P. Schaefer Price is a member of our board of directors and is our President and Chief Executive Officer and has been with Pharmasset since June 2004. From September 2002 to June 2004, Mr. Price served as an Executive in Residence at Bay City Capital, a venture capital firm for which he provided advice to portfolio companies and assisted with due diligence for investment opportunities. From July 2001 until September 2002, Mr. Price served as Managing Director of Lakeshore Bioventures, a lifescience merchant bank. From January 1997 until July 2001, Mr. Price was the President of PowderJect Vaccines, the vaccine subsidiary of PowderJect Pharmaceuticals PLC. Under his leadership, PowderJect's vaccine business grew from a small research group into the world's sixth largest vaccine company prior to its acquisition by Chiron Corporation. Mr. Price has also served as a Vice President at the merchant bank of Burrill & Craves and Assistant to the President at Berlex Biosciences. Mr. Price received a B.S. in Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin—Madison and an M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota.
Kurt Leutzinger, C.P.A., M.B.A.
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Kurt Leutzinger is our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and has been with Pharmasset since January 2005. From January 2004 to January 2005, Mr. Leutzinger was a consultant to Abgenix, Inc., a Nasdaq-listed biotechnology company. From July 1997 to January 2004, Mr. Leutzinger was the Chief Financial Officer of Abgenix, where he was responsible for financings, acquisitions, investor relations, financial reporting and financial analysis. From 1987 to 1997, Mr. Leutzinger was a private equity portfolio manager for General Electric Investments concentrating on early-stage investments in medical devices and biotechnology. Mr. Leutzinger's prior experience includes Mergers & Acquisitions at Primerica and public accounting at Arthur Anderson & Co. Mr. Leutzinger is a C.P.A., and received a B.A. from Fairleigh Dickinson University and an M.B.A. from New York University.
Michael J. Otto, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Michael J. Otto, Ph.D. is our Chief Scientific Officer and has been with Pharmasset since November 1999. From February 1998 to September 1999, Dr. Otto was an Associate Director of Anti-Infectives Clinical Research at Rh™ne-Poulenc Rorer, where he was responsible for providing clinical development support for antiviral and antibacterial compounds. From 1994 to 1997, Dr. Otto served as the Vice President for Research and Development at Avid Therapeutics until its acquisition by Triangle Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Otto previously held positions at DuPont-Merck, DuPont and Sterling Drug. Dr. Otto serves as the U.S. editor for Antiviral Chemistry & Chemotherapy . Dr. Otto is an author of more than 60 scientific publications and a named inventor on 6 patents and patent applications. Dr. Otto received a B.S. from Loyola University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in Medical Microbiology from The Medical College of Wisconsin.
Michael D. Rogers, Ph.D.
Chief Development Officer
Michael D. Rogers, Ph.D. is our Chief Development Officer and he joined Pharmasset in October 2007. Previously, Dr. Rogers was at GlaxoSmithKline, where he most recently served as Vice President, Division of Viral Diseases, responsible for antiviral discovery activities directed toward human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) indications. Dr. Rogers has over 23 years of industry experience and has participated in all phases of antiviral and anti-infective drug development, including discovery, preclinical development, and phase 1, 2, 3 and 3b/4 clinical development programs.
During his career, he has led multinational development teams from discovery to marketing and has a successful product development record, including Lexiva and the approvals for Agenerase, Mepron and Malarone.
Dr. Rogers received his doctorate in medical parasitology and a Master of Public Health degree in medical microbiology from the University of North Carolina. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical microbiology at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
Patrick T. Higgins, M.B.A
Executive Vice President, Marketing & Sales
Patrick Higgins is our Executive Vice President, Marketing & Sales and has been with Pharmasset since November 2007. Mr. Higgins is responsible for coordinating the global product launch and marketing activities for Pharmasset's drug candidates. Mr. Higgins was recently Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Virology at Hoffmann-LaRoche, Inc. His areas of expertise include hepatology, HIV and cytomegalovirus for transplant patients. Mr. Higgins was responsible for directing the development and implementation of marketing and sales plans for Roche's US hepatology franchise, including the global launch of Pegasys® and Copegus® for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection. Mr. Higgins has over 25 years of pharmaceutical industry sales and marketing experience. Throughout his career, he has participated in a total of 13 product launches for antiviral, oncology, dermatologic and allergy indications. Prior to joining Roche, Mr. Higgins served in a variety of advertising, sales and marketing roles at Schering Corporation. He was instrumental in developing Schering's Oncology/Biotech group that launched Intron-A® (interferon alfa-2b) for the treatment of chronic hepatitis. Mr. Higgins received his M.B.A. from Seton Hall University and his Bachelor of Arts from Villanova University.
Abel De La Rosa, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Business Development & Scientific Affairs
Abel De La Rosa, Ph.D. is our Senior Vice President, Business Development & Scientific Affairs and has been with Pharmasset since December 2002. From February 2000 to December 2002, Dr. De La Rosa held both scientific and business positions at Visible Genetics Inc., including Vice President of Development and Director of Strategic Marketing and Latin American Business. He was responsible for the development, transfer and improvement of products, including TRUGENE HIV-1 v1.0 Genotyping Test ® and other sequencing-based assays for HCV and HBV. Dr. De La Rosa previously held positions at Innogenetics, Inc., Boston Biomedica, Inc., and Digene Corp. Prior to joining Digene, he completed two NIH Post-Doctoral Fellowships at the National Cancer Institute, an IRTA Fellowship in the Laboratory of Pathology and a Fogarty Fellowship in the Laboratory of Biochemistry. He is an inventor and author on several U.S. patents and publications relating to molecular diagnostic methods and techniques for infectious diseases and cancer. Dr. De La Rosa is a member of the board of directors of Research Think Tank, Inc., a privately owned infectious disease diagnostic and clinical research laboratory, and BioSouth, Inc., a company dedicated to the advancement of southern U.S. biosciences. Dr. De La Rosa received a B.A. in Microbiology from the University of California, San Diego, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Microbiology from Miami University.
M. Michelle Berrey, M.D., M.P.H
Vice President, Clinical Development and Chief Medical Officer
M. Michelle Berrey, M.D. is our Vice President, Clinical Development and Chief Medical Officer and has been with Pharmasset since January 2007. From August 1999 to January 2007, Dr. Berrey served as Vice President, Viral Diseases, Clinical Pharmacology & Discovery Medicine at GlaxoSmithKline. Dr. Berrey's experience includes the design, early development, medical governance, clinical strategy and product life cycle management for antiviral products, and she has simultaneously managed multiple clinical trials across all phases of development. Dr. Berrey was most recently responsible for the early development and clinical strategy of Phase 1-2a studies for new targets against HIV, hepatitis viruses and hepatic fibrosis at GlaxoSmithKline. Dr. Berrey received a Master of Public Health from Emory University, and she received her M.D. from the Medical College of Georgia. She completed her Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and she was a Senior Fellow in Infectious Disease Medicine at the University of Washington, Seattle, where she conducted research in HIV transmission and acute HIV infection.
Darryl Cleary, Ph.D.
Vice President, Manufacturing
Darryl Cleary, Ph.D. is our Vice President, Manufacturing and has been with Pharmasset since August 2005. Dr. Cleary was a consultant to the company from July 2004 to August 2005. From July 2001 to August 2004, Dr. Cleary was a manufacturing consultant for several pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Cleary was at Triangle Pharmaceuticals from 1996 to July 2001, prior to its acquisition by Gilead Sciences, where he was responsible for the oversight of large-scale production of nucleoside analogs such as emtricitabine, coactinon, and amdoxovir (DAPD). From 1988 to 1996, Dr. Cleary held a variety of chemical synthesis, process improvement, and large-scale manufacturing positions with Glaxo Wellcome and Burroughs Wellcome. Dr. Cleary has been focused on the development of chemical intermediates, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and drug products for antiviral therapeutics. Dr. Cleary received a B.A. in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of South Carolina.
Phillip A. Furman, Ph.D.
Vice President, Biological Sciences
Phillip A. Furman, Ph.D. is our Vice President, Biological Sciences and has been with Pharmasset since February 2004. From October 2001 to February 2004, Dr. Furman was a consultant for Bukwang Pharm. Co., Ltd. and other organizations. Prior to joining Pharmasset, Dr. Furman was a co-founder and the Chief Scientific Officer of Triangle Pharmaceuticals, an antiviral drug discovery and development company, which was acquired by Gilead Sciences. While at Triangle from 1995 to October 2001, he oversaw the activities of the virology group and reviewed antiviral and anticancer licensing candidates. During his 20-plus year tenure in drug discovery and development with Burroughs Wellcome, most recently as the Director of the Division of Virology from 1989 to 1995, Dr. Furman was a co-inventor of the use of Retrovir for the treatment of HIV and Epivir for the treatment of HBV. He has also been involved in the clinical development of numerous antiviral agents, including Zovirax (acyclovir), Retrovir, Emtriva, Ziagen, Agenerase (amprenavir) and Viroptic (trifluridine). Dr. Furman is an author of over 80 scientific publications, and he is named as an inventor on more than 20 patents. Dr. Furman received a B.S. in Biology and Chemistry from Piedmont College, an M.A. in Microbiology from the University of South Florida, and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from Tulane University.
Kevin A. Kucharski
Vice President, Clinical Operations
Kevin A. Kucharski is our Vice President, Clinical Operations and has been with Pharmasset since November 2007. Mr. Kucharski has 21 years of pharmaceutical clinical research and operations experience. From July 2003 to October 2007, he served as Senior Director, Clinical Operations at ALTANA Pharma-US, where his team of 65 clinical professionals had responsibility for the execution of the division's respiratory and gastrointestinal clinical programs. From October 1991 to July 2003, Mr. Kucharski was at Schering-Plough Research Institute, where he held positions of increasing responsibility within the anti-infectives therapy team, and he began his career in clinical research with Ciba-Geigy Pharmaceuticals from July 1987 to October 1991. Mr. Kucharski has a B.S. in Biology Research from the University of Scranton.
Mark W. Meester, C.P.A.
Vice President, Accounting & Administration
Mark W. Meester is our Vice President, Accounting & Administration and has been with Pharmasset since January 2005. From July 2003 to January 2005, Mr. Meester served as the Director of Operations for Mirus Bio Corporation. From June 2002 to July 2003, Mr. Meester was a consultant to PowderJect Vaccines and other organizations. From 1997 to May 2002, he was the Vice President of Finance & Administration at PowderJect Vaccines, where he was responsible for accounting, human resources, information technology, purchasing and facilities. Mr. Meester is a C.P.A. and he received a B.S. in Accounting and Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Alan S. Roemer is our Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications and has been with Pharmasset since July 1999. Mr. Roemer served as our Vice President, Finance & Investor Relations from August 2004 through December 2006 and our Vice President, Business Development & General Manager from July 1999 through July 2004. Prior to joining Pharmasset, Mr. Roemer was a healthcare consultant for Booz-Allen & Hamilton and Deloitte Consulting, and he also held various operational roles at Bank of America. From January 2001 through December 2005, Mr. Roemer served as Director and Membership Chair for the Georgia Biomedical Partnership and, from January 2003 through December 2005, he served as a Member of the Board of Advisors for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Roemer received a B.S. in Business Administration from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. and Master of Public Health degrees from Emory University's Goizueta Business School and Rollins School of Public Health.
Michael J. Sofia, Ph.D.
Vice President, Chemistry
Michael J. Sofia, Ph.D. is our Vice President, Chemistry and has been with Pharmasset since August 2005. From June 1999 to August 2005, Dr. Sofia was at Bristol-Myers Squibb as Group Director, New Leads Chemistry. Dr. Sofia has over 18 years of drug discovery and 11 years of research management experience at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Transcell Technologies and Eli Lilly. At Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dr. Sofia led high throughput chemistry capabilities that supported drug discovery efforts across six therapeutic areas, including virology, cardiovascular, metabolic diseases, oncology, inflammatory diseases and neuroscience, and he had global responsibility for lead generation chemistry capabilities. From 1993 to 1999, Dr. Sofia established and directed the chemical research programs at Transcell Technologies, which focused on the discovery of novel antibacterial agents. At Eli Lilly, Dr. Sofia developed anti-inflammatory agents for the treatment of asthma, inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis. Dr. Sofia is an author on 59 scientific publications and an inventor on 18 patents. Dr. Sofia received a B.A. in Chemistry from Cornell University and his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and was an NIH postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University.
William T. Symonds III, Pharm.D.
Vice President, Clinical Pharmacology
William T. Symonds III, Pharm.D. is our Vice President, Clinical Pharmacology and has been with Pharmasset since January 2007. From May 1993 to January 2007, Dr. Symonds served in positions of increasing responsibility at GlaxoSmithKline, most recently as Director, Antiviral Clinical Pharmacology & Discovery Medicine. Dr. Symonds has clinical pharmacology and late-phase clinical research experience in anti-infective and antiviral drug development, including international drug development and medical project management from Phases 1 to 4. He contributed to regulatory filings for several marketed antiviral compounds and was most recently involved in the early phase development of several antiviral programs. Dr. Symonds received his Doctorate of Pharmacy from Campbell University in North Carolina, and he completed a Fellowship in Clinical Pharmacokinetics focusing on anti-infective pharmacology at the Clinical Pharmacokinetics Laboratory at Millard Fillmore Hospital in Buffalo, New York.
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