Key Advisors
Sam Milstein, PhD, Pharmaceutical Development Consultant
Dr. Milstein is currently the CEO of NeuraCell Research Corp. NeuraCell has identified neuronal progenitor stem cells that will be used to treat various ophthalmic diseases via autologous transplantation including retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration. Previously, Dr. Milstein was Scientific Officer at Ception Therapeutics, Inc. (in 2009, Ception was acquired by Cephalon, Inc.). Ception’s lead program is a monoclonal antibody, currently in clinical trials, for the treatment eosinophilic esophagisitis and asthma. Dr. Milstein is responsible for technical planning and oversight of the drug discovery arm of the company. From 2001-2006, Dr. Milstein was the founder/CEO of Fulcrum Pharmaceuticals (later merged with Ception), a drug discovery, drug design company. Fulcrum’s technology designed an oral MRSA compound with a novel mechanism of action and a family of TNFR1 inhibitors for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. From 1990-1999, he was the founder and President of Emisphere Technologies, Inc. Dr. Milstein received his PhD in biochemistry from New York University. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute in 1982.
King Lee, PhD, RAC, Regulatory Consultant
Dr. Lee is an independent consultant, and most recently the VP of Regulatory/Clinical Affairs for Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 2004 to 2011. Dr. Lee is also an adjunct professor of Quinnipiac University, and has been since 2006. Previously, Dr. Lee was the VP of Regulatory Affairs for Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. in 2004. During 2001-2003, Dr. Lee was Executive Director of Regulatory Affairs/Quality Assurance with ATON Pharma, Inc. (acquired by Merck in 2003), and worked with drugs such as ZOLINZA® (vorinostat) for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Prior to ATON, Dr. Lee was the Director of Regulatory Affairs/Quality Assurance for VION Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 1996 to 2001. Dr. Lee was also a Senior Pharmacologist at Sterling-Winthrop. Dr. Lee has authored and co-authored over 45 publications (scientific and professional papers, books and review articles) and over 45 scientific abstracts. Dr. Lee received his PhD in Pharmacology from the College of Medicine of the University of Kentucky in 1983, and was certified by the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Board in 1994.
Stephen Anderson, PhD, Pharmaceutical Consultant
Dr. Anderson received an AB (1972) and a PhD (1979) in Biological Chemistry from Harvard University. From 1978 to 1982 he was a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Frederick Sanger at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England. From 1982 to 1988, Dr. Anderson was a scientist and manager at Genentech, Inc., serving both as Associate Director of the Biocatalysis Department and as leader of the Second Generation tPA Project Team in the Cardiovascular Research Department. In 1988 he became a Resident Member of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine and an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Rutgers University, and in 1999 he became the Chair of this department. In 1997 Dr. Anderson, together with Dr. Gaetano T. Montelione of the CABM, proposed a new discipline of structure-based functional genomics or structural genomics that involved the prospective analysis — via 3D structure determination — of gene products of unknown structure and function.
Bijan Almassian, PhD, Pharmaceutical Consultant
Dr. Almassian has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry across multiple disciplines including Research and Development, Business Development and Operations Management. Dr. Almassian is currently the founder and president of Pars Pharmaceutical Consulting in Connecticut, advising biotechnology companies on their drug development and regulatory needs. Prior to Pars, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of ExSAR Corporation from 2005 to 2010, moving the company from a platform-based drug discovery service provider to a drug development enterprise, wherein ExSAR built a drug pipeline of small drug molecules for potential treatment of genetic diseases and neurological disorders. Prior to ExSAR, Dr. Almassian was the Chief Operating Officer at Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a private company focused on the discovery of drugs for the treatment of cancer and neurological disorders. Before joining Panacea, he held executive positions at Vion where he built the company’s drug development operations. Before Vion, he was with Genelabs Technologies (GNLB), where he was responsible for the pharmaceutical development of three drugs for the treatment of cancer, HIV and lupus. Dr. Almassian received his MS in Medicinal Chemistry from Northeastern University in Boston and his PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences in Boston.