Management Team
Jon P. Stonehouse
President, Chief Executive Officer
Jon Stonehouse, a pharmaceutical executive for more than 20 years, has strong commercialization, financial transaction, business development and management expertise. He most recently served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Merck KGaA with responsibility for global licensing and business development, corporate mergers and acquisitions, corporate strategic planning and alliance management. Among his accomplishments, he was responsible for leading the effort to develop a strategy for Merck that significantly changed the company over the last four years. This culminated with the acquisition of Serono, S.A., the largest biotechnology company in Europe at the time of the agreement.
J. Claude Bennett, M.D.
Chief Operating Officer
J. Claude Bennett, M.D., a nationally recognized academician and clinical researcher, joined BioCryst in December 1996. From 1993 to 1996, Dr. Bennett served as President of The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Previously, he served as professor and chairman of UAB's Department of Medicine and was a member of Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratory's scientific advisory board. In addition, he was the President of the Association of American Physicians and a member of the National Institutes of Health's Magnuson Clinical Center Board of Governors, Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Medicine and former co-editor of the Cecil Textbook of Medicine. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Massachusetts General Hospital, a member of the scientific advisory boards of Zycogen, LLC and Aptamera, Inc. and continues to hold the position of Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at UAB, a position he has held since January 1997.
Stuart Grant
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Stuart Grant joined the Senior Management Team at BioCryst in August of 2007. His recent experience with an established multi-national biotechnology company, coupled with his financial experience, add significantly to the depth of the BioCryst team. Prior to joining BioCryst, Mr. Grant was Chief Financial Officer at The Serono Group, based in Geneva, Switzerland. Operating as part of the leadership team, he was responsible for leading the Finance, Information Technology, and Communications functions, as well as driving the growth of profitability throughout the company. He was extensively involved in communicating strategy and tactics to the investor community. He has held a variety of Senior Operating and Financial positions in Europe and in the United States, and his drive and leadership skills will support the development of BioCryst in the next stages of the Company’s development.
W. James Alexander, M.D., M.P.H.
Vice President, Clinical Development
Dr. Alexander joined BioCryst in June 2006. Prior to joining BioCryst, Dr. Alexander was Senior Vice President, Product Development and Chief Medical Officer at Pozen, Inc.
Dr. Alexander was previously Global Chief Medical Officer for Inveresk Research Group. Prior to that position, he had served as Chief Executive Officer, President and Chief Medical Officer at PharmaResearch Corporation with responsibilities for medical and regulatory operations. Dr. Alexander was Vice President and Worldwide Director for product safety and pharmacovigilance at GlaxoWellcome before joining PharmaResearch Corporation. He has contributed to the development and regulatory approvals of drugs for the treatment of protozoal, bacterial, and viral infections and respiratory conditions.
Dr. Alexander received his M.D. from the University of Mississippi and his M.P.H. from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is board certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases.
His experience in clinical development and his unique understanding of regulatory affairs will augment BioCryst's already strong resources in our clinical programs. His insights and first-hand knowledge are important as our products advance into pivotal clinical trials and seek marketing approvals.
David S. McCullough
Vice President, Strategic Planning and Commercialization
David McCullough joined BioCryst in April, 2007. Prior to joining BioCryst Mr. McCullough served as Director, Global Corporate Development in the Ethical Pharmaceuticals Division at Merck KGaA in Darmstadt, Germany. In that position he was responsible for leading the company's efforts in evaluating the commercial value of specific product opportunities and in the case of the Serono SA acquisition, their entire company portfolio. Mr. McCullough led the commercial assessment of strategic and financial attractiveness of over 40 companies in oncology and other therapeutic areas. Prior to that position, Mr. McCullough was an integral part of the Business Operations and Market Research Team in the Oncology Business Unit of Eli Lilly and Company.
Mr. McCullough received his Bachelor of Science degree from Western Illinois University.
Yarlagadda S. Babu, Ph.D.
Vice President, Drug Discovery
Dr. Babu directs a team of crystallographers and oversees the drug design and computer modeling efforts of the company. Having joined the Company in 1988, Dr. Babu was BioCryst's first full-time employee. Prior to joining BioCryst, he served five years on the biochemistry faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Michael A. Darwin
Vice President, Finance
Mr. Darwin joined BioCryst as Controller in June 2000 and was promoted to Chief Financial Officer in November 2002. Prior to joining BioCryst, Mr. Darwin served as Chief Financial Officer for a private company in the food services industry. He began his career at Ernst & Young and spent six years in public accounting practice.
Alane Barnes
General Counsel
Elliott Berger, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs
Thomas J. Simon, MD, MBA
Interim Chief Medical Officer
Robert Stoner
Vice President, Human Resources
Board of Directors
- William W. Featheringill was elected a Director in May 1995. Mr. Featheringill is President, Chief Executive Officer and director, since 1973, of Private Capital Corporation, a venture capital company. He currently serves as Chairman of Electronic Healthcare Systems, Inc., a system solutions provider to the ambulatory care industry, since June 1995, and Momentum Business Solutions, Inc., a telecom and VoIP company, since May 2001. Mr. Featheringill is a Director of Altec Industries, Inc., Southern Research Institute and the Birmingham Museum of Art, and serves as a Trustee of Vanderbilt University. Mr. Featheringill received a BE in Mechanical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, a J.D. degree from the Columbia University School of Law and a M.B.A. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.
- Jon P. Stonehouse joined BioCryst in January 2007 as Chief Executive Officer and director. He was also named President in July 2007. Prior to joining the Company, he served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for Merck KGaA, a pharmaceutical company, since July 2002. His responsibilities included corporate mergers & acquisitions, global licensing and business development, corporate strategy and alliance management. In March of 2002, Mr. Stonehouse was appointed Vice President of Global Licensing and Business Development and Integration where he was responsible for the worldwide licensing and business development activities for the Ethical Pharmaceutical Division of Merck KGaA. Mr. Stonehouse joined EMD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the US Ethical Pharma division for Merck KGaA) in December 1999 as Vice President, Licensing and Business Development — Strategy & Integration and IT. Prior to joining Merck KGaA, he held a variety of roles at Astra Merck/AstraZeneca including: Customer Unit Director, Director, Marketing & Sales — IT, National Sales Manager, National Sales Director - Managed Healthcare, and Product Director — Omeprazole (the world's most widely prescribed prescription drug-at that time). Mr. Stonehouse started his career in the pharmaceutical industry as a Sales Representative, National Sales Trainer and District Sales Manager for Merck & Co., Inc. Mr. Stonehouse earned his BS in Microbiology at the University of Minnesota.
- J. Claude Bennett, M.D. has served as our Chief Operating Officer since July 2007. He served as our President and Chief Operating Officer from December 1996 to July 2007 and was elected a director in January 1997. Dr. Bennett also served as the Medical Director from 2001 to 2006. Prior to joining us, Dr. Bennett was President of The University of Alabama at Birmingham ("UAB") from October 1993 to December 1996 and Professor and Chairman of the Department of Medicine of UAB from January 1982 to October 1993. Dr. Bennett served on our Scientific Advisory Board from 1989-96. He is a former co-editor of the Cecil Textbook of Medicine and former President of the Association of American Physicians. He is a past chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Massachusetts General Hospital, a post-member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Zycogen, LLC, and continues to hold the position of Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at UAB, a position he has held since January 1997. He also serves on the Board of Directors of both the McWane Science Center and the UAB Research Foundation.
- Stephen R. Biggar, M.D., Ph.D. was appointed to the Board in October 2005. Dr. Biggar has served as a Partner at Baker Brothers Investments, a family of long-term investment funds for major university endowments and foundations, which is focused on publicly traded life sciences companies, since October 2006, served as Principal from April 2002 to October 2006 and served as an Associate from April 2000 to April 2002. Prior to joining Baker Brothers, Dr. Biggar received an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Immunology from Stanford University. He attended the University of Rochester where he achieved a B.S. degree in Genetics. Dr. Biggar serves as a director of one private biotechnology company.
- Zola P. Horovitz, Ph.D. was elected a Director in August 1994. Dr. Horovitz was Vice President of Business Development and Planning at Bristol-Myers Squibb from 1991 until his retirement in April 1994 and previously was Vice President of Licensing at the same company from 1990 to 1991. Prior to that, he spent over 30 years with The Squibb Institute for Medical Research, most recently as Vice President Research, Planning, & Scientific Liaison. He has been an independent consultant in pharmaceutical sciences and business development since his retirement from Bristol-Myers Squibb in April 1994. He serves as non executive Chairman on the Board of Directors of Avigen, Inc. and GenVec, Inc., and also serves on the Boards of Directors of Genaera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Palatin Technologies, Inc., DOV Pharmaceuticals, NitroMed, Inc. and Immunicon Corporation.
- Randolph C. Steer, M.D., Ph.D. was elected a Director in February 1993. He is currently President and Chief Operating Officer of OrthoLogic Corp., an Arizona-based biotechnology firm, since April 2006. Dr. Steer has been an independent pharmaceutical and biotechnology consultant since 1989, and has a broad background in business development, medical marketing and regulatory affairs. He was formerly Chairman, President and CEO of Advanced Therapeutics Communications International, a leading drug regulatory group, and served as associate director of medical affairs at Marion Laboratories, and medical director at Ciba Consumer Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Steer serves on the Board of Directors of Techne Corporation and several privately held companies and is trained as a clinical and chemical pathologist.
- John L. Higgins was elected a Director in May 2004. Mr. Higgins is President and Chief Executive Officer of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc., a publicly traded biotech company, since January 2007 and has served as a director since February 2007. He was most recently Chief Financial Officer at the biotech company Connetics, since 1997, and also served as Executive Vice President, Finance and Administration and Corporate Development since January 2002 until its acquisition by Stiefel Laboratories, Inc. in December 2006. Before joining Connetics, he was a member of the executive management team at BioCryst. Before joining BioCryst in 1994, Mr. Higgins was a member of the healthcare banking team of Dillon, Read & Co. Inc., an investment banking firm. He received his A.B. from Colgate University.
- Beth C. Seidenberg, M.D. was appointed to the Board in December 2005. Dr. Seidenberg has served as Partner of Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers ("KPCB"), a venture capital firm, since May 2005. Prior to joining KPCB, Dr. Seidenberg served at Amgen, a biotechnology company, as Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President, Global Development from January 2002 to December 2004. She also served at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, a pharmaceutical company, as Senior Vice President, Global Development from September 2001 to January 2002, Senior Vice President, Clinical Development & Life Cycle Management from May 2000 to September 2001 and Vice President, Clinical Immunology/Pulmonary/Dermatology from April 2000 to May 2000 and at Merck/Merck Research Laboratories as Vice President, Pulmonary-Immunology from July 1998 to March 2000, Executive Director from March 1996 to June 1998, Senior Director from September 1993 to February 1996 and also served as both Director and Associate Director of Clinical Pharmacology from September 1991 to August 1993 and from June 1989 to August 1991, respectively. She received her M.D. from University of Miami; completed post-doctoral training at Johns Hopkins Medical Center and specialty training in immunology and infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Seidenberg also has a B.S. degree in Biology and Anthropology from Barnard College. Dr. Seidenberg was appointed to the Board as a designee of KPCB under a Nomination and Observer Agreement with the Company dated December 16, 2005.
- Joseph H. Sherrill, Jr. was elected a Director in May 1995. Mr. Sherrill served as Chief Executive Officer and President of R. J. Reynolds (“RJR”) Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong, where he oversaw RJR operations across Asia, including licensing, joint ventures and a full line of operating companies from August 1989 to his retirement in October 1994. Prior management positions with RJR include Senior Vice President of Marketing for R.J. Reynolds International, President and Chief Executive Officer of R.J. Reynolds Tabacos do Brazil, and President and General Manager of R.J. Reynolds Puerto Rico. Mr. Sherrill received his M.B.A. from Columbia University.
- William M. Spencer, III has been a Director of BioCryst since our inception. Mr. Spencer, who is retired, is also a private investor in Birmingham, Alabama. Mr. Spencer is a Founder of BioCryst, and served as our Chairman of the Board from our founding in 1986 until April 1992. He co-founded and operated Motion Industries from 1946 through its merger into Genuine Parts Company in 1976. He has founded several businesses and has served on the Board of Directors of numerous public and private corporations.
Scientific Advisory Board
Our scientific advisory board is comprised of five scientific advisors who are leaders in certain areas of our core disciplines or who otherwise have specific expertise in our therapeutic focus areas. The scientific advisory board meets as a group at scheduled meetings with our scientific personnel and management to discuss our ongoing research and drug discovery and development projects. The scientific advisory board consists of the following individuals:
- Charles E. Bugg, Ph.D. Chairman Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals. Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Director of the Center for Macromolecular Crystallography, and Associate Director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
- Albert F. LoBuglio, M.D. Professor of Medicine and the Director of The University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center.
- Gordon N. Gill, M.D. Professor of Medicine, Chair of the Faculty of Basic Biomedical Sciences at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.
- Lorraine J. Gudas, Ph.D. Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pharmacology of Cornell Medical College and the Revlon Pharmaceutical Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology.
- Herbert A. Hauptman, Ph.D. President of the Hauptman Woodward Medical Research Institute, Inc. (formerly the Medical Foundation of Buffalo, Inc.), and Research Professor in Biophysical Sciences at the State University of New York (Buffalo). Recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1985).
- Hamilton O. Smith, M.D. Professor, Molecular Biology and Genetics Department at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, retired, and Scientific Director of The Institute for Bioenergy Alternatives. Recipient of the Nobel Prize in Medicine (1978).