Greater Baltimore Tech Council Names Paul Silber Chair of its Biotech Roundtable
Paul Silber has been named chair of the Greater Baltimore Technology Council's Biotech Roundtable. Silber was the founder, former president and CEO of In Vitro Technologies, a leading US contract-testing laboratory for in vitro testing services and products, before its $30 million acquisition last year by British-owned Celsis.
The GBTC Biotech Roundtable promotes the growth of biotechnology companies in the Greater Baltimore region. The Roundtable provides mentoring and networking opportunities to its members, and works to identify critical success factors necessary for the growth of life sciences businesses in the Baltimore region.
David Kabakoff Joins Sofinnova Ventures as Executive-in-Residence
David Kabakoff, a veteran entrepreneur and biotechnology professional, has joined the venture capital firm Sofinnova Ventures as executive-in-residence and manager of its new San Diego office, within the BIOCOM VC Suites.
His chief responsibilities will be to identify and vet prospective companies for funding, both in the San Diego region and elsewhere, and coach portfolio company CEOs in leading successful businesses.
Kabakoff has 30 years of experience leading technology and product development programs in the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, and drug delivery fields. Before establishing a strategic consulting practice, Kabakoff co-founded Salmedix, a developer of cancer drug treatments, and served as its chairman and CEO. In June 2005, Kabakoff negotiated the $200 million acquisition of Salmedix by Cephalon.
Kabakoff also served as executive vice president and president at Dura Pharmaceuticals; as CEO for Spiros Development and Corvas International; and in senior executive positions with Hybritech, a San Diego biotech company that is now a unit of Beckman Coulter.
At present, Kabakoff serves as chairman of Trius Therapeutics, chairman of Amplimmune, and as a director of Intermune, Avalon Pharmaceuticals, and Alylix.
He received his PhD from Yale University and his BA from Case Western Reserve University. Founded in 1974, San Francisco-based Sofinnova invests in early-stage life sciences and information technology companies.
Arteaga, Minna, Kindt Join InNexus Biotechnology Scientific Advisory Board
InNexus Biotechnology, a drug development company working to commercialize a next generation of monoclonal antibodies, has named three people to its newly formed scientific advisory board:
- Carlos Arteaga, vice chancellor's chair in breast cancer research, professor of medicine and cancer biology, and director of the breast cancer SPORE (specialized program of research excellence) at Vanderbilt University’s Vanderbilt-Ingram Comprehensive Cancer Center.
- Thomas Kindt,most recently director of intramural research at the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Md., and before that chief of laboratory of immunogenetics at NIAID. Kindt also spent a year as visiting scientist at the Analytical Immunochemistry Laboratory at the Pasteur Institute in Paris.
- John Minna, professor and director of the Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Minna is also director of the Nancy B. and Jake L. Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research and of the W.A. “Tex” and Deborah Moncrief Jr. Center for Cancer Genetics at UT Southwestern Medical. He also holds the Max L. Thomas Distinguished Chair in Molecular Pulmonary Oncology and the Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay Distinguished Chair in Cancer Research.
The scientific advisory board is chaired by Donald Capra, president emeritus of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. InNexus is headquartered in British Columbia, with principal management based in Scottsdale, Ariz., at the Mayo Clinic campus and its own in-house developmental facilities.
Rosenwald Named Mentor of the Year by Jewish Heritage Programs
Lindsay Rosenwald, chairman and CEO of Paramount BioCapital, will be honored June 14 as “Mentor of the Year” by Jewish Heritage Programs at its June 14 cocktail reception “A Taste of New York,” set for the Prince George Ballroom, 15 E. 27th St.
Rosenwald is being honored for his years of hosting hundreds of students in his office as a participant in JHP’s mentoring program, where students are introduced to professionals who give life and career advice while inspiring them to connect with their heritage.
Paramount BioCapital is an acquirer and developer of new pharmaceutical and biotechnology products.