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Management Team and Founders
The management team is lead by R. Barry Holtz, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Dr. Holtz has been in the bioproducts and biopharmaceutical field for 30 years and has been a founder of three successful companies. The most recent, Large Scale Biology Corporation (formerly Biosource Technologies) was founded in 1987 and went public with a $98 million, IPO in 2001. Dr. Holtz was a corporate officer and Senior Vice President for Biopharmaceutical Development from 1989 to 2003. Dr. Holtz lead the drug development activities of the company including: biomanufacturing, clinical trials management, and regulatory affairs. Dr. Holtz led a team that brought a recombinant dermatologic product, melanin, to the market and also brought a patient-specific vaccine for Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma successfully to the clinic and to the beginning of a Phase III compliant trial. Full CV available here (pdf) ...........................................................................................................................................................
S. Michael Owens, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) is the Wilbur Mills Endowed Chair in Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention at UAMS. He is a specialist in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics and has extensive experience in the development of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. He has pioneered the research and development of the therapeutic antibodies for drug abuse that are the foundation of InterveXion Therapeutics. Dr. Owens is involved in the development of antibody-based medications for use in the treatment of drug abuse. Dr. Owens' studies utilize molecular design, hybridoma technology, and antibody engineering techniques to produce new clinically relevant molecules. Dr. Owens conducts pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies following active and passive immunization in animal models of human drug abuse. Dr. Owens has received two US Patents (6,669,937 and 7,202,348) and has over 100 publications, abstract, and invited talks. Dr. Owens is active on many NIH and NAS committees focused on the treatment of drug abuse. Dr. Owens was one of the leaders in developing the Arkansas Biosciences Institute, a consortium of Arkansas research and teaching institutions. This organization is funded by a statutory allocation of the tobacco settlement money for development of medicine from agriculture. Full CV available here (pdf) ...........................................................................................................................................................
W. Brooks Gentry, MD, is currently Professor of Anesthesiology, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, and Vice-Chair for Research in the Department of Anesthesiology in the College of Medicine at the UAMS and also serves as the Chief Medical Officer for InterveXion Therapeutics. Dr . Gentry has been a collaborator of Dr. Owens in the development of the antibody therapies for drug abuse for ten years. Dr. Gentry brings expertise in clinical trial design and clinical treatment using therapeutic biologics, including monoclonal antibodies and will direct the clinical trials and clinical collaborations of the company. His research accomplishments include the development of therapeutic medications for the treatment of drug abuse. These studies are part of a multidisciplinary, clinician-scientist approach to the rational development of therapeutic strategies for the treatment of drug abuse. These previous and ongoing preclinical studies along with Dr. Gentry's medical training and experience in clinical research provide him with the background necessary for successful translation of new antibody-based medications for the treatment of human drug abuse and other chronic illnesses from the laboratory benchtop to mainstream medical practice. Full CV available here (pdf) ...........................................................................................................................................................
Ralph Henry, Ph.D. is currently a Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Dr. Henry serves the company as Vice President of Biopharmaceutics. . He has considerable experience in molecular biology, protein engineering and protein expression technology including production of heterologous proteins (e.g. mAb) in plants, bacteria, yeast, and insect and mammalian cells. Dr. Henry directs the use of recombinant expression systems to produce InterveXion’s therapeutic antibodies. Dr. Henry also directs the company’s cGMP manufacturing program. Full CV available here (pdf) ...........................................................................................................................................................
Dr. Stevens received her Ph.D. at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in biological sciences working on chloroplast biochemistry and membrane assembly. She was the awarded a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School and Brigham & Women’s Hospital where she worked on the biochemistry of metastatic breast cancer. Dr. Stevens is currently pursuing her MBA in management with an expected finish in 2010. Full CV available here (pdf) ..........................................................................................................................................................
Mr. Damerow is a CPA and currently serves as interim Chief Financial Officer of InterveXion Therapeutics and is Associate Director of UAMS BioVentures, a medical and biotech business accelerator at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. Previously Jerry was a partner with Ernst & Young having served in several of their U.S. and foreign practice offices. He lived and worked in Indonesia for five years and San Juan Puerto Rico for three years. Jerry is a graduate of Kent State University and the Harvard Management Program for Ernst & Young Partners. He is a member of the University of Arkansas Little Rock (UALR) Business Advisory Council, the Advisory Council for Arkansas Small Business Development Centers, the UAMS BioVentures Advisory Board and chairs the Advisory Board of the UALR College of Science & Mathematics. He was twice named by the SBA as “Accounting Advocate for the Year” for his work with early stage businesses. He serves on the board of directors and chairs the audit committee of HISCO, Inc., a large Houston-based distributor. Prior to its sale, Jerry served on the board of ARKSYS, a banking software enterprise. |
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R. Barry Holtz, Ph.D.