Richard Franklin, M.D., Ph.D., CEO
Dr. Franklin is a founder of Constant Therapeutics and has served as its President and CEO since its inception. He was a director of Raptor Pharmaceuticals, until its sale to Horizon Pharma in 2016.
Elizabeth Wagner, MS, MBA, Chief Operating Officer
Miss Wagner has served as VP Corporate Development from October 2011 through 2015 and has been COO since then. She has over 18 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, including clinical research experience at Genzyme Corporation and business development experience at Cubist Pharmaceuticals. Miss Wagner received her BS from the University of Notre Dame, her MA from Boston University Medical School, and her MS and MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Thomas Walther, PhD, CSO
General Manager of Constant’s subsidiary Xitra Therapeutics GmbH; Head of Research at the Institute of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Greifswald and former Chair in Pharmacology and at the University of College Cork. Professor Walther’s research team discovered the two receptors associated with angiotensin (1-7) signaling, Mas and MrgD.
John Benson, Finance Director
Mr. Benson has served as Finance Director since January 2012. He also serves as the CFO and Treasurer of Pathfinder Cell Therapy, Inc., a public company focused on developing a novel cell-based therapy. He served as controller of Pathfinder Cell Therapy from 2006 to 2011 and as controller of the spine products division of Stryker Corporation from 2003 to 2005. Mr. Benson is a certified public accountant with over thirty years’ experience in corporate accounting and finance. Mr. Benson holds a degree in accounting from Saint Bonaventure University.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Joerg Gruber, Chairman
Mr. Gruber is a co-founder and the chairman of Constant Therapeutics in Boston and has served as the chairman of its predecessor companies since 2007. Joerg also serves on the Board of MetrioPharmAG and previously served on the Board of Forbius, Inc. until it was acquired by BMS. He co-founded Clubb Capital, a corporate finance and venture capital boutique, in 1995 in London and has been its executive chairman since 1999. Joerg has a background in commercial and investment banking, working with UBS, Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brother in Zurich and London, prior to leaving the banking industry in 1990 to pursue his interests in venture capital and small growth companies.
Alex Shlyankevich
Alex has 25 years of leadership experience at a number of start ups and established companies, including Cardinal Health, Biovail, CombinatoRx, Avecia and Moderna. In his current role, Alex is President of MH Biomedical Investments and serves on the boards of NuPulseCV and Felicitex Therapeutics.
Gregg Lapointe, MBA, CPA
Current CEO and Co-Founder of Cerium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and on the Board of Trustees of the Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences. Current and Past Boards include: SciClone, Immunocellular, Pharmaceuticals Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), Raptor, Soligenix, Rigel, Cytori and Questcor. He was COO and CEO with Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals, Inc., VP of Operations with AstenJohnson, Inc.. He has a B.A. in Commerce from Concordia University, a graduate diploma in Accountancy from McGill University and a M.B.A. from Duke.
Richard Franklin, M.D., Ph.D
Dr. Franklin is a founder of Constant Therapeutics and has served as its President and CEO since its inception. He was a director of Raptor Pharmaceuticals, until its sale to Horizon Pharma in 2016.
Adrian Schomburg, PhD
A drug discovery expert with over 15 years of experience in pharma and biotech. He is co-founder and CEO of Eisbach Bio GmbH a biotech company developing novel medicines in oncology. Adrian moved projects successfully through drug discovery - from target identification to the delivery of preclinical and development candidates. In his former roles at Pfizer and Proteros, he kick-started collaborative R&D projects in epigenetics with big pharma.
Tom Hughes
With more than 35 years of industry experience in the discovery, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. Tom has served since 2018 as CEO of Navitor Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biopharmaceutical company, serves on the board of directors of Totus Medicines and Xeno BioSciences, and is a member of several scientific advisory boards.
Prior to joining Navitor, Tom served as President and Chief Scientific Officer, and earlier as CEO of Zafgen Inc. Prior to Zafgen, Tom held several positions at Novartis including Global Head of the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases Therapeutic Area at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research. He oversaw many drug discovery and development projects targeting major global aging-related health issues including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD
Tony Caggiano, MD, PhD, Chairman
Current Chief Medical Officer and Head of R&D at Neurotrauma Sciences and former Vice President of R&D at Acorda Therapeutics. Dr. Caggiano’s responsibilities include leading the research, development, manufacturing, preclinical testing and early phase clinical planning.
Carrolee Barlow, MD, PhD
Current Chief Medical Officer of E-Scape Bio and former CEO of The Parkinson’s Institute and Clinical Center. Dr. Barlow was a former Merck executive who now serves on SABs and as a consultant for biotech companies.
Bob Brown, JD, DPhil, MD
Professor and Chair of Neurology at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and Medical School. Dr. Brown led the team that identified the first gene linked to ALS, SOD1.
Tom Carmichael, MD, PhD
Chair and Professor of Neurology at the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Dr. Carmichael has an active laboratory and clinical interests in stroke and neurorehabilitation and how the brain recovers from injury.
Steven C. Cramer, MD, MMSc
Professor of Neurology at the University of California–Irvine School of Medicine, Professor in the Department Anatomy & Neurobiology at UCI and Professor in the Department Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. Dr. Cramer’s research involves CNS Repair in Humans; Stroke; Spinal Cord Injury; Motor System; Plasticity after CNS Injury; Brain Imaging.
Seth Finkelstein, MD, PhD
Current Neurologist at MGH and former Head of CMS Growth Factor Research Lab at MGH and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Finkelstein is the former VP and Head of Neuroscience Division at Viacell, Inc., and current CEO at Stemetix, Inc.
Greg Licholai, MD, MBA
Chief Medical and Information Officer at PRA Health Sciences and former President and Chief Medical Officer of Castle Creek Pharmaceuticals. Founder and President of Elipdera Therapeutics at Moderna.
Darryl Patrick, PhD, DVM
Over 25 years R&D experience as former Merck and Vertex VP responsible for preclinical safety programs, Toxicology, Drug Metabolism, and Clinical Pharmacology. Dr. Patrick retired in 2011 and currently consulting.
Thomas Voit, MD
Current Director Designate of the Biomedical Research Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust and the Institute of Child Health, University College London.
Thomas Walther, PhD
Chair in Pharmacology and Head of the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University College Cork. Professor Walther’s research helped discover the role of Angiotensin (1-7) as a ligand to the Mas receptor.