Kenneth Kelley, M.B.A. | Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Kelley co-founded PaxVax in early 2007 and serves as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman. Mr. Kelley brings to PaxVax thirty years of experience in biotechnology (IntraBiotics, Integrated Genetics), venture capital (K2 BioVentures, Latterell Venture Partners, Institutional Venture Partners), and strategic management (McKinsey & Company). During his career, Mr. Kelley has funded 36 early stage biotechnology and medical device companies, fifteen of which became public. As founder/CEO and Chairman of IntraBiotics Pharmaceuticals, Inc., he raised over $200M and took the company public in 2000 (NASDAQ: IBPI). Mr. Kelley also serves as Chairman of the Board for Halozyme (NASDAQ: HALO) and Fluxion Biosystems. Mr. Kelley earned an M.B.A. from Stanford University and a B.A. in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard University.
Nima Farzan | Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Nima Farzan joined PaxVax in September of 2011 as EVP and Chief Operating Officer. Nima joined PaxVax from Novartis AG where he spent over seven years in a number of positions of increasing responsibility including pharmaceutical marketing, sales and development in both global and US positions. Most recently, he had been the Vice President of Marketing for Novartis Vaccines USA where he was responsible for marketing, market access, pricing and key account sales and helped launch multiple new vaccines. Prior to Novartis, Nima worked at DoubleTwist, Inc. a genomics company and was a consultant at The Boston Consulting Group. He has his MBA from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree in Human Biology from Stanford University
Marc Gurwith, M.D., J.D. | Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Gurwith has served as Chief Medical Officer at PaxVax since 2007. During his thirty years in industry at major pharmaceutical companies (Boehringer Mannheim, Wyeth-Ayerst) and biotechnology companies (Vaxgen, Genelabs, and Sequus), Dr. Gurwith has directed the clinical development of 20 therapeutic drug candidates in the areas of infectious diseases, cardiovascular, cancer, inflammation, and metabolic disorders. He played a pivotal role in the regulatory submissions in the U.S. and Europe, ultimately securing the approval of four new agents: RotaShield® (vaccine), Amphocil® (antibiotic), Demadex® (antihypertensive), and Retavase® (cardiovascular). Dr. Gurwith has authored 95 publications and served as a reviewer for several prestigious peer-reviewed journals; such as The Journal of Infectious Diseases and The Journal of American Medical Association. Dr. Gurwith has an M.D. from Harvard University, Board certifications in internal medicine, infectious diseases and microbiology, and a J.D. degree from Temple University School of Law.
Thomas P. Monath, M.D. | Chief Technology Officer
Dr. Monath has devoted his nearly 30-year career to the fight against infectious disease through his work in the military, corporate, academic and investment sectors. In addition to his role at PaxVax, Dr. Monath is a Partner in the Pandemic and Biodefense Fund at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. He is also Adjunct Professor at Harvard School of Public Health. From 1992 to 2006, Dr. Monath was Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Director at Acambis, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, where he pioneered the development of ChimeriVax® vaccines against dengue, West Nile, Japanese encephalitis, as well as vaccines against yellow fever, Clostridium difficile, Helicobacter pylori and smallpox. In 1992, Dr. Monath retired as a U.S. Army colonel following 24 years in the uniformed services. From 1973 to 1988, he served as director of the Division of Vector-Borne Viral Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control; and from 1989 to 1992, he served as chief of the Virology Division, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Dr. Monath earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and M.D. from Harvard Medical School and trained in internal medicine at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Boston.
Jonathan F. Smith, Ph.D. | Executive Vice President & Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Smith is a pioneer in the development of novel vaccines and vaccine vector systems derived from RNA viruses with more than 25 years of experience in virology, infectious diseases, immunology, and vaccine development. He joined PaxVax from Liquidia, where he was the company’s Chief Scientific Officer, responsible for overseeing research and development programs applying the company’s novel nanoparticle technology to vaccines and other applications. Prior to joining Liquidia in 2010, Dr. Smith was a co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of AlphaVax, a biotechnology company focused on developing RNA replicon vaccines for infectious diseases, biodefense, and cancer. Prior to his 10 years at AlphaVax, Dr. Smith was a faculty member in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Maryland Medical School and Chief of Viral Biology at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Dr. Smith received his B.A. from Colby College and his Ph.D. in microbiology/virology from the University of Texas at Austin.
Deborah Mosca, Ph.D. | Vice President, Project Management
Dr. Mosca joined PaxVax in January 2008 as Vice President, Project Management. Prior to joining PaxVax, Dr. Mosca was responsible for Project Management at The Scripps Research Institute where she coordinated efforts for the IBM-TSRI Consortium for Project Checkmate (a proactive approach to avian flu) and the Stem Cell Consortium with UCSD, Salk, and Burnham institutes. As head of Business Development for Scripps Florida, Dr. Mosca coordinated the technology section for a multi-institutional grant on clinical and translational science, negotiated terms contracts and collaborations, and facilitated development of new enterprises through licensing activities. During her previous 27 years in large pharma (Lederle) and biotech (IntraBiotics, Elitra and Nereus), Dr. Mosca led the discovery and development of novel therapeutics for infectious diseases, oncology, and inflammation assisting with four INDs and supporting development through Phase 3. Dr. Mosca received her B.S. from Cornell University and her Ph.D. in biology from State University of New York at Buffalo. She has written 42 papers and abstracts.
Paul Shabram | Vice President, Operations
Paul Shabram joined PaxVax as Vice President, Operations in July 2007 where he has established a manufacturing facility fully compliant with Good Manufacturing Procedures (cGMP) and oversees the development of all manufacturing processes from initial vaccine vector to finished product. throughout his career he has implemented novel manufacturing processes in both the large pharma (Schering-Plough) and biotech organizations (Chiron, Cytel, Canji, Arizeke, Ventana). He has contributed to the CMC sections of fifteen INDs and produced multiple products for nine clinical trials, one of which, Regranx®, was ultimately approved for treatment of diabetic ulcers. Mr. Shabram is a globally recognized expert in adenovirus production technologies. He holds a B.A. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, CA as well as an M.B.A. from the University of Phoenix, and has been a major contributor on sixteen publications.
André Collioud, Ph.D. | Vice President, Bacterial Operations
Dr. Collioud joined PaxVax as Vice President, Bacterial Operations in March 2010 where he is responsible for directing all manufacturing as well as operational activities related to the production of the Company’s bacterial vaccines. Prior to joining PaxVax, Dr. Collioud was Vice President of Global Process Development at Crucell and was responsible for 120 employees in four countries. Before this, he was Head of Process Development at Berna Biotech AG, and was operating a bacterial pilot plant, the mammalian cell centre and associated labs. During his previous thirteen years in vaccine research and development Dr. Collioud was contributing to the CMC sections of six projects and was producing clinical trial material for more than seven products ranging from clinical Phase I to IV. Dr. Collioud received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Berne, Switzerland, and he has written ten publications.