Team
James Sapirstein
President and CEO
Mr. Sapirstein, who most recently served as chief executive officer and board member for ContraVir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (now known as Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASADQ: HEPA)), has nearly 36 years of pharmaceutical industry experience spanning areas such as drug development and commercialization. In particular, Mr. Sapirstein has participated in 23 product launches, six of which were global launches that he led. He is also credited with leading numerous business development transactions over the course of his career. Prior to ContraVir, Mr. Sapirstein was chief executive officer of Alliqua Therapeutics, served as the founding chief executive officer of Tobira Therapeutics, and as executive vice president, metabolic and endocrinology for Serono Laboratories. Mr. Sapirstein’s earlier career included a number of senior level positions in the area of marketing and commercialization, including global marketing team lead for Viread (tenofovir) while at Gilead Sciences and director of international marketing of the infectious disease division at Bristol Myers Squibb. Mr. Sapirstein serves on the emerging companies and health section boards of Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and is currently the Chairman Emeritus of BioNJ. Mr. Sapirstein earned a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Rutgers University and holds an MBA degree in management from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Daniel Schneiderman
Chief Financial Officer
Daniel Schneiderman was appointed as Chief Financial Officer of the Company in January 2020. Mr. Schneiderman is seasoned finance executive with over 18 years of experience in the areas of capital markets and finance operations. Prior to joining the Company, from November 2018 through December 2019 Mr. Schneiderman served as Chief Financial Officer of Biophytis SA, and its U.S. subsidiary, Biophytis, Inc., a European-based, clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of drug candidates for age-related diseases, with a primary focus on neuromuscular diseases. From February 2012 through August 2018, Mr. Schneiderman served as Vice President of Finance, Controller and Secretary of MetaStat, Inc. (OTC: MTST), a publicly traded biotechnology company with a focus on Rx/Dx precision medicine solutions to treat patients with aggressive (metastatic) cancer. Mr. Schneiderman began his career at Burnham Hill Partners LLC, a division of Pali Capital, Inc., a boutique investment bank providing capital raising, advisory and merchant banking services in February 2004, where he served in various roles and increasing responsibilities, including as Vice President of Investment Banking until January 2012. Mr. Schneiderman holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Tulane University.
James Pennington
MD, Chief Medical Officer
Previous to joining AzurRx, Dr. Pennington spent eleven years at Anthera Pharmaceuticals as Chief Medical Officer and Senior Clinical Fellow. Prior that, he has held senior medical positions in a number of biopharmaceutical companies, including InterMune, Cotherix, and Bayer Pharmaceutical. Dr. Pennington has led registration efforts for twelve successful BLA/NDA submissions in the U.S. and another ten in Europe and Asia. Prior to joining the biotech industry, Dr. Pennington spent ten years on the Medical Faculty of Harvard Medical School. Dr. Pennington received his medical degree from the University of Oregon Health Sciences Universary, and is boarded in internal medicine and infectious diseases.
Martin Krusin
Senior Vice President 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 AzurRx 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 (now MelaSciences); and an analyst in the Emerging Markets Strategic Planning Group at Citigroup. Mr. Krusin received a MBA from Columbia Business School in finance and marketing, a MPhil. in political economy from Oxford University, and a BA in international relations from Swarthmore College.
Dinesh Srinivasan
PhD, Vice President for Translational Research
Dr. Srinivasan has over 15 years of leadership experience in drug discovery and development in the pharmaceutical industry. He previously was Director, Scientific BD at Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc., where he wore multiple hats including program management and translational sciences to support the ongoing clinical development programs. He began his career in industry as a post-doctoral fellow at Roche Palo Alto and worked in drug discovery as Scientist/Senior Scientist/Group Leader at Roche in Palo Alto and Nutley, NJ. Dr. Srinivasan received his MSc in Biotechnology from The University of Mumbai, India and a PhD In Pharmacology & Toxicology from the University of Arizona, Tucson.
Ted Stover
Senior Director of Product Development
Mr. Stover joined AzurRx in 2020 as the Product Development Director to oversee CMC and Project Management. Prior to joining AzurRx, 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.
Tony Baca
Vice President for Clinical Operations
Mr. Baca joined AzurRx as Vice President, Clinical Operations in January 2021. Mr. Baca brings more than 20 years of drug development experience to AzurRx, most recently as Senior Director of Clinical Operations at Nektar Therapeutics, where he held leadership roles in both the oncology and COVID programs. Prior to that, he held increasingly senior clinical operations positions in the biotech industry, including roles at PPD, Genentech, and Puma Biotechnology. He previously was a Strategy Associate in the life science practice of Booz Allen Hamilton. Mr. Baca received his MBA with a specialization in Finance from New York University, and a BA in Psychology from San Diego State University.