About HemaQuest
Management
Ronald J. Berenson, M.D.; Founder, President and CEO
Dr. Berenson has nearly 20 years of leadership experience in start-up roles in the biopharmaceutical industry. Most recently, he served as a consultant to the biopharmaceutical industry with a focus on drug development in hematology and oncology. From 1996-2005, Dr. Berenson was the founder, President and CEO and member of the Board of Directors of Xcyte Therapies, a NASDAQ-listed biopharmaceutical company (XCYT) developing therapeutic products in hematology and oncology. From 1989 to 1995, Dr. Berenson was the founder, Executive Vice President, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer and member of the Board of Directors of CellPro, a NASDAQ-listed biotechnology company (CPRO), which developed and commercialized therapeutic products in hematology and oncology. From 1984-1989, he was a member of the faculty of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Calypso Medical Technologies, a cancer therapeutics company. He is an expert in hematopoietic stem cells and the field of bone marrow transplantation, and performed the first stem cell transplants in the world. Dr. Berenson is a board-certified medical oncologist, who trained at Stanford University and received his M.D. from Yale Medical School and his B.S. from Stanford University.
Susan P. Perrine, M.D.; Scientific Founder, Chief Scientific Officer and V.P., Clinical Affairs
Dr. Perrine is a world leader in hemoglobinopathies and the principal inventor of HemaQuest’s technologies. As well as serving as HemaQuest's Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President of Clinical Affairs, she continues to be a member of the faculty of the Boston University School of Medicine, where she is a Professor in the Departments of Medicine, Pediatrics, and Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and Director of the Hemoglobinopathy and Thalassemia Research Unit in the Cancer Research Center. Dr. Perrine is internationally known for her ground-breaking work in the development of small molecules as regulators of gene expression and as new therapeutics. She has 10 issued patents and multiple patent applications. She has obtained four INDs from the FDA, which included Phase 2 multi-center trials for three distinct disease targets. Dr. Perrine's basic and clinical research has been supported by the NIH, FDA and by private foundations, totaling approximately $12 million in financial support. Dr. Perrine received her M.D. from Tufts University Medical School and a Master's Degree from Harvard School of Public Health. She received her residency and sub-specialty training at Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston Children's Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Susan Perrine served as the President and Chief Scientific Officer of Gene Regulation Laboratories (GRL), the precursor company from which HemaQuest acquired our technologies.
George Hillman, M.B.A; Founder, Chief Operating Officer
Previously, Mr. Hillman has been serving as the major business development and financial advisor to GRL and HemaQuest. He is also currently a business consultant to several other early-stage life sciences companies. He has over 25 years of business experience primarily in small to medium size companies, where he has been responsible for a diverse range of functions, including business development, corporate financings, operations and company mergers. From 2003-2006, he was Chief Executive Officer and Treasurer of Pintex Pharmaceuticals, an oncology company founded by Nobel Prize winning Harvard scientist, Walter Gilbert, Ph. D., which was successfully sold to Vernalis, plc. From 1997 to 2003, as the initial employee, he served as Chief Operating Officer at Paratek Pharmaceuticals, a company also founded by Walter Gilbert Ph.D., and Stuart Levy M.D., whose focus was the antibiotic research of Dr. Levy. From 1991-1997, as a founder he served as Chief Operating Officer of Cohesive Technologies, a bio-analytical company initially based on a Polaroid technology, that he helped found, develop and secured several financings. Cohesive was recently purchased by Thermo Electron Fisher. He also has prior financial experience with Price Waterhouse at their offices in Paris, France and Boston, MA. Mr. Hillman received an M.B.A. from Rutgers University and a B.A. from Gannon University.
Patrick L. Bobbitt; Vice President, Development
Mr. Bobbitt has over 16 years experience in drug development at biotech and pharmaceutical companies and clinical research organizations, where he has held several leadership positions. Most recently, he was Director of Clinical Operations at Seattle Genetics in 2007 to 2008 and held the same position at Cell Therapeutics from 2003 to 2007. He was a Global Project Manager at ICOS corporation from 2001 to 2003 and an Associate Director of Project Management at Quintiles from 1998-2001. Prior to these he held positions from CRA to International Project Director at PPD and Chrysalis Clinical Services, both clinical research organizations, from 1992 to 1998. Mr. Bobbitt has lead clinical operations groups to develop highly functional teams focused on execution. He has successfully lead teams to deliver high quality pivotal trials for indications such as Congestive Heart Failure, Sepsis, non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Hodgkin Lymphoma and Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. Mr. Bobbitt has lived in worked in pharmaceutical development in Europe. He started his career as a process chemist and then as a laboratory manager and Quality Officer at Radian Corporation. Mr. Bobbitt received his B.S. degree in Environmental Science from Lamar University and holds a professional certification in Project Management from the Project Management Institute.