Michael Breen
Executive Chairman, Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer
Michael Breen is an English qualified solicitor/attorney and was formerly the Managing Director of the Sports and Entertainment Division of Bank Insinger de Beaufort N. V., which is a wealth management organization and was part of BNP Paribas Group, one of the world's largest banks. The holding company Insinger de Beaufort Holdings S.A. was listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Mr. Breen was also a director and major shareholder of an affiliate of Insinger de Beaufort Holdings S.A.
Mr. Breen is a former senior equity partner in the 400+ partner and 50+ office law firm of Clyde & Co, whose head office is based in the City of London, England.
Bruce Wendel, J.D.
Vice Chairman & Independent Director
Mr. Wendel is an Independent Director of the Company, and serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Wendel was Chief Strategic Officer of Hepalink USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Shenzhen Hepalink Pharmaceutical Company from July 2012 to July 2017. He served as Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Abraxis BioScience, Inc., from January 2010 to December 2010, where he oversaw the development and commercialization of Abraxane®. Mr. Wendel also led the negotiations that culminated in the acquisition of Abraxis by Celgene in a deal valued at over $2.9 billion. Prior to Abraxis, Mr. Wendel served in business and corporate development roles of increasing responsibility at American Pharmaceutical Partners, IVAX Corporation and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Mr. Wendel earned a J.D. degree from Georgetown University School of Law, and a B.S. from Cornell University. Mr. Wendel brings valuable experience building companies and bringing oncology drugs to the market, given his oversight of the development and commercialization of Abraxane®, and throughout his life sciences industry career.
Mr. Wendel chairs the company’s Compensation Committee.
Dr. Rajesh Shrotriya
Independent Director
Rajesh Shrotriya MD, served most recently (2002-2017) as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an oncology focused NASDAQ listed company. Prior to that he was President and Operating Officer of NeoTherapeutics, Inc. Previously, Dr. Shrotriya was Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer for SuperGen, Inc. and Vice President, Medical Affairs then Chief Medical Officer at MGI Pharma, Inc. For 18 years he held various positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, the last being Executive Director Worldwide CNS Clinical Research.
Dr. Shrotriya is a 2011 Ernst & Young Orange County Region Entrepreneur of the Year® award winner. Dr. Shrotriya was specifically cited for his turn-around of Spectrum. The Ernst & Young LLP award program recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.
Dr. Shrotriya chairs the company’s Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee.
Charles J. Casamento
Independent Director
Mr. Casamento is currently executive director and principal of The Sage Group, a healthcare advisory group specializing in mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships between biotechnology companies and pharmaceutical companies, since 2007. Mr. Casamento’s career in healthcare spans more than 35 years, where he was a founder or had held senior management roles at various biopharmaceutical companies including Osteologix Inc., Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc., RiboGene, Inc., Interneuron Pharmaceuticals (Indevus), Genzyme Corporation, amongst other companies.
Mr. Casamento also serves on the board of directors of the following NASDAQ listed companies: Eton Pharmaceuticals, Inc., First Wave Biopharma, Inc., PaxMedica, Inc., and Relmada Therapeutics, Inc. During his career he has served on the boards of fourteen Biotech/Pharma companies and has also been a director and vice chairman of The Catholic Medical Missions Board, a large not-for-profit organization providing health care services to third world countries. He has served as a guest lecturer at Fordham University and is on the Science Council of Fordham University.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from Fordham University and an MBA from Iona University and was originally licensed to practice pharmacy in the states of New York and New Jersey. Mr. Casamento’s significant experience in the biotechnology sector make him a valuable addition to the Board.
Mr. Casamento chairs the company’s Audit Committee.