Chairperson of the Board, Audit Committee Chair
Compensation Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Board Member
Compensation Committee Chair, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Audit Committee, Compensation Committee
Board Member
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Chair, Compensation Committee
Audit Committee, Compensation Committee
Tamara A. Favorito has served as a director and chair of the audit committee of our Company since August 2021, and as our board chair since May 2023. Ms. Favorito has more than 30 years of life sciences industry experience including 20 years as a chief financial officer. She currently serves as a board member and audit committee chair of Artelo Biosciences, Inc. since March 2021, a publicly-traded clinical-development stage company. Ms. Favorito was interim chief financial officer of Immunic, Inc., a publicly-traded clinical-stage drug development company in 2019. She served as chief financial officer of Signal Genetics, Inc. (now Viridian Therapeutics, Inc.), a publicly-traded molecular diagnostics company, from 2014 to 2017, HemaQuest Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a venture-backed clinical-stage drug development company, from 2010 to 2014 and Favrille, Inc. (now MMR Global, Inc.), a publicly-traded clinical-stage drug development company, from 2001 to 2009. Earlier in her career, she spent eight years in public accounting with Deloitte & Touche LLP and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Ms. Favorito is a certified public accountant (inactive). She received an MBA, emphasis in Finance, from Georgia State University, and a BBA, emphasis in Accounting, from Valdosta State University. Our Board believes that Ms. Favorito’s deep experience in corporate management, finance and life science as chief financial officer of multiple public companies provides her with the qualifications and skills to serve as a director of our Company. Her extensive experience includes leading multiple private and public financings, including Favorille’s IPO, and M&A transactions as well as leading the finance, investor relations, human resources, administration and managed care functions. Ms. Favorito served on the board of directors of Beacon Discovery, Inc. from 2018 until their acquisition in March 2021 and on the board of directors of Kintara Therapeutics, Inc. from 2021 until its merger with TuHura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: HURA) in October 2024.
Alvin Shih, M.D. has served as a director of our Company since January 2024. Dr. Shih has broad experience in drug development, spanning multiple indications with a focus on rare diseases, including as the chief operating officer and founding member of Pfizer Inc.’s rare disease research unit from May 2010 to May 2014. Most recently, he has served as president and chief executive officer of Catamaran Bio, Inc. since February 2021. Prior to his current role, from July 2019 to December 2020 he served as the chief executive officer of Disarm Therapeutics, a biotechnology company that developed therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases and that was acquired by Eli Lilly in October 2020. Before that, Dr. Shih was chief executive officer of Enzyvant Therapeutics from November 2016 to February 2019, where he led the company’s cell/tissue-based therapy development for treating a rare immunological disease. He was also the executive vice president and head of research at Retrophin, Inc. where he worked on therapies for multiple disease indications. Dr. Shih previously worked in management consulting at McKinsey & Company and L.E.K. Consulting, LLC. He received his medical degree from the University of Alabama and completed his residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Shih received his M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. The Board believes that Dr. Shih’s significant leadership experience in the biotechnology industry and his experience in rare disease qualifies him to serve on the Board.
Neil F. McFarlane has served as our president, chief executive officer, and a director of our Company since October 2023. Mr. McFarlane served as a member of the board of directors of Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc. between April 2022 and July 2024. Previously, Mr. McFarlane served as the chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from September 2019 until its acquisition by Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in November 2021. Mr. McFarlane worked as an independent consultant between June 2019 and August 2019 and again between December 2021 and September 2023 providing consulting services for biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and financial services companies. From August 2016 to May 2019, Mr. McFarlane served as the chief operating officer of Retrophin, Inc., now known as Travere Therapeutics, Inc., where he was responsible for overseeing operations. From 2011 to 2016 Mr. McFarlane served as vice president and general manager of UCB, Inc.’s U.S. Immunology Business Unit and as vice president for its Global Bone Business Unit in collaboration with Amgen Inc. Prior to his positions at UCB, Mr. McFarlane held positions of increasing responsibility with Genzyme Corporation (“Genzyme”) and Sangstat Medical Corporation prior to its acquisition by Genzyme. Mr. McFarlane previously served as an officer and enlisted soldier in the United States Army Reserves. He received his B.S. degree and M.S. degree in Nursing from the University of Florida. Our Board believes that Mr. McFarlane’s over 20 years of global biopharmaceutical and life sciences experience provide him with the qualifications and skills to serve as a director.
Thomas D. Anderson has served as a director of our Company since August 2023. Mr. Anderson is a 35-year veteran of the biopharma industry and has led and been a part of high-growth organizations for much of his career. Mr. Anderson has served as chief executive officer and director of SwanBio Therapeutics since September 2019 until semi-retirement in October 2023, and subsequently resigned his board directorship in March 2024. Prior to that, he served as the chief commercial strategy officer of Sage Therapeutics, Inc. from 2014 to 2018. Between 2004 and 2014, Mr. Anderson was a senior operating executive with Shire Pharmaceuticals Group in a number of operational and strategic roles in both rare diseases and specialty pharmaceuticals. Prior to Shire, he spent 17 years at Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical companies, McNeil and Janssen, in various business capacities. Mr. Anderson is also an investor partner at Robin Hood Ventures in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mr. Anderson earned his MBA from the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business Administration. He received his BS in civil engineering from the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering at Lehigh University. Our Board believes that Mr. Anderson’s significant leadership experience in the biotechnology industry and his experience in rare disease qualifies him to serve on the Board.
Alicia Secor has served as director of our Company since December 2025. Ms. Secor has more than thirty years of experience in the life sciences industry. She most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Atalanta Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company pioneering new treatment options for neurodegenerative diseases. Prior to her role at Atalanta Therapeutics, Ms. Secor served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Juniper Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded pharmaceutical company, from August 2016 until August 2018, when the company was acquired by Catalent, Inc. From 1998 to 2013, Ms. Secor held various roles of increasing responsibility at Genzyme (now a part of Sanofi), culminating in her tenure as Vice President and General Manager of Metabolic Diseases. Ms. Secor was a member of the Board of Directors of Orchard Therapeutics plc, an English global gene therapy company that was publicly traded in the United States on the Nasdaq market, until its acquisition in January 2024. She also served on the Boards of G1 Therapeutics, Inc., a public company, prior to its acquisition by Pharmacosmos A/S, GW Pharmaceuticals plc, a public company, prior to its acquisition by Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc, and the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research, a non-profit organization. Ms. Secor holds an MBA from D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University and a BS in Health Administration from the University of New Hampshire.
John B. Bode has served as a director of our Company since April 2023. Since February 2015, Mr. Bode has been the owner and managing director of Aerie Investments, LLC, an investment company focused on assisting legacy media companies and digital media start-ups with business development, strategic initiatives, and raising capital. Mr. Bode currently serves as the chief financial officer and chief transformation officer of Postmedia Network Canada Corp., a publishing company whose shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Since September 2022, he has served as the interim chief executive officer of Fision Holdings, Inc. and previously served as an independent member of its board of directors from March 2018 to September 2022. Mr. Bode’s past corporate experience includes many years serving as a key executive and/or financial officer for leading public companies. Prior to the founding of Aerie Investments, LLC, Mr. Bode was the chief financial officer of the Tribune Publishing Company from October 2013 to January 2015. From January 2011 to September 2013, Mr. Bode served as the chief financial officer of Source Interlink Companies, one of the largest enthusiast media companies in the United States and a leading distributor of periodicals, after serving in other accounting and finance roles with Source Interlink since 2002. Mr. Bode currently serves as on the board of The McClatchy Company, a leading privately-held publisher of newspapers, as well as of SPAR Group, Inc., a leading global provider of merchandising, marketing and distribution services that is listed on the Nasdaq. He was previously employed as a certified public accountant for BDO Seidman. Mr. Bode received a BS in accounting from Notre Dame University.
Douglas W. Calder has served as a director of our Company since April 2023. Since 2015, Mr. Calder has served as president and a director of Vycellix, Inc and its subsidiaries and affiliates. He has also served as a member of the board of directors for NextGenNK since June 2019; member of the board of directors of BioFlorida since January 2019, and a member of the Society for Natural Immunity since July 2018, and as an independent director for Revovaro, Inc. (Nasdaq: RENB) since October 2024. Mr. Calder has more than 30 years of life science executive experience, having served in various senior executive roles for Florida-based biotechnology companies and research institutes including Viragen, Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, Biovest International and the Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute of Florida, as well as having formerly served as a registered financial portfolio manager with a focus on life science equities with the New York Stock Exchange member firms, Gruntal & Co. and Dean Witter Reynolds. Mr. Calder received a BA from Florida State University.
Corey Watton has served as a director of our Company since April 2023. Mr. Watton currently serves as president and chief executive officer of Fusion Medical Staffing, LLC, since September 2023. Prior to his CEO role, Mr. Watton served as chief financial officer from August 2019 until September 2023. In that role he oversaw finance, project management, operations, facilities and legal, and previously oversaw human resources as well. From April 2009 through July 2019, he served as the chief financial officer of Home Instead Senior Health Care, a global leader in in-home health care, where he oversaw finance, subsidiary companies and the financial arm of an international subsidiary. He previously was a partner of Lutz & Company, a regional accounting firm from 1996 to 2009. Mr. Watton is a certified public accountant and received a BS in Finance and Accounting from University of Nebraska-Lincoln.