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Chairman of the Board, President and CEO
Dr. Mjalli is an internationally recognized expert in drug discovery and development of new medicines in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Dr. Mjalli is the founder, Chairman of the Board, President & CEO of TransTech Pharma, Inc., a drug discovery and development company and currently serves as Chairman of the Board of PharmaCore a drug discovery tool company, having previously been its founder, President and CEO. Dr. Mjalli obtained his Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry in 1989 from the University of Exeter, UK. His postdoctoral work was carried out at the University of Rochester. Dr. Mjalli has held various positions of increasing responsibility in research and senior management at several pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies including Merck & Co., Inc. and Ontogen Corporation. He is the author of more than 40 scientific papers, four book chapters and an inventor on more than 620 patents and patent applications. Dr. Mjalli also serves on the Board of Directors of Siga Technologies, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, and High Point Economic Development Corporation. Dr. Mjalli has raised more than $110M for TransTech Pharma and PharmaCore.
Dr. Mjalli has been the recipient of several awards and honors including: the 2007 Fast 50 Award honoring the Triads 50 fastest growing private companies and their CEOs, Carolinas regional Finalist for Ernst & Young 2007 Entrepreneur of the Year, the Health Care Heroes Innovator Award and the North Carolina Biotechnology Economic Development Award from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. He has been named among the Triads Most Influential People, was issued the City of High Point North Carolina Key Award and awarded the Science Award in Recognition and Appreciation of Excellence in Innovation and Creativity by Helios Pharmaceuticals. As a student, he was the recipient of academic awards such as the Glaxo Group Research Scholarship for Ph.D. degree, the Lovis Rydon Memorial Research Prize for Outstanding Research from the University of Exeter and the European Economic Community Scholarship for M.S. degree.
Senior VP, Research and Development
Dr. Selmer graduated from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark summa cum laude.
After residency training he worked two years with Internal Medicine followed by three years with Infectious
Medicine at the University Hospital of Hvidovre, Denmark. In 1983 he joined Novo later Novo Nordisk A/S where
he initially worked as senior scientist. Within a few years he was promoted Vice President.
During his career at Novo Nordisk he had organizational responsibilities for most activities
within the research organization including the formulation and implementation of Novo Nordisk's
research strategies within new business areas. He was a permanent member of the strategy groups
for Novo Nordisk core areas: diabetes, growth hormone, and new biopharmaceuticals. In 1995 Dr. Selmer
was made responsible for the development and progression of the non-insulin diabetes portfolio and was
ultimately also given the responsibility for the scientific management of all these projects until
clinical proof of concept. Dr. Selmer's research interests have been within the areas of diabetes,
appetite regulation and haemostasis.
Senior VP, Chemistry
Dr. Andrews obtained his Ph.D. at the University of South Carolina in 1986 under the direction of Prof. James Marshall and completed postdoctoral studies in 1988 with Prof. Albert Meyers at Colorado State University. Dr. Andrews joined Glaxo Research and Development in 1988, pursuing orally active phospholipase A2 inhibitors and therapeutic agents for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). With Glaxo Wellcome Dr. Andrews progressed to the area of proteases and his team discovered potent inhibitors of tumor necrosis factor - alpha convertase (TACE) possessing oral activity in animal models of inflammatory disease. Dr. Andrews is the author of numerous papers and presentations, and is an inventor on numerous patents and patent applications.
Senior VP, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Holcombe received his Bachelor of Science degree in accountancy from Wake Forest University. Mr. Holcombe brings over 23 years of financial and managerial experience to TransTech Pharma. Over that time Mr. Holcombe has primarily been involved as an executive officer with early stage companies focusing on the execution of private and public financings, developing corporate alliance and partnership strategies and managing relationships with external constituents. From 1978 to 1985 he served in various positions of increasing responsibility with KPMG Peat Marwick. From 1985 to 1999 Mr. Holcombe served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Vanguard Cellular Systems, Inc., one of the largest independent wireless operators in the United States, until its sale to AT&T Wireless. Just prior to joining TransTech Pharma, Mr. Holcombe served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for BuildNet, Inc. an e-commerce software solutions provider to the residential construction industry.
Senior VP, Business Development
Mr. Ireland received his Bachelor of Science degree from Brock University in 1986. He began his career in sales and marketing with BioRad Laboratories in 1986 based in Hong Kong servicing all of Southeast Asia. Mr. Ireland joined Nalge Corporation in 1990 as Director of Asian Operations where he held line-management responsibility for their business throughout Asia. In 1993, Mr. Ireland joined F.H Faulding Pharmaceuticals, Australia's largest Australian-owned pharmaceutical company, as Director North Asia. Most recently, Mr. Ireland was Director of Business Development at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., in Ridgefield, Connecticut. There he led the Immunology Therapeutic Advisory Team for Boehringer worldwide, mandated with identifying global research and product licensing opportunities in the areas of immunology and inflammation.
Senior VP Legal Affairs
Ms. Showalter received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and English from Eastern Mennonite College and her Juris Doctorate from The University of Virginia School of Law. Following a clerkship on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, she moved into private practice at the Boston law firm Hill & Barlow, as a corporate attorney with a focus on representation of life science companies. Ms. Showalter's diverse legal experience includes numerous licensing transactions, joint ventures, mergers & acquisitions, corporate governance, litigation, employment law and a variety of commercial contracts. Following the dissolution of Hill & Barlow, Ms. Showalter worked as a consultant for several former clients, including Millennium Pharmaceuticals. She then moved to Medtronic, Inc. in Minneapolis, Minnesota where she was responsible for securities law filings and biotechnology transactions. Immediately prior to joining TransTech Pharma, Ms. Showalter served as General Counsel for Diosynth Biotechnology, a division of Organon, the human healthcare business of Akzo Nobel, Inc.
Senior VP, Biology
Dr. Rothlein obtained his Ph.D. in immunology at the Sloan-Kettering Division of The Cornell Graduate School of Medical Science in 1982; and in 1985 completed his post-doctoral fellowship at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in the laboratory of Dr. Timothy Springer where he identified ICAM-1 as a ligand for the CD18 family of adhesion molecules. Dr. Rothlein then moved to Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Ridgefield, Connecticut where he held various positions of increasing responsibility. Dr. Rothlein's research at Boehringer Ingelheim focused primarily on the discovery of antagonists of LFA-1/ICAM-1 interactions and on the biology of these two molecules. He is an inventor on 13 patents and an author on more than 100 publications.
VP, Discovery Management
Dr. Jane Shen obtained her Pharm.D. from the University of Southern California. Dr. Shen completed her post-doctoral research fellowship with Rutgers University/Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation in New Jersey. During her post-doctoral fellowship, she completed her clinical training at the National Cancer Institute, NIH in Maryland and the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Additionally, Dr. Shen held an Adjunct faculty position at Rutgers University. Dr. Shen began her clinical research career at Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, New Jersey, where she was the Clinical Trial Leader for multiple US and international Phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials in oncology, including pharmacokinetic studies. Dr. Shen's research focused on evaluating compounds for clinical trials in glioblastoma multiforme, liver metastases from breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and ovarian cancer.
Senior VP, Clinical Development
Dr. Agro completed his Ph.D. from the Department of Medicine at McMaster University in 1995. After a short post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Florence in Italy, Dr. Agro accepted an academic position as assistant professor, Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario which he still maintains today. In early 1996 he joined Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Ltd as a Project Manager in drug development. In 1998, Dr. Agro joined Bayer Inc. as Director, Cardiopulmonary Research and shortly thereafter became responsible for the international development of Bayers lipid-lowering agent Baycol out of Wuppertal, Germany. Offered the position of Therapeutic Area Director, Immunology, Virology and Respiratory Medicine, Dr. Agro, re-joined Boehringer Ingelheim in late 2000. In 2003, Dr. Agro jointly formed the Clinical Research arm of Axon Medical Communications. This team became known as a virtual medical department without a pharmaceutical company attached. By offering all the services of any pharma/biotech in-house medical department, Axon CR partnered in drug development programs for big pharma and biotech alike. Dr. Agro has been working as a consultant to TransTech Pharma since 2003 and joined the firm full time in 2007.
Senior VP, Clinical Research and Medical Affairs
Dr. Wamsley received his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa and performed postdoctoral training in Pharmacology at the Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Wamsley received his M.D. from New York Medical College and did his residency training in Kingston, NY (U.S. licensed in Medicine and Surgery). He established his career in academic research at the University of Utah (Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology), then continued at the University of North Dakota (Chair of the Division of Neuropharmacology) and Neuropsychiatric Research Institute (Director of Research), and finally at NYMC (Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Pharmacology; Head of Neuroscience). At these positions, Dr. Wamsley performed federally funded research as well as contractual research for several major pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Wamsley made a full time transition to industry by joining Wyeth as Clinical Director in Medical Affairs where he served on research teams from Discovery through Phase I-III clinical research and lead teams in Phase IV clinical research. He worked closely with both US and International Marketing as well as being a member of the Neuroscience Leadership Team and Co-Chair of a Global Brand Team. He then joined Targacept (Medical Director and Head of Translational Medicine), a small privately held biopharmaceutical company who underwent an IPO during Dr. Wamsleys tenure, where he participated in several CTA and IND submissions, and served as Medical Monitor on all Phase I and II studies. Dr. Wamsley has 400 publications and brings a broad background in both basic and clinical science, along with professional and industry related clinical research experience, to TransTech Pharma.
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