Management Team
Colin J. Foster, President and CEO
Mr. Foster has two decades of experience in pharmaceutical and diagnostics businesses. Before joining Optherion, he was CEO and President of Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation and Region Head for the North American Pharmaceuticals business of Bayer AG. Mr. Foster joined Bayer in 1994 as the Vice President, Marketing for the Healthcare Division in Toronto, Canada. In this role, he led the marketing team for the Canadian Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics businesses. He was promoted to Vice President, Marketing, Sales, and Service in the Diagnostics Division, with profit & loss responsibility for the U.S. Diabetes Division. Following this, and just before heading the North American pharmaceutical business, he was appointed Region Head for the Diagnostics Division, UK/Ireland Region, stationed in Newbury, England. Before joining Bayer, Mr. Foster was head of pharmaceutical marketing for Sandoz Canada, Inc. in Montreal. He began his career at A.H. Robins in Canada as a Medical Sales Representative in 1985. Mr. Foster holds his B.Sc.in Zoology and Microbiology from the University of Toronto (1985) and his M.B.A. from the University of Western Ontario (1988) in Canada. He is a board member of the University of New Haven, including Chair of its Finance Committee.
Dr. Gregory S. Hageman, Founding Scientist and Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Hageman is a cell biologist whose primary research interest over the past 16 years has been directed toward the assessment of pathways involved in the etiology of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). He is a co-discoverer of the association between the Factor H (CFH) and Factor B (CFB) genes with AMD and a rare kidney disease called MPGN-II. Dr. Hageman is the Iowa Entrepreneurial Endowed Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, where he directs the Cell Biology and Functional Genomics Laboratory. He holds additional national and international academic appointments, and is an active member of several professional and honorary organizations, including the Macula Society. Dr. Hageman serves or has served on a number of national and international advisory boards, service panels and review committees, and as an advisor to Genentech, Alcon, Pfizer, OccuLogix, Novartis, Tanox and American Home Products. He has authored or co-authored about 100 refereed or invited publications, and has five issued patents and numerous pending patent applications. Dr. Hageman has garnered funding for the past 21 years from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health, including a recently awarded five-year, $14.6 million grant, of which he is the Principal Investigator, and for which Optherion Inc. will participate as a corporate sponsor. His recent research awards include the Trustee Award from the Foundation Fighting Blindness, and the Roger Johnson Prize for Macular Degeneration. Dr. Hageman has a B.A. in Biological Sciences and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Southern California.
George O. Elston, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Elston has more than 20 years of financial and business expertise in the biotechnology and medical device industries. Before joining Optherion, Mr. Elston was with Elusys Therapeutics where he raised significant funding from government and private sources, completed multiple strategic collaborations with large pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, and oversaw collaborations with the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health. Before joining Elusys, Mr. Elston was Chief Financial Officer of Trillium USA, Inc., where he established the financial and administrative functions for the Company’s multi-national operations. Previously, Mr. Elston was with C.R. Bard, Inc., an international manufacturer and distributor of medical devices, where he directed financial operations for multiple manufacturing facilities in several countries and successfully integrated strategic acquisitions; and with Price Waterhouse. Mr. Elston received his BBA in Public Accounting from Pace University and is a Certified Public Accountant. He serves on the Board of Directors of Celldex Therapeutics, Inc.
Dr. Marlene Modi, Vice President, Preclinical Development
Dr. Modi has 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Before joining Optherion Inc., she served as Senior Director of Clinical Pharmacology at Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. For the previous 15 years, Dr. Modi worked at Hoffmann-La Roche in key management positions, including Site Head and Director of Clinical Pharmacology. Dr. Modi has extensive expertise in the areas of preclinical and clinical development of large molecules (e.g., proteins, monoclonal antibodies, aptamers and pegylated compounds). Her work has included the therapeutic areas of ophthalmology, virology, infectious disease, neurology, oncology, diabetes and asthma. Her areas of expertise include drug-drug interactions, pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic relationships, and dose- and exposure-response relationships in special populations. She received a B.S. in Pharmacy from the University of Houston and a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Dr. Manju Patel, Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Patel has significant experience in the development of ophthamology drugs. Before joining Optherion, Dr. Patel was the Global Clinical Leader for Macugen® at Pfizer, where she played a critical role in the submission to the FDA and the presentation to the FDA advisory committee. She also successfully led the clinical negotiations with the EMEA, which resulted in the approval of Macugen® in the EU in 2005, and she provided critical input into the Japanese development program. Concurrently, Dr. Patel was Senior Director and Retina Development Strategy Leader at Pfizer, where she played a key role in defining the future strategy in the field of retina disease. Dr. Patel joined Pfizer, UK in 1999, following 14 years as an academic ophthalmologist. As an Associate Director in the Phase 1 unit, she was co-investigator on a number of first in-human pharmaceutical trials. In 2001, Dr. Patel joined the Regulatory group at Pfizer, USA, and played a key role in the regulatory approvals of a compound in the genitourinary therapeutic area. A graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, Dr. Patel did her ophthalmology training at the University of Natal, South Africa and a pediatric ophthalmology fellowship at the Great Ormond Hospital in London, UK.
Dr. Lorah Perlee, Vice President, Diagnostics, Technical Operations
Dr. Perlee has 20 years of experience in the biotech industry developing molecular assays and implementing high throughput service testing. Previous to joining Optherion, she was responsible for commercial development of the automated microscopic imaging platform at HistoRx, Inc. and implementation of the GLP-compliant biomarker discovery program. Her earlier experience in proteomics as Vice President of Operations, at Molecular Staging, Inc., was directed at developing biomarkers for use in molecular diagnostics. She has diverse project experience studying molecule activation, protein signaling pathways, molecule translocation and evaluation of complex patterns in disease-altered tissues. Her genomics experience includes multiple senior positions including Director of Scientific Applications at Protedyne, Inc., configuring high throughput robotic applications, Vice President Operations at DiagXotics Inc., directing the development and manufacturing of USDA diagnostic assays for the management of animal disease and 14 years at Lifecodes, providing diagnostic products and services to the field of transplant immunology and human identity. Dr. Perlee graduated with a B.S. in Biology from Cornell University, M.S. in Forensic Science from C.U.N.Yand a Ph.D. in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology from New York Medical College. She is board certified in Histocompatibility and Immunogentics (ABHI).
Dr. Haren Vasavada, Vice President, Process Sciences
Dr. Vasavada joined Optherion Inc. after 14 years at Bayer, where he focused on drug discovery in both small molecular weight and protein therapeutics, giving him extensive experience in several areas key to the success of Optherion Inc. Most recently, Dr. Vasavada spent 6 years as Director of Research in Bayer’s Department of Research Technologies, where he played a central role in helping advance ten small molecule drug candidates and three biotherapeutic candidates into product development. He served as an Associate Director in the same department at Bayer for three years before that, and earlier was a Senior Research Scientist in the areas of inflammation, autoimmunity and osteoporosis. Dr. Vasavada studied at the Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda, India, where he earned his Masters Degree in Microbiology in 1977. He received his Ph.D in Biochemistry in 1983 from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. He then pursued postdoctoral training at Yale in the Department of Human Genetics, with a focus on tissue-specific gene expression and protein-to-protein interaction.