Armgo

Paul A. Marks, MD

Dr Marks is Chair of ARMGO's™ Board of Directors. He is President Emeritus of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and a member of the Sloan-Kettering Institute, both in New York, NY. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a recipient of numerous honors, including the President's National Medal of Science. In 2001, Dr Marks cofounded Aton Pharma, which was acquired by Merck & Co., Inc., in 2004.

Alan L. Fuchsberg, Esq

Mr Fuchsberg is Managing Partner of the Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Firm and member of the Board of Trustees at New York University School of Law, both in New York, NY. He is the author of several articles on specific matters of civil litigation, including "Challenging 9/11 Victims Fund Rules."

Karen Katen

Ms Katen is a director on the boards of the General Motors Corporation and the Harris Corporation. She also serves on the Catalyst Board, the RAND Corporation's Health Board of Advisors, and the Economic Club of New York Board of Trustees. She is former chairman of the Pfizer Foundation, the company's philanthropic arm devoted to supporting health care access, education, and community outreach initiatives around the world.

Ms Katen recently retired as Vice Chairman, Pfizer Inc. and as President of Pfizer Human Health. Ms Katen joined Pfizer in 1974 after receiving her BA and MBA from the University of Chicago, an institution she now serves as a University Trustee and a council member of its Graduate School of Business.

She has served on several health care related boards, including as Treasurer for PhRMA, an industry association representing America's research-based pharmaceutical companies; and the National Alliance for Hispanic Health. She was also a member of the Healthcare Leadership Council. Ms Katen was active on a variety of international policy bodies, including as Chairman, US-Japan Business Council.

Her work and accomplishments have received wide recognition. In 2005, Ms Katen was named among the top 10 in Fortune magazine's ranking of "50 Most Powerful Women in Business," a list that has included her for eight consecutive years. For her commitment to community and improving public health, she has received 11 distinct "Woman of the Year" or similar awards from civic groups, national associations, and universities.

Andrew R. Marks, MD

Link to Dr. Marks lab

Dr Marks is Chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics and Director of the Clyde and Helen Wu Center for Molecular Cardiology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, in New York, NY.

Dr Marks is the Chair of ARMGO's™ Scientific Advisory Board. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is a recipient of the American Heart Association Basic Research Award for his work in developing the first successful drug-eluting stent for treatment of coronary artery stent restenosis and for elucidation of mechanisms causing heart failure and sudden cardiac death.

Andrew Schiff, MD

Dr Schiff currently serves as a Managing Director of Aisling Capital II, LLC and the Perseus-Soros biopharmaceutical fund. He joined the fund in September of 1999. Prior to joining the fund, Dr Schiff practiced internal medicine at The New York Presbyterian Hospital, where he maintains his position as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine.

He currently serves on the board of directors of ARMGO™ Pharma, Inc., Cardiokine, Dynova, Skinmedica, Cempra, and Sirion.

Dr Schiff received his MD from Cornell University Medical College and his MBA from Columbia University. His bachelor's degree in neuroscience was awarded with honors by Brown University.

Andrew R. Marks, MD

Jeffrey S. Borer, MD

Dr Borer is the Chairman of the Department of Medicine at State University of New York Downstate Medical Center. He directs a wide-ranging program of cardiovascular research focusing on the biology of regurgitant valvular diseases and the use of radioisotopes in evaluating coronary artery disease. In addition, he directs a program of clinical service in cardiology at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. He has received numerous awards and peer recognition in the form of service on major journal editorial boards, on standing committees of professional organizations, and in visiting professorships and lectures at national and international meetings. Currently, he serves on the editorial boards of nine major peer-reviewed journals and is a permanent visiting professor to the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Dr Borer recently received an award from the Israel National Heart to Heart Association. Since 1984, he has served on NASA advisory committees, and since 1997 on advisory and consulting panels for the US Food and Drug Administration. He has authored or coauthored more than 250 journal articles and book chapters.

Dr Borer received his undergraduate education from Harvard, his medical degree from Cornell, and his postgraduate training in internal medicine from Massachusetts General Hospital.

Ronald Breslow, PhD

Dr Breslow is Professor of Chemistry, one of twelve University Professors, and a former Chairman of the Department, all at Columbia University in New York, NY. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. He is an Honorary Member of many international societies of chemistry, science, and technology.

Recently he has developed a new group of cytodifferentiating agents with use in cancer chemotherapy. One of these agents is now marketed in the United States to treat a form of blood cancer.

His scientific awards include the American Chemical Society Award in Pure Chemistry, the Fresenius Award, the Baekeland Medal, the Centenary Medal, the Harrison Howe Award, the Remsen Prize, the Roussel Prize in Steroids, the James Flack Norris Prize, the Richards Medal, the Arthur C. Cope Award, the Kenner Award, the Nichols Medal, the National Academy of Sciences Award in Chemistry, the Allan Day Award, the Paracelsus Medal of the Swiss Chemical Society, and the US National Medal of Science. He was named one of the top 75 contributors to the chemical enterprise in the past 75 years by a poll conducted by Chemical & Engineering News, and won the Priestley Medal, the New York City Mayor's Award in Science, the Bader Award in Bioorganic Chemistry, and the Esselen Award for Chemistry in the Public Interest. In 2003 he received the Robert Welch Award in Chemistry, and in 2004 he received the Willard Gibbs Award.

He has also received the Mark Van Doren Medal of Columbia University and the Columbia University Great Teacher Award. He was President of the American Chemical Society in 1996. The American Chemical Society has established the annual Ronald Breslow Award in Biomimetic Chemistry.

Kim Fox, MD

Dr Fox is Consultant Cardiologist and Director of Cardiology at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, UK, Professor of Clinical Cardiology at the Imperial College London, and President of the European Society of Cardiology.

Dr Fox has published more than 400 papers in leading scientific journals. His expertise is in the understanding, investigation, and treatment of angina; he has played a major role in many important international clinical trials (EUROPA, HPS, ASCOT, etc) that have revolutionized the treatment of this condition. He is the acknowledged European expert in this field and consequently chairs the Task Force producing the European Angina Guidelines and chairs the committee responsible for the audit of the management of these patients in Europe.

Professor Fox has given plenary lectures to National Societies all over the world. He has given the "Finlayson Lecture" to the Royal College of Surgeons in Glasgow, the "St Cyres Lecture" to the British Cardiac Society, and the "Andrea Cissalpino Lecture" to the Italian Society of Cardiology. Professor Fox has been elected an honorary member of the French Cardiac Society and Japanese Circulation Society for his services to cardiology.

Joseph L. Goldstein, MD

Dr Goldstein is Chairman of the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. In 1985, he was named Regental Professor of the University of Texas. He also holds the Paul J. Thomas Chair in Medicine and the Julie and Louis A. Beecherl Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Science.

Dr Goldstein and his colleague, Michael S. Brown, discovered the low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor and elucidated how these receptors control cholesterol homeostasis. At the basic level, this work opened the field of receptor-mediated endocytosis, and at the clinical level it helped lay the conceptual groundwork for development of drugs called statins that lower blood LDL-cholesterol and prevent heart attacks. Drs Goldstein and Brown shared many awards for this work, including the Lasker Award in Basic Medical Research (1985), the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1985), and the National Medal of Science (1988).

In recent work, Drs Goldstein and Brown discovered the sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP) family of transcription factors and showed how these membrane-bound molecules control the synthesis of cholesterol and fatty acids through a newly described process of Regulated Intramembrane Proteolysis. For this work, Drs Brown and Goldstein received the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research (2003).

Dr Goldstein is Chairman of the Albert Lasker Medical Research Awards Jury and is a member of the Boards of Trustees of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and The Rockefeller University. He also serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of the Welch Foundation, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Scripps Research Institute, Van Andel Institute, and the Massachusetts General Hospital. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences and a Foreign Member of the Royal Society.

Donald W. Landry, MD, PhD

Dr Landry is Chair of the Department of Medicine, Chief of the Division of Nephrology and Director of the Division of Experimental Therapeutics, Columbia University, New York. Dr Landry completed his PhD in organic chemistry under Nobel laureate Robert Burns Woodward at Harvard University in 1979 and then obtained an MD degree from Columbia University in 1983. After a residency in internal medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, he returned to Columbia University as a National Institutes of Health Physician-Scientist from 1985 to 1990. In 1991, he established his laboratory at Columbia University to investigate medical applications of artificial enzymes and founded the Division of Experimental Therapeutics in 1998, which focuses on novel therapeutics for intractable problems such as cocaine addiction, nerve gas intoxication, and vasodilatory shock. He directs the Organic Chemistry Collaborative Center, a drug discovery unit within the Division.

Raymond John Lipicky, MD

Dr Lipicky is the Director of LIPICKY, LLC (a consulting company), having retired (March 2002, after 21 years of service) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where he was Director, Division of Cardio-Renal Drug Products, Office of Drug Evaluation I, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Previously, he was on the faculty of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine (for 14 years), where he held the positions of Professor of Pharmacology and Professor of Medicine and Director, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, at the time he joined the FDA. He is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and trained in Internal Medicine and Cardiology. He currently also has an appointment as Visiting Scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory (Woods Hole, MA) where, for about 30 years, he had a summer laboratory pursuing an interest in drug effects on electrically excitable membranes, although his laboratory is no longer active.

Douglas L. Mann, MD

Dr Mann is the Lewin Professor and Chief, Cardiovascular Division, Washington University School of Medicine, and Cardiologist-in-Chief, Barnes-Jewish Hospital. His research interests have focused on the basic cellular and molecular mechanisms that lead to cardiac decompensation, including the role that inflammatory mediators play in regulating cardiac structure and function.

Dr Mann is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of University Cardiologists, the Heart Failure Society of America, the International Cytokine Society, and the International Society for Heart Failure Research and is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology as well as the American College of Chest Physicians. He is the past president of the Heart Failure Society of America (2008-2010) and is a member of the Editorial Board of Circulation Circulation, The Journal of Cardiac Failure, Heart and Vessels, Heart Failure Reviews, Heart Failure Monitor and Cardiology Today. Dr Mann has published numerous peer-reviewed articles on the role of inflammatory mediators in heart failure and the molecular and cellular basis for cardiac dysfunction and remodeling. He has received numerous awards, including the Alfred Soffer Award for Editorial Excellence from the American College of Chest Physicians and the Michael E. Debakey Award for Excellence in Research.

Dan Burkoff, MD, PhD

After earning a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University in Applied and Engineering Physics, Dr Burkhoff obtained Doctor of Philosophy and a medical degrees from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. House staff training in Internal Medicine was completed at the Bayview Campus of The Johns Hopkins Hospital as well as fellowship training in Cardiology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr Burkhoff then moved to Columbia University in New York City, where he established the Cardiovascular Research Laboratory in the Division of Circulatory Physiology/Heart Failure and Transplantation. He served as an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Divisions of Cardiology at the College of Physicians and Surgeons and an Associate Attending Physician at the New York Presbyterian Hospital until 2003. Dr Burkhoff is currently Director of the Jack H. Skirball Center for Cardiovascular Research of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (Orangeburg, NY), Medical Director of IMPULSE Dynamics, a startup company investigating a device-based therapy for chronic heart failure, and an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical School. Dr Burkhoff is the author of many original articles, invited reviews, and book chapters on cardiology and serves and a reviewer for many cardiology journals. Dr Burkhoff�s research interests include basic and clinical work in ventricular mechanics, cardiovascular physiology, heart failure, and device and pharmacologic treatments for heart failure, including left ventricular assist devices.

Kevin P. Campbell, PhD

Dr Campbell is the Roy J. Carver Biomedical Research Chair in Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Head of the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, and Director of the Senator Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Center at The University of Iowa. Dr Campbell also holds joint appointments as a professor in the Departments of Neurology and Internal Medicine. In 1989, he was appointed an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), and in 2004 he received his fourth five-year renewal with HHMI.

Dr Campbell is internationally recognized for his fundamental contributions to muscular dystrophy research. For the past 15 years, Dr Campbell and his colleagues have actively investigated the molecular pathogenesis of muscular dystrophy. Dr Campbell�s research is funded by a variety of organizations, and the scientific accomplishments of his laboratory have resulted in numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals. In addition to receiving many awards for his outstanding research, Dr Campbell is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Dr Campbell earned his Bachelor of Science degree in physics from Manhattan College, his master�s degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, and his PhD in Biophysics from the Department of Radiation Biology and Biophysics at the University of Rochester. He completed his postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Dr David MacLennan at the Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, University of Toronto, before moving to Iowa in 1981.

Michael Blanar, PhD - Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Blanar received his Ph. D. in Genetics from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining ARMGO™, Dr. Blanar served as an independent consultant to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology community. Previously, Dr. Blanar was at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) Pharmaceutical R&D in Princeton, New Jersey, where he served most recently as Group Director, Cardiovascular & Metabolic Diseases Drug Discovery Biology, where he and his team advanced ten novel drug candidates into clinical development. Dr. Blanar’s previous roles at BMS included Head, Cardiovascular Molecular Genetics, Co-leader of the Cardiovascular Early Clinical Development Team, and Department Head of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology & Ion Channel Discovery Biology. Prior to BMS, Dr. Blanar was on the faculty of the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

Carolyn Paradise, MD - Senior Advisor, Clinical and Regulatory

Dr Paradise received her MD from The Free University of Brussels and her postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School and teaching hospitals. She is an internist and medical oncologist with 20 years� experience in the pharmaceutical industry (Cetus/Chiron, Sterling Drug, Cell Therapeutics, Inc., and most recently, Aton Pharma, Inc.). She has overseen product development through successful marketing applications and approvals of biological and small molecule pharmaceutics in the United States and Europe. Her academic appointments have included Harvard Medical School, Fox Chase Cancer Center, and University of California, San Francisco.

Yael Webb, PhD - VP, Intellectual Property

Dr Webb received her Bachelor's degree from Hebrew University in Jerusalem and her PhD in Chemistry from Columbia University in NY. She is also a registered patent agent. Recently she has participated in Columbia Business School�s Executive Training program. She is the recipient of many honors and awards including a Fulbright scholarship. Before joining ARMGO™, Yael was at Aton Pharma, Inc., which was sold to Merck, and at Winston & Strawn, where she was employed as a patent agent.

Kathi Larson, BBA - Chief Financial Officer

Ms. Larson brings over 20 years of financial management expertise to ARMGO. She obtained her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting from Marshall University, Huntington, WV. Prior to joining ARMGO in May 2006, Ms. Larson served as Controller for both Aton Pharma, Inc. which was acquired by Merck & Co., in 2004; and Physicians’ Online, Inc. which was acquired by Mediconsult.com, Inc. in 1999. Throughout her career, Ms. Larson has built a strong track record of providing senior financial leadership advice with a focus on strategic direction and corporate growth, completing numerous financings and acquisitions. Ms. Larson is responsible for directing the Company’s financial accounting, reporting and treasury functions.

Jairo Lema - Senior Director of Information Technology

Mr. Lema holds a B.E. in Electrical Engineering from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. He brings more than 18 years of experience in the IT industry to the position. Prior to joining ARMGO™, Jairo was the Director of IT for Taro Pharmaceuticals, Inc. At Taro, he was responsible for guiding the operational turnaround of Taro�s Corporate headquarter Information Technology Group. Jairo has an extensive background in systems and software development, strategic planning, and deploying cutting edge technologies. He currently is responsible for the daily management of ARMGO's™ telecommunications and information systems.

Sapan Shah, PhD - President and Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Shah joined ARMGO™ Pharma in April of 2011, and since that time has led the company as President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to ARMGO™, Dr. Shah served as President and CEO of Shionogi Inc., where he launched and expanded the US pharmaceutical business of Shionogi & Co., Ltd., established the company’s joint-venture with GSK/ViiV focused on a novel HIV integrase inhibitor, and co-founded Ezose Sciences, a high-throughput glycomics company. Prior to Shionogi, Dr. Shah was a consultant with McKinsey & Company, where he advised pharmaceutical and biotech clients on a wide range of R&D, commercial and corporate strategy matters. Dr. Shah received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Mathematics, Biochemistry and Integrated Science from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Sandro Belvedere, PhD - Senior Director of Chemistry and Manufacturing

Dr Sandro Belvedere has been part of the ARMGO™ team since 2006, directing the chemistry discovery program, chemical development, and manufacturing. He joined ARMGO™ from GlaxoSmithKline, where he held positions as Research Leader and Senior Scientist in chemistry, working on CNS targets. Before joining GSK, he was Research Scientist at Aton Pharma, where he contributed to the discovery of new histone deacetylase inhibitors, leading to the oncology drug SAHA (Vorinostat). Sandro received his PhD from Columbia University, an MS from the University of Rochester, and a graduate degree (Laurea) from the University of Rome "La Sapienza".

Mark P. Wentland, PhD

Dr. Mark Wentland serves as a Special Consultant on ARMGO's™ Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Wentland began his career in drug discovery in 1970 when he joined the medicinal chemistry department at Sterling Winthrop Inc.He earned his Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry in 1970 at Rice University under the direction of the late Professor Robert V.Stevens. During his 24 years at Sterling Winthrop, he held various positions of scientific and administrative responsibility withhis last positions being Sterling Winthrop Fellow and Oncology Discovery Co-Chair. During the period 1971-1994, he was Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY where he taught over 30 graduate-level organic and medicinal chemistry courses.In 1994, he joined the chemistry faculty at Rensselaer as Professor of Chemistry. At Rensselaer, he maintains a federally-funded research program in medicinal chemistry aimed at identifying novel, long-acting oral agents to treat cocaine addiction in humans. He holds the concurrent position of Adjunct Professor - Center for Neuropharmacology & Neuroscience at Albany Medical College where his responsibilities include collaborative neuroscience research with AMC scientists and presentation of lectures relating to medicinal chemistry.

Board of Directors

Paul A. Marks, MD
Alan L. Fuchsberg, Esq
Karen Katen
Andrew R. Marks, MD
Andrew Schiff, MD
Sapan Shah, PhD

Scientific Advisory Board

Andrew R. Marks, MD
Jeffrey S. Borer, MD
Ronald Breslow, PhD
Dan Burkoff, MD, PhD
Kevin P. Campbell, PhD
Kim Fox, MD
Joseph L. Goldstein, MD
Donald W. Landry, MD, PhD
Raymond John Lipicky, MD
Douglas L. Mann, MD
Mark P. Wentland, PhD

ARMGO™ Management

Sapan Shah, PhD
Michael Blanar, PhD
Kathi Larson
Jairo Lema
Yael Webb, PhD
Sandro Belvedere, PhD