Aastrom has brought together a group of highly skilled individuals from different areas of the industry creating a strong management team that is prepared to lead the Company through the clinical development stage and into the commercial marketplace. The Board of Directors is comprised of individuals with broad experience at both large public and private biotech and pharmaceutical companies, making them excellent representatives for Aastrom's shareholders and key advisors for the Company.
Management Team
George W. Dunbar Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Financial Officer and Director
George W. Dunbar joined Aastrom as Chief Executive Officer, President, and a member of the Company's Board of Directors in July 2006. He has more than thirty years of experience in the healthcare field, including the biotech, pharmaceutical, diagnostic and device sectors. During this period, he has spent more than fifteen years as a chief executive officer of established and early-stage healthcare companies. From 2004 through 2005, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Quantum Dot Corporation. From 2003 through 2004 he was Chief Executive Officer of Targesome, Inc. and also served on the Business Advisory Board of Ulteria Capital Ltd. From 2001 through 2002, Mr. Dunbar was Chief Executive Office of Epic Therapeutics. Prior to 2001, he served at various times as Chief Executive Officer of Cytotherapeutics, Stem Cells, Inc. and Metra Biosystems, and in management positions with the Ares-Serono Group and Amersham International. Mr. Dunbar received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from Auburn University. Mr. Dunbar currently serves on the board of directors of Sonus Pharmaceuticals and Accuri Cytometers, Inc., as well as on the MBA Advisory Board of the Auburn University College of Business.
Peter C. Alain joined Aastrom in August 2007 as Senior Director, Quality Assurance. Mr. Alain has more than 25 years of Quality Assurance (QA) experience in the domestic and international pharmaceutical industries, including GMP/GLP/GCP compliance from drug discovery through post marketing. Prior to joining Aastrom, Mr. Alain held several management level positions at Pfizer, Inc., formerly Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis, for over 26 years. Most recently, he was the Worldwide Development Quality Assurance Head for the U.S. and Latin America region within Pfizer's Global Research and Development division. During his career, he has been a member of PhRMA's Bioresearch Monitoring Steering Committee, coordinated, facilitated and mediated more than 10 successful domestic and international regulatory agency inspections, established the GMP Roundtable Forum for the production of clinical supplies and established one of the first industry QA groups to ensure electronic data integrity across GMP/GLC/GCP regulated areas. Mr. Alain received a B.S. in Biology from the University of Toronto, Canada.
Ronnda L. Bartel, Ph.D. Vice President, Research & Development
Ronnda L. Bartel, Ph.D. joined Aastrom as Vice President, Research & Development in October 2006. In her new role she is responsible for the product development and manufacturing of Aastrom's TRC-based cell products, as well as the Company's discovery and research efforts. Dr. Bartel is a seasoned scientist with more than 20 years of research and product development experience in the biotech, pharmaceutical, diagnostic and device sectors. During this time she held several management positions including: Senior Principal Scientist, Cell Biology at Advanced Tissue Sciences; Vice President, Scientific Development and Senior Director, Stem Cell Development at Stem Cells, Inc.; Senior Director, Science and Technology at SRS Capital, LLC; and, most recently, Executive Director, Biological Research at MicroIslet, Inc. She has also held positions in clinical development, drug delivery, business development and manufacturing. Dr. Bartel holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Kansas, completed postdoctoral work at the University of Michigan and received a B.A. in Chemistry and Biology from Tabor College.
Elmar R. Burchardt, M.D., Ph.D. Vice President, Medical Affairs
Elmar R. Burchardt, M.D., Ph.D. joined Aastrom in July 2006 and was appointed Vice President, Medical Affairs in September 2006. Dr. Burchardt brings over 14 years of experience in the areas of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, hematology and cardiology to Aastrom. Previously, Dr. Burchardt worked for Miltenyi Biotec GmbH, in Germany, where he served as Medical Director responsible for the worldwide development and market introduction strategy of 10 new clinical cell therapy products, and one of the most extensive cell therapy development programs in cardiac diseases. Prior to that time, he served as Senior Research Group Leader at the Pharmaceutical Research Center of Bayer AG, in Germany. Dr. Burchardt holds M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Biochemistry, as well as an M.D. from Hannover Medical School, West Germany, and is an Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Witten Herdecke, in Germany.
Martin C. Peters, Ph.D. Senior Director, Strategic Marketing
Martin C. Peters, Ph.D. joined Aastrom in January 2005 and is currently Senior Director, Strategic Marketing. Prior to joining Aastrom Dr. Peters was a Project Leader for the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) where he provided strategic consulting services to pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device clients as a member of BCG's Healthcare Practice. His consulting experience includes product launch strategy development, product & portfolio valuation, M&A due diligence and healthcare market research. Dr. Peters holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Michigan and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering with a certification in Biochemical Engineering from the University of Missouri – Columbia. He has authored numerous scientific publications and patents in the areas of cell transplantation, drug delivery and angiogenesis.
Sheldon A. Schaffer, Ph.D. Vice President, Corporate Development & Intellectual Property
Sheldon A. Schaffer, Ph.D. joined Aastrom in December 2006 as Vice President, Corporate Development & Intellectual Property, a newly created position. Dr. Schaffer has more than 30 years of experience in pharmaceutical and medical diagnostics industries, at both large corporations and entrepreneurial start-up companies. During his career he has been responsible for the development of U.S. and international businesses, in- and out-licensing of technology, intellectual property management, and clinical and pre-clinical drug development and drug discovery management. Most recently, Dr. Schaffer has provided business development consulting services to the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to this he served as President and CEO of Inveresk Research, N.A. He served as Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development at DepoTech Corporation, and as Vice President of Pharmaceutical Development and then as Vice President of Business Development at Cholestech Corporation, a publicly traded medical products company. Previously, Dr. Schaffer served as Director, Inflammation/Atherosclerosis Research at Ciba-Geigy Corporation, a pharmaceutical company, and held senior scientific positions at the Medical Research Division of American Cyanamid Co., a pharmaceutical company. Dr. Schaffer received his B.S. in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Illinois, and served as a postdoctoral and teaching fellow at Harvard Medical School.
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