting services target the very specific needs of life sciences and healthcare organizations. We identify and recruit the brightest talent in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device and healthcare services fields.

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Dennis W. Harris Joins Serologicals Executive Team as Vice President

To build Serologicals’ product portfolio, Life Science Partner recruits former Amersham Biotech head of North American R&D, global genomics.

Life Science Partner announces the placement of Dennis W. Harris as vice president of research and development/business development and chief scientific officer at Serologicals Corporation in Norcross, Georgia.

With the move, Harris becomes the senior leader in strategic planning for overall product portfolio expansion as well as identification and development of new product opportunities. Serologicals is a global provider of products and technologies for the development and manufacture of biologically based products. The company competes in three primary areas: specialty cell culture supplements, life science reagents, and diagnostic antibodies.

“In Harris, Serologicals welcomes just the right talent for their product development efforts,” says Life Science Partner Founder and President Thomas H. Callaway. “Harris is a leader in creating integrated systems for genomics and the discovery sciences. And he’s a proven R&D manager at the global level as well.”

Throughout his 22-year career, Harris has demonstrated both a keen scientific awareness and an aptitude for successfully managing research and development projects in the molecular biology industry. In his dual role as vice president of research and development for North America and genomics at Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, for example, Harris led an organization with 220 scientists and engineers while maintaining strategic responsibility for genomics research worldwide, among other duties.

Harris comes to Serologicals most recently from Vitra Bioscience, where he served as executive vice president of research and development. At Vitra, Harris held primary responsibility for automating and integrating cellular assays with engineering software for higher throughput as well as cultivating relationships with top pharmaceutical companies.

As senior vice president for ACLARA BioSciences, a developer of technologies for gene and protein analysis, he directed the company’s R&D program and was heavily involved in strategic development. Later, Harris led system integration and business development efforts at ACLARA BioSciences, in which capacity he closed the company’s largest deal.

Harris launched his career as a development scientist with Amersham in 1982. As life sciences research program manager, based in England, he later led a team of scientists funded by the European Economic Community to develop automated systems for DNA sequencing, template preparation and related methodologies. More recently, while senior program manager at Molecular Dynamics (later acquired by Amersham), he directed the development and launch of the MegaBACE 1000 DNA Sequencing System. In this role, he provided technical and strategic direction while managing engineering, software, applications, reagent development, and marketing. He was then promoted to vice president of research and development for North America and genomics, a position he held for three years.

Harris holds a doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.

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Greg Vaughn Selected To Lead Key Business Unit For Medtronic Sofamor Danek

Life Science Partner places business-savvy surgeon to manage promising new interventional spine therapy division.

Life Science Partner announces the placement of Gregory J. Vaughn, MD, as general manager of the new interventional spine business unit, at Medtronic Sofamor Danek, a subsidiary of Medtronic.

In his new role for the early-stage spinal therapy division, Dr. Vaughn assumes leadership over strategic planning, technology and competitive assessment, operations, research and development, sales and marketing, and finance. Medtronic Sofamor Danek develops and manufactures a variety of products for use in treating spinal and cranial disorders.


“Greg’s accomplishments make him an excellent choice to grow this high-potential division within a well established medical products company,” says Thomas H. Callaway, Life Science Partner’s founder and president. “His clinical knowledge as a surgeon and his experience in organizational performance will help him lead this division in pursuing
innovative therapies for spinal health and reconstruction.”


With Dr. Vaughn’s arrival at one of Medtronic Sofamor Danek’s key new business units, the company gains an informed, strategic thinker with exceptional collaborative and organizational talents. And Dr. Vaughn’s experience as a maxillofacial and ophthalmic surgeon lends him a deeper understanding of the medical community’s concerns.


Dr. Vaughn comes to Medtronic Sofamor Danek from NDCHealth, where, as vice president and general manager for the company’s point-of-service pharmacy information systems division, he oversaw a $100-million-revenue business and more than 200 managers in four locations. He was originally recruited to NDCHealth as vice president of strategy and planning. In that capacity, he guided the chief executive and the board through the development of a five-year corporate plan.


With McKinsey & Company as engagement manager, he led a range of cross-industry business consulting projects for clients such as Wake Forest University, Duke University, Skanska and CIBA Vision/Novartis. His assignments included organizational efficiency improvement at Wake’s technology transfer office, supply chain cost reduction for Duke, talent identification and retention for Skanska, and strategic integration plans for CIBA Vision.

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HealthSouth Selects Diane Munson as Divisional President

Life Science Partner placement brings a broad portfolio of business management and leadership skills to outpatient rehabilitation division

Life Science Partner announces the placement of Diane L. Munson as president of the outpatient rehabilitation division at Birmingham-based HealthSouth. In this role, Munson will lead a team of senior executives that oversees a 6,700-employee division with approximately 1,000 facilities and $620 million in revenue. Munson will direct the group’s senior leadership; guide strategic planning; strengthen operations, sales and marketing; and maintain general business practices and financial standards.

HealthSouth is the nation’s largest provider of rehabilitative health care and outpatient surgery services with nearly 1,700 facilities worldwide and projected 2004 revenues of $4.3 billion.

“Two of the common threads throughout Diane’s career have been team-building and integrity,” says Life Science Partner Founder and President Thomas H. Callaway. “She’s been able to assemble the people and resources necessary to grow into new markets profitably or bring underperforming organizations back to life. And she has cultivated a management style as a straightforward communicator who finds ways to inspire. These will be valuable tools in running an organization with the scale and prestige of HealthSouth’s rehabilitation business.”

Munson brings to HealthSouth the financial perspective of an organizational leader and the clinical background of a former nurse. Her varied accomplishments in diverse healthcare fields span management strategy, new business development, corporate turnaround projects, quality programs and more.

Munson comes to HealthSouth from Beverly Enterprises, an eldercare and rehabilitation services provider with $2 billion in revenues. At Beverly, she led the corporate quality and clinical management program as senior vice president of professional services. She also managed the successful turnaround and sale of a homecare subsidiary as its vice president and general manager.

Munson has served as president and CEO of Fluidsense, an IV infusion pump and software company. And as senior vice president of healthcare services for Inlight, an e-health company focused on prescriptive patient education and healthcare resource management, she directed national sales, sales operations and product launch initiatives.

With Caremark International, Munson held several titles. While corporate vice president for physician services, she was a member of the senior management team and held profit-and-loss responsibility for the physician practice business’ 15,000 employees and $1 billion budget. Munson grew the business aggressively through acquisition and expansion, increasing revenues from $130 million to $1 billion in three years—while reducing operating costs by $40 million. Munson was also president of Caremark Homecare, whose more than 1,000 employees provided intravenous treatment and services for patients with AIDS, cancer, kidney disease or digestive disorders.

After a 12-year career at Baxter International, Munson left the company as president of the general healthcare division. While president, Munson introduced alternate site sales and distribution strategies to reach $120 million in sales across the physician, long-term care, homecare and veterinary markets. During this time, the group reversed a negative sales trend to post double-digit profitability growth.

Munson has an undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and an associate’s nursing degree from Prairie State College.

Life Science Partner’s high-quality executive and scientific recruiting services target the very specific needs of life sciences and healthcare organizations. We identify and recruit the brightest talent in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device and healthcare services fields.

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Life Science Partner Announces Placement of Sherer at Emory University

Life Science Partner announces the placement of Todd T. Sherer as director of the Office of Technology Transfer and assistant vice president for research at Emory University in Atlanta. Sherer will be responsible for patenting, commercializing and licensing healthcare and technologies developed by Emory University faculty.

Most recently director of technology and research collaborations at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Sherer managed an annual operating budget of more than $1.8 million.

Sherer previously directed the Office of Technology Transfer at the University of Oregon in Eugene. He held several different positions focusing on intellectual property and research at Washington State University in Pullman, where he also served as adjunct assistant professor at the College of Pharmacy.

Sherer holds a doctorate from Washington State University and a bachelor of science from Oregon State University.

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Life Science Partner Announces Placement of Hadland at Medtronic Vascular

Life Science Partner announces the placement of Chris Hadland as vice president, quality with Medtronic Vascular in Santa Rosa, California. At this new position, Hadland will establish operational and quality standards, including developing departmental standards programs, defining performance metrics and audit guidelines, measuring the quality program’s impact, and preparing for potential audits.

Hadland was most recently vice president, operations and quality for Timm Medical Technologies. Previously, Hadland was director of quality and regulatory affairs for the Alternate Care Division of Nellcor Puritan Bennett, where he held several positions. Prior to Nellcor, Hadland worked in quality control and assurance for American Medical Systems and Schneider USA.

Hadland, who lives in Minneapolis, earned degrees in chemistry and chemical engineering from St. Olaf College and the University of Minnesota. He also holds an MBA from the College of St. Thomas.

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