Senior Management
Peter G. Savas
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Savas has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alseres Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since September 2004. Prior to joining ALSE, Mr. Savas was Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Aderis Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Hopkinton, MA. While at Aderis, Mr. Savas undertook and completed a $45 million private placement at nearly double the valuation of the prior venture round; strengthened the Board of Directors, Scientific Advisory Board and management; culled out dead-end programs; and revitalized and expanded corporate partnerships. Before joining Aderis, Mr. Savas was Chairman, President and CEO of Unisyn Technologies, a company he refinanced, repositioned and subsequently merged with Cellex Biosciences. Before Unisyn, Mr. Savas served as Senior Vice President of Zymark Corporation, a laboratory automation company; Chairman, President and CEO of Xydex Corporation, a company he founded to in-license, develop, and commercialize novel separations technology, which he subsequently sold to Genex Corporation. He was also Vice President and General Manager of Business Operations of the Continental Water Systems and the Waters Associates Divisions of Millipore Corporation. Mr. Savas earned his BA in chemistry from Syracuse University.
Mark J. Pykett, V.M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A.
President & Chief Operating Officer
Dr. Pykett was appointed President of ALSE in February 2005. He joined the company as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in November 2004. Prior to joining the Company, Dr. Pykett was President of CyGenics, Ltd., a fully integrated global cell therapy biotechnology company, where he was responsible for global technology and clinical development, business development, licensing, and partnerships. Prior to CyGenics, Dr. Pykett was Co-Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board of Directors of Cytomatrix, LLC, and President of Cordlife, Pte Ltd., which acquired Cytomatrix in 2003. Dr. Pykett graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude from Amherst College, holds a veterinary degree, Phi Zeta, Summa Cum Laude, and doctorate in molecular biology from the University of Pennsylvania, and received an M.B.A. degree Beta Gamma Sigma from Northeastern University. He completed post-doctoral fellowships at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University. In his scientific research, Dr. Pykett focused on understanding the molecular basis of cancer. Dr. Pykett held an adjunct faculty position at the Harvard School of Public Health from 1997 to 2002, and currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Center for Enterprise Growth at Northeastern University. Additionally, he serves as a Director of ADVENTRX Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Thomas H. Tulip, Ph.D.
President, Molecular Imaging
Dr. Thomas H. Tulip was named President of the Alseres Molecular Imaging business unit in August 2008. Most recently, Dr. Tulip was Vice President and Global Brand Champion for Lantheus Medical Imaging, formerly Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging.
During his 25-year career in medical imaging, Dr. Tulip has held senior management roles, including Vice President of International Operations, Executive Director for International Medical Imaging and several roles in commercial operations, business development and general management, with expanding responsibility. He was instrumental in establishing the DuPont (now Lantheus MI)-Syncor (now Cardinal Health Nuclear Pharmacy Services) Alliance, and subsequently managed the relationship between the companies. He also guided aspects of the commercialization of Cardiolite®, Neurolite® and I.V. Persantine®, and launched the DuPont Pharmaceuticals Integrated Healthcare initiative.
From 2007-2008, Dr. Tulip served as Chairperson for the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) Corporate Advisory Board and was active in a number of Council on Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals (CORAR) committees. He is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles, has presented widely at scientific meetings, and was a co-inventor of Cardiolite®.
Dr. Tulip graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude from the University of Vermont with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry, and holds a Master of Science and a Doctorate degree in inorganic chemistry from Northwestern University. He was a visiting scholar at Osaka University and served as adjunct professor at Northeastern University. He currently serves on the Board of the Academy of Molecular Imaging, the Executive Board of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, and the Board of Community Health Charities of New England.
Kenneth L. Rice, Jr., J.D., L.L.M., M.B.A.
Executive Vice President - Finance & Administration
Chief Financial Officer and In-House Counsel
Mr. Rice brings over 25 years of experience in life sciences-related businesses to Alseres. Most recently, Mr. Rice served as Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Commercial Officer of Aderis Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biopharmaceutical company. Mr. Rice previously held executive positions with MacroChem Corporation, Pentose Pharmaceuticals, Unisyn Technologies, Zymark Corporation, and Millipore Corporation. Mr. Rice earned his LLM Taxation from Boston University Law School, his Juris Doctor Cum Laude from Suffolk University Law School, and his MBA and BS/BA from Babson College.
Frank Bobe, Ph.D., MBA
Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer
Frank Bobe was named Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer of Alseres in April 2007. Dr. Bobe has over 20 years of biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry experience. He joins Alseres from BioAxone Therapeutic, Inc. of Canada, where he served as President and Chief Executive Officer since March 2005. In addition to overseeing BioAxone's clinical trial of Cethrin in acute spinal cord injury, Dr. Bobe was responsible for guiding BioAxone's corporate strategy, developing its operating plan, and advancing its technical development platforms. Dr. Bobe played a key role in BioAxone's licensing of Cethrin and related intellectual property and technology to Alseres for nerve repair therapies following debilitating injuries to the spinal cord. Prior to joining BioAxone, Dr. Bobe was Chief Executive Officer and Country Head of the South Korean affiliate of Novartis AG, where he successfully launched several brands, implemented alliances with local and global partners and built a new management team. Prior to joining Novartis Korea, Dr. Bobe held operational management and global corporate leadership positions at Novartis AG, with increasing responsibilities in preclinical research, sales and marketing and general management. Dr. Bobe holds a Ph.D. in Bio-organic Chemistry from the University of California at Davis and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in biochemistry in the laboratory of Nobel Laureate Prof. Bruce Merrifield, Rockefeller University, New York. Dr. Bobe also holds an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.
Mark R. Hurtt, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Mark R. Hurtt was named Alseres' Chief Medical Officer in October 2005. Most recently, Dr. Hurtt was Senior Director of Clinical Research at Neurogen Corporation in Branford, CT.. Prior to Neurogen, Dr. Hurtt was Director of Drug Development and Director of Clinical Research at Pfizer Global Research and Development in Ann Arbor, MI. During his career, Dr. Hurtt has overseen CNS development programs in Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, pain, anxiety, and depression. Dr. Hurtt is Board certified in Neurology and Neuropathology. He received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College and served as a Medical Officer in the United States Navy. He trained in neurology and neuropathology and was an assistant professor in the Departments of Neurology and Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh.
Noel J. Cusack, M.Sc., Ph.D., MRSC
Senior Vice President - Preclinical Development
Dr. Cusack joined Alseres Pharmaceuticals in July 2005 as Senior Vice President of Preclinical Development. Dr. Cusack brings over 30 years of chemistry and pharmacology management experience-from academe and the pharmaceutical industry-to ALSE. In 1994 Dr. Cusack was a founder of Aderis Pharmaceuticals and served as its Chief Scientific Officer, focusing on the research and development of dopamine- and purine-based technologies. Previously, he was Director of Pharmacology at Nelson Research and Whitby Research from 1988 to 1993. Before coming to the U.S., Dr. Cusack directed academic research in the U.K. from 1974 to 1988. His work on the chemistry and pharmacology of analogs of purine nucleosides and nucleotides was supported by the Medical Research Council at the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Cambridge and at Kings College London. Dr. Cusack graduated from the University of Auckland, N.Z. with a BSc and MSc in Chemistry, and was awarded his PhD in 1971 from the University of Bradford, U.K. with studies on the synthesis of nucleosides related to purines, pyrimidines, and imidazoles. Subsequently, he carried out post-doctoral research on the synthesis of oligonucleotides at the University Chemical Laboratory at Cambridge. Dr. Cusack has authored nearly 100 papers, articles, and book chapters and has presented at many international meetings in the U.S. and abroad. He maintains a faculty position as Adjunct Professor at the University of California, Irvine, where he taught medical school undergraduates the anti-infective therapeutic agents portions of their course requirements. Dr. Cusack serves on the curriculum committee of Pharmaceutical Education and Research Institute (PERI), where he has taught courses on the FDA and ICH non-clinical requirements for drug development, and he directs the pharmacology training courses for PERI.
Susan M. Flint, M.S., R.A.C., C.C.R.A., C.C.R.P.
Senior Vice President - Drug Development
Susan Flint joined Alseres as Senior Vice President of Drug Development in June 2007. Susan has more than 25 years of experience in regulatory submissions and clinical trials. During her career she has filed numerous applications for INDs and 10 NDAs, along with several medical device applications. Ms. Flint has held executive positions at Cato Research where she was Senior Vice President of Drug Development and EPIX Medical, Inc., where she was Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Clinical Operations. Susan has also held senior clinical and regulatory positions at Advanced Magnetics, Inc. and Du Pont Pharmaceutical Company. Ms. Flint is certified by the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society, the Society of Clinical Research Associates and the Association of Clinical Research Professionals. She received her MS in pharmacology from Northeastern University.
Richard M. Thorn, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President - Program Operations
Dr. Thorn was named Senior Vice President of Program Operations in December 2001, after serving as Director of Product Development since 1997. Prior to joining ALSE, Dr. Thorn was Director of Technology Transfer at Boston Biomedica, Inc. from 1995 to 1997, Director of Research and Development at Verigen, Inc. from 1992 to 1995, Director of the Immunology and Antibody Services groups at Baxter Diagnostics, Inc. from 1989 to 1992, and was a Research and Development Scientist at Cambridge BioTech Corporation from 1983 to 1989. From 1979 to 1983, Dr. Thorn was an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania where he did research on the immune response to Bovine Leukemia Virus. From 1976 to 1979, he did research on the immune response to ultraviolet light-induced tumors in mice. Dr. Thorn did post-doctoral work on T-cell mediated cytolysis at Johns Hopkins University. His Ph.D. was earned at the University of Pennsylvania and his B.A. from the University of California at San Diego. Dr. Thorn has published more than 20 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, and holds two patents.
James R. Weston, MBA
Senior Vice President - Regulatory Affairs and Quality
Jim Weston was named Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality for Alseres Pharmaceuticals in September 2006. Mr. Weston has over 30 years of experience in the development of biological and pharmaceutical products and has directed strategy of development programs in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia and Japan resulting in the approval of 11 drugs/biologics worldwide. Prior to joining Alseres, Jim was Vice President Corporate and Regulatory Strategy and Managing Director of the Boston office of Cato Research Ltd. Mr. Weston was also Vice President, Government Affairs and Strategic Policy of Biopure Corporation and held management positions with DuPont Pharmaceuticals in Regulatory, Clinical Research, Quality Assurance and Quality Control. Mr. Weston has a Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences degree from Rutgers College and a Master of Business Administration from Northeastern University. Mr. Weston is an active member of many professional organizations, including the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society, Drug Information Association, Parenteral Drug Association, and the Special Operations Medical Association and co-chairs the Regulatory and Quality Assurance Committee of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council.