COMPANY OVERVIEW
First Wave BioPharma, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of targeted, orally delivered therapies for gastrointestinal (GI) diseases.
First Wave is currently advancing a therapeutic development pipeline populated with multiple clinical stage programs built around its three proprietary technologies – latiglutenase, a potentially first-in-class oral biotherapeutic designed to aid gluten digestion and potentially reduce symptoms of celiac disease; capeserod, a selective 5-HT4 receptor partial agonist being developed for gastroparesis; and adrulipase, a recombinant lipase designed to enable the digestion of fats and other nutrients in patients with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.
On each front, First Wave’s mission is the same – to bring relief to patients living daily with the often painful, dangerous and discomforting symptoms inherent to gastrointestinal disease, to protect their health and to restore quality of life.
OUR TEAM
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JAMES SAPIRSTEIN - CHAIRMAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER |
Mr. Sapirstein has served for over thirty-nine years in the pharmaceutical industry. After spending seventeen years in large Pharma companies, Mr. Sapirstein started his career in smaller biotech companies when he later joined Gilead Sciences, Inc. to lead the Global Marketing team in its launch of Viread (tenofovir). In 2002, he accepted the position of Executive Vice President, Metabolic and Endocrinology, for Serono Laboratories. Later, in 2006, he became the founding Chief Executive Officer of Tobira Therapeutics, then a private company. Tobira Therapeutics was acquired by Allergan in 2016. In 2012, Mr. Sapirstein became the Chief Executive Officer of Alliqua, Inc. Thereafter, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Contravir Pharmaceuticals from March 2014 until October 2018. Mr. Sapirstein has raised over $400 Million dollars in venture capital and public capital markets financing in his various engagements as Chief Executive Officer. He was named as a Finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2015 as well as in 2016. Mr. Sapirstein currently holds board positions on Renovaro Biosciences, ZyVersa Therapeutics and Blue Water Biotech. He was Chairman of the Board for BioNJ, an association of biopharma industries in New Jersey from February 2017 to February 2019. In addition, he is a member of the Board of Directors for BIO (Biotechnology Innovation Organization), the leading biotechnology trade organization promoting public policy and networking in the healthcare space, where he sits on the Emerging Companies Section Governing Board and Health Section Board. Mr. Sapirstein received a BS (Pharmacy) from Rutgers University and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University. |
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JACK SYAGE, PH.D. – PRESIDENT & CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER |
Dr. Syage has over 30 years of experience in creating and leading the development of innovative technologies in the analytical instrumentation field. He is regarded as a leading expert in mass spectrometry and trace chemical detection. |
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SARAH ROMANO - CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER |
Sarah Romano, CPA, was appointed as Chief Financial Officer of First Wave BioPharma in March 2022. She previously served as Chief Financial Officer of Kiora Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: KPRX) (formerly EyeGate Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company developing products for treating ophthalmic diseases, from February 2017 through February 2022 and as its Corporate Controller from August 2016 to January 2017. Prior to joining Kiora, Ms. Romano served as Assistant Controller at TechTarget from June 2015 through August 2016 and Corporate Controller at Bowdoin Group, a healthcare-focused executive recruiting firm, from September 2013 through May 2015. Previously, she held financial reporting positions of increasing responsibility at SoundBite Communications from 2008 until its acquisition by Genesys in 2013, and at Cognex Corporation from 2004 through 2008. Ms. Romano began her career as an Auditor in the Boston office of PricewaterhouseCoopers. A licensed CPA in Massachusetts, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from College of the Holy Cross and a Master of Accounting from Boston College. |
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MARTIN KRUSIN - SVP FOR CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT |
Mr. Krusin is an experienced executive with 20 years of business development, strategic marketing, financing and operating experience in the healthcare, financial services, and consulting sectors. Prior to joining First Wave BioPharma as VP for Business Development in 2014, Mr. Krusin was VP for BD at FluoroPharma Medical, Inc.; Director of Business Development at Clewed (a business services and investment partnership); an Experienced Commercial Leader at GE Capital in its Global Sponsor Finance, Healthcare Financial Services, and Capital Solutions units; Vice President of Marketing & Sales and Director of Business Development at Electro-Optical Sciences (MelaSciences); and an analyst in the Emerging Markets Strategic Planning Group at Citigroup. He has also served as a mentor, business coach and head of coaching to over 20 life-science starts-ups, spanning therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices, healthcare IT, and bio-materials, in the ELab NYC EDC entrepreneurship program from 2016 to the present. Mr. Krusin received an MBA from Columbia Business School in finance and marketing, an MPhil. in political economy from Oxford University, and a BA in international relations from Swarthmore College. |
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JENNIFER SEALEY-VOYKSNER, PH.D. VP FOR RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT |
Dr. Sealey-Voyksner has more than 30 years’ experience in academic and commercial research and development in pharmaceutical, environmental and food sciences. Her expertise is the study and analysis of protein biomarkers and allergenic proteins. |
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TED STOVER - VP OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT |
Mr. Stover joined First Wave BioPharma in 2020 as the Product Development Director to oversee CMC and Project Management. Prior to joining First Wave BioPharma, Mr. Stover spent 20 years focused on manufacturing operations and analytical method development to support all stages of pharmaceutical drug development. Most recently Mr. Stover served as the Senior Director of Program Management for Biorasi after holding positions of Vice President Manufacturing at SCI and Operations Manager for Prioria Robotics. Mr. Stover earned his MBA from the University of Florida. |
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MATTHEW DICKASON – VP OF CLINICAL OPERATIONS |
Mr. Dickason has nearly 30 years of experience in the specialty pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device fields. Most recently he served as Managing Director of Renaissance Associates, a Contract Research Organization (CRO) he founded. |
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AMY CHANDLER - VP OF REGULATORY AFFAIRS, QA & COMPLIANCE |
Ms. Chandler has more than 25 years of experience in the medical device, pharmaceutical and combination product industries, supporting CNS, cardiovascular, endovascular, consumer and wound care product development and manufacturing. She began her career at Johnson & Johnson where she held multiple positions of increasing levels of responsibilities within the Quality Assurance organization (QAU, QA, QC, QE, SQA). She has expertise in the development of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs organizations and systems throughout all stages of a product life cycle. In addition, she has created both US and international strategies and submissions to secure key regulatory approvals and ensure quality and compliance. Ms. Chandler holds a B.S. degree in Chemistry, a M.S. degree in Textile Technology, and is RAC (Global) certified. |
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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JAMES SAPIRSTEIN - CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER |
Mr. Sapirstein has served for over thirty-nine years in the pharmaceutical industry. After spending seventeen years in large Pharma companies, Mr. Sapirstein started his career in smaller biotech companies when he later joined Gilead Sciences, Inc. to lead the Global Marketing team in its launch of Viread (tenofovir). In 2002, he accepted the position of Executive Vice President, Metabolic and Endocrinology, for Serono Laboratories. Later, in 2006, he became the founding Chief Executive Officer of Tobira Therapeutics, then a private company. Tobira Therapeutics was acquired by Allergan in 2016. In 2012, Mr. Sapirstein became the Chief Executive Officer of Alliqua, Inc. Thereafter, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Contravir Pharmaceuticals from March 2014 until October 2018. Mr. Sapirstein has raised over $400 Million dollars in venture capital and public capital markets financing in his various engagements as Chief Executive Officer. He was named as a Finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2015 as well as in 2016. Mr. Sapirstein currently holds board positions on Renovaro Biosciences, ZyVersa Therapeutics and Blue Water Biotech. He was Chairman of the Board for BioNJ, an association of biopharma industries in New Jersey from February 2017 to February 2019. In addition, he is a member of the Board of Directors for BIO (Biotechnology Innovation Organization), the leading biotechnology trade organization promoting public policy and networking in the healthcare space, where he sits on the Emerging Companies Section Governing Board and Health Section Board. Mr. Sapirstein received a BS (Pharmacy) from Rutgers University and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University. |
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EDWARD J. BORKOWSKI - LEAD INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR |
Mr. Borkowski joined our board of directors in May 2015. He previously served as the Executive Vice President at TherapeuticsMD and Chief Financial Officer of ConvaTec Healthcare, CareFusion Corporation and Mylan, Inc. and in a variety of finance positions at Pharmacia, American Home Products, Cyanamid and at Arthur Andersen. Mr. Borkowski holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Political Science from Allegheny College and a Master in Business Administration in Finance and Accounting from Rutgers University. |
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TERRY COELHO - DIRECTOR |
Ms. Coelho joined our board of directors in August 2021. She currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer for Gamida Cell Ltd. She previously served as the Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Chief Business Development Officer of CinCor Pharma, Inc. a clinical stage cardiorenal therapeutics company, having led the company through its IPO in early 2022 and the preparation for its eventual sale to AstraZeneca. Previously, Ms. Coelho served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. (NASDAQ: BDSI), a commercial-stage specialty pharmaceutical company, from January 2019 to November 2021. Prior to her tenure at BDSI, Ms. Coelho served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer at Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ: BCPC) and Chief Operating Officer for Diversey, Inc., a multi-billion-dollar global private equity carve-out from Sealed Air Corporation. She additionally held senior finance positions at Diversey Care, including that of Division Chief Financial Officer and VP of Global Commercial Excellence, from October 2014 through August 2017. Ms. Coelho has also served in senior finance and operational leadership roles of increasing responsibility with leading global organizations, including Mars, Incorporated for 20 years, and Novartis Pharmaceuticals from 2007 to 2014, including serving as Global Head of Oncology Development Finance. Ms. Coelho currently also serves on the Board of Directors of HOOKIPA Pharma and the Board of Directors of Inotiv, Inc.. Ms. Coelho earned an MBA in Finance from IBMEC in Brazil and a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Economics and International Relations, summa cum laude, from The American University School of International Service in Washington, DC. She has led Women’s Networking ERGs at several companies and is a founding Steering Committee Member of the CFO Leadership Council – Charlotte, North Carolina, chapter. |
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CHAITAN KHOSLA, PH.D. – DIRECTOR |
Dr. Khosla is a Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Stanford University and the founding director of the university’s Innovative Medicines Accelerator. He received his Ph.D. in 1990 at Caltech. After completing postdoctoral studies in 1992, he joined the faculty of Stanford University. In 2002 he and his collaborators discovered that the immunotoxicity of dietary gluten in celiac disease is causatively correlated to its intestinal proteolytic resistance, a finding that led to the invention of latiglutenase by his laboratory. He has co-authored over 400 peer-reviewed publications and is an inventor on more than 80 issued U.S. patents. Dr. Khosla is an elected member of the American Academy for Arts and Science, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Sciences. Over the past three decades, he has helped launch and build four biotechnology companies including Kosan Biosciences (NASDAQ:KOSN; acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb in 2008) and Sitari Pharmaceuticals (acquired by GlaxoSmithKline in 2019). |
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ALASTAIR RIDDELL MSc. MBChB. DSc. - DIRECTOR |
Dr. Riddell joined our board of directors in September 2015. He is also currently Chairman of a private UK biotech, Nemesis Biosciences Ltd, Chairman of a UK AIM listed medical imaging company Feedback plc and Chairman of the South West Academic Health Science Network, which fosters links between the NHS, industry and universities. He was also on the board of directors of another US private company, Skyline Vet Pharma until April 2017. Dr. Riddell has over 30 years experience in the pharmaceutical, life science and biotech industries, 18 years as main board director. After 10 years directing phases 1-4 clinical trials of antibiotics, oncology and intensive care products for companies including Lederle (now Pfizer) and Centocor (now J&J), he spent 5 years managing sales and marketing for oncology and imaging products for Amersham International (now GE Healthcare). This led to 12 years as CEO for 3 UK biotech companies, Pharmagene, Paradigm Therapeutics and Stem Cell Sciences; in these roles he was the principal involved in significant fund raising including an IPO on UK’s main list and trade sales to Takeda in Japan and Stem Cells Inc. in the USA. He has since had several roles in UK government initiatives related to promoting cooperation between pharmaceutical companies and the NHS and assessing projects for funding with Innovate UK. He began his career as a medical doctor in a variety of hospital specialties and in general practice. He was recently awarded a Doctorate of Science, Honoris Causa by Aston University. |
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JACK SYAGE, PH.D. – PRESIDENT & CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER |
Dr. Syage has over 30 years of experience in creating and leading the development of innovative technologies in the analytical instrumentation field. He is regarded as a leading expert in mass spectrometry and trace chemical detection. |
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CHARLES CASAMENTO - DIRECTOR |
Mr. Casamento joined our board in March 2017. Since 2007 Mr. Casamento has been executive director and principal of The Sage Group, a health care advisory group. He was president and CEO of Osteologix, a start up company which he eventually took public, from October 2004 until April 2007. Mr. Casamento was the founder of Questcor Pharmaceuticals where he was president, CEO and chairman from 1999 through 2004. At Questcor he acquired Acthar, a product whose sales eventually exceeded $1.0 Billion. Eventually Questcor was acquired by Mallinckrodt. At RiboGene Inc. he was president, CEO and chairman from 1993 until 1999 when he merged the company with another company to form Questcor where he continued as CEO and Chairman. He was also co-founder, president and CEO of Indevus (formerly Interneuron Pharmaceuticals). Eventually Indevus was acquired by Endo. He has held senior management positions at Genzyme Corporation, where he was Senior Vice President, American Hospital Supply, where he was Vice President of Business Development for the Critical Care division, Johnson & Johnson, Hoffmann-LaRoche and Sandoz. He currently sits on the Boards of Directors of First Wave Bio, Relmada Therapeutics, where he is also Chairman, GT Biopharma, PaxMedica, Inc. and Eton Pharmaceuticals. He was previously a director and vice-chairman of the Catholic Medical Missions Board a large not for profit international organization. During his career he has served as a director on the Boards of fifteen public Biotech/Pharma companies. He holds a bachelor's degree in Pharmacy from Fordham University and an M.B.A. from Iona University. |