Executive Management Team
 |
|
Kenneth L. Rice Jr., M.B.A., J.D.
Vice President, CFO, and Chief Commercial Officer |
Mr. Rice contributes nearly 25 years of experience in the high technology, pharmaceutical development and manufacturing industries to Aderis Pharmaceuticals. His extensive experience in corporate development, finance and patent law are key assets in the commercialization efforts of Aderis and its strategic partners. Prior to joining Aderis, Mr. Rice served as Vice President, CFO, Secretary, Treasurer and In-House Counsel for MacroChem Corporation, a pharmaceutical company focused on transdermal delivery systems. While at MacroChem, Mr. Rice structured a $16 million private financing and played a key role in expanding the management team and board of directors. Mr. Rice previously held executive positions with Pentose Pharmaceuticals Inc., Unisyn Technologies Inc., Zymark Corporation and Applied Expert Systems Inc. Mr. Rice earned his LLM Taxation from Boston University Law School, his Juris Doctor Cum Laude from Suffolk University Law School and his MBA and BS/BA from Babson College.
 |
|
William S. Wheeler, M.D.
Vice President and Chief Medical Officer |
Dr. Wheeler brings over 20 years of cardiovascular research experience to Aderis Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Aderis, Dr. Wheeler served as Vice President of Cardiovascular/Critical Care at Quintiles Inc., where he was responsible for all cardiovascular clinical development in North America including over 35 cardiovascular clinical trials in 12 indications. Prior to joining Quintiles, Dr. Wheeler was a practicing interventional cardiologist and cardiovascular research expert at Burroughs Wellcome and Co. as well as the Director of the catheterization laboratory at East Carolina University. Dr. Wheeler is board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Diseases, and he is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology. Dr. Wheeler received his M.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles and completed his residency and internship at the Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center. He received his cardiology training at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
 |
|
James V. Peck, Pharm D.
Vice President of Research Operations |
Dr. Peck brings over 25 years of pharmaceutical research experience to the Aderis management team. His extensive experience encompasses both drug discovery research and product development, and his current responsibilities include managing the contract manufacture of drug substance and drug product, as well as analytical work supporting these products. Additionally, he is responsible for the interaction with intellectual property counsel in order to ensure optimal patent protection for the company's inventions. He is a contributor on over 50 patents and patent applications, and has authored numerous publications on the design, synthesis and biological activity of a wide variety of chemical compounds. Prior to co-founding Aderis, Dr. Peck served as Director of Chemistry at Whitby Research Inc., where he was responsible for directing research efforts in drug discovery ranging from molecular modeling to process development. He is currently a licensed pharmacist in both California and Virginia. Dr. Peck received a B.S. degree in chemistry from U.C.L.A. and earned his Pharm.D. with honors from the University of Southern California.
 |
|
Noel J. Cusack, Ph.D.
Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer |
A co-founder, Dr. Cusack has overall responsibility for managing the non-clinical development and drug discovery programs at Aderis Pharmaceuticals. He brings over 30 years of chemistry and pharmacology management experience with expertise in the therapeutic application of adenosine and adenine nucleotide derivatives. He teaches the FDA and ICH non-clinical requirements for international drug development and directs the pharmacology training courses for the Pharmaceutical Education and Research Institute. Dr. Cusack maintains a faculty position as adjunct professor at the University of California, Irvine. Previously he held academic appointments at the University of Cambridge and King's College, London. Dr. Cusack received his Ph. D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Bradford, U.K.
 |
|
Gevork Minaskanian, Ph.D.
Vice President of Chemistry |
Dr. Minaskanian is a cofounder of Aderis Pharmaceuticals and directs the chemistry program for drug discovery and the process development for commercialization of the Company's lead molecules. In addition, he serves as an Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at Virginia Commonwealth University. Prior to joining Aderis, Dr. Minaskanian served as Principal Research Scientist at Whitby Research Inc. (previously Nelson Research and Development). He is the inventor and author of over 50 patents and publications in various fields of organic and medicinal chemistry. Dr. Minaskanian received his Ph.D. from Texas Tech University, and completed his Postdoctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania.
|
|
back to top
