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WHO ARE BIOCURE'S INVESTORS?
WHERE DOES BIOCURE STAND TODAY?
WHO ARE BIOCURE'S MANAGEMENT?
Who
are BioCure's Investors?
Our
first round of investment, completed in September 1999, was made
by the original supporters of the seed project within CIBA Vision:
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CIBA
Vision, Switzerland and USA
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Novartis
Venture Fund, Switzerland
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CRCERT/CSIRO,
Australia
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Institute
for Eye Research, Australia
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We completed a second round of investment in August 2006 with the
support of the original investors. A leading spine and orthopedic
company made a new investment in BioCure Inc.
Where
does BioCure stand today?
BioCure
continues to reinvest its financial returns from its license to
and its manufacturing collaboration with Biocompatibles UK Ltd.
By restricting its focus to R&D and manufacturing, BioCure has
been able to continue to partner with leading commercial and research
partners in the therapeutic areas of spine and orthopedic and wound
care. These programs target short and medium-term regulatory approvals.
We are seeking to expand collaborations in these sectors.
Additionally, we have recently formed a Swiss subsidiary company,
BioCure (Schweiz) GmBH, which is focused on the development of our
intellectual capital in the exciting area of nanotechnology. We
are actively seeking new collaborations and, potentially, new investors
as we develop a detailed product pipeline.
Who
are BioCure's management?
We
have an experienced management team supported by highly trained
and innovative researchers in the areas of polymer science, cell
biology, engineering, manufacturing and quality control.
Mr.
Andrew Maslaveckas is CEO, President, co-founder and Operating
Officer of BioCure responsible for all of BioCure’s research
and commercial operations. Mr. Maslaveckas has over 30 years of
experience in managing and building both consumer and professional
health care companies.
Prior to the establishment of BioCure, Mr. Maslaveckas, as Head
of New Growth Businesses at CIBA
Vision, was primarily responsible for identifying the commercial
and market rationale for BioCure's spin-off from Novartis.
Joining Ciba Vision in 1993, Mr. Maslaveckas, as Global Head of
Contact Lenses, was charged with developing and implementing an
aggressive strategy to build a significant presence in the disposable
contact lens segment and to grow CIBA Vision's contact lens profitability
and market share in the contact lens business in the face of strong
competition from Johnson & Johnson and Bausch & Lomb. During
his tenure, CIBA Vision's sales revenues increased over 30% per
annum and approached $500 million with excellent returns on sales
and capital.
Prior to 1993, Mr. Maslaveckas worked for 14 years with Johnson
& Johnson in a number of executive positions in the consumer
and professional businesses.
In 1989, he joined Vistakon UK in its first year as Managing Director
responsible for relaunching its ACUVUE* disposable contact lens
franchise following initial revenue and financial disappointments.
Mr. Maslaveckas initiated a highly successful campaign which culminated
in Vistakon achieving the #1 position in the market in his second
year and building the business to J&J's largest revenue brand
in the UK through aggressive consumer and professional initiatives.
In 1991, Mr. Maslaveckas added responsibilities for Vistakon Germany
and later joined both the J&J UK Board and was Vistakon's representative
on the European Management Committee of J&J's Professional segment.
In 1985, Mr. Maslaveckas, following a regional assignment in Morocco,
was named as the first Managing Director of the company and charged
with the establishment of a sales, marketing and manufacturing presence
and infrastructure. During his six years in Morocco, the company
became the #1 market leader in the baby toiletries, sanitary protection
and shampoo markets through aggressive and innovative commercial
programs. Latterly, the company assumed responsibilities for J&J's
professional and pharmaceutical franchises.
Mr. Maslaveckas joined J&J in the UK as an Area Manager and
subsequently a Regional Manager in its sales and marketing department
charged with P&L responsibility for distributor territories
in Southern Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Mr. Maslaveckas graduated M.A. (Hons) in French and Russian from
the University of Glasgow in 1977.
Dr.
Fiona Carney is Clinical and Project Director at BioCure Inc.
Dr
Carney studied her PhD at the University of New South Wales in Sydney,
Australia. The subject of her thesis was the biocompatibility of
new ocular devices. Throughout her years in the medical device industry
she has also gained her Diploma in Project Management and been elected
a Fellow in the British Contact Lens Association.
Dr
Carney left Australia in 1998 to take a Postdoctoral position at
The Medical Center at Louisiana State University with Dr Jean Jacob.
It was here that Dr Carney studies the affect and residence of various
ocular medications on severe dry eye as well as identifying any
distinct difference in tear protein profile between the normal and
dry eye state.
In
1999, Dr Carney then took another Postdoctoral position at Ciba
Vision in Atlanta Georgia where she studied novel antimicrobial
peptides and the use of various surface polymer chemistry techniques
to covalently attach without the loss of biological function.
After
18 months Dr Carney became a senior Scientist at Ciba Vision in
which she investigated the use of daily disposable contact lenses
as a collection device for ex vivo diagnostics. Clinical correlations
and feasibility of the device was shown for the detection of steroid
hormones for ovulation detection as well as glucose correlations
for the diagnosis of diabetes and diabetic retinopathy. In doing
this Dr Carney was responsible for the design of unique and specialized
animal studies to ensure safety and efficacy of the products.
Throughout
Dr Carney’s years as a Principal Scientist at Ciba Vision
she studied the binding affinity of various tear film proteins dependent
on surface chemistry. These findings translated to the additions
of various polymers to contact lenses and storage solutions to decrease
protein adsorption to lenses and increase vision clarity and comfort.
Dr Carney also served on the Corporate Advisory Board for the Tear
Film and Ocular Surface Society and a reviewer for the Investigative
Ophthalmology and Visual Science journal. She also has 4 issued
patents and 8 patent applications, amongst various publications
and presentations.
Dr
Carney joined BioCure Inc. in October 2007 to become Project Director
for the development of a medical device in the orthopedic area.
Dr Carney is also responsible for all preclinical studies performed
at BioCure Inc.
Dr.
Thomas Hirt is Vice President of Research and Development
and General Manager of BioCure (Schweiz) GmbH.
Dr. Hirt joined
Ciba Geigy AG in 1995 working at its Central Research Unit in Basel,
Switzerland. After one year, he transferred to Ciba Vision in Atlanta,
USA as a Senior Scientist working primarily on developing new polymeric
materials for extended wear contact lenses. In this context, he
also synthesized amphiphilic triblock copolymers, that were used
to make the first hollow, polymeric nanovesicles in water.
After 3 years
at Ciba Vision, he moved back to Switzerland to head up the Research
and Development and New Business Development efforts at SEFAR, Printing
Division. During the 8 years at SEFAR AG, as a member of the Divisional
Management, he implemented state of the art R&D procedures,
increased sales of new products from annual growth in the low single
digits to high double digits percentages. At SEFAR, he gained experience
in contract negotiations, business processes, product development
and project and technology management.
Dr. Hirt joined
BioCure in January 2007 to lead the start-up of BioCure Switzerland.
As an original inventor, he is responsible for the business and
product development of the hollow, polymeric nanovesicles. He is
also responsible for the corporate materials development group.
Dr.
Hirt is a graduate from ETH in Zurich in Technical Chemistry, conducted
his PhD in polymer science and holds a Diploma in Marketing. The
subject of his PhD is the synthesis and characterization of new
degradable polymers for medical applications.
Sameer
Shums is the QA/RA Manager at BioCure, Inc.
Mr.
Shums is an engineer with over 10 years of experience developing
devices for a variety of medical applications. Mr. Shums started
as an R&D Engineer with Novoste Corp. developing catheter-based
delivery systems for their vascular brachytherapy device for the
treatment of in-stent restenosis.
Following
Novoste, Mr. Shums worked for CardioMEMS, Inc., providing Operations
support for the development and manufacture of the 1st and 2nd generations
of the EndoSure® Wireless Sensor for aneurysms. He worked at
CardioMEMS for 3+ years before joining BioCure, Inc. as a Project
Director.
Mr. Shums joined BioCure in July 2007 and assumed responsibility
for the development of the GelSpray™ in situ forming hydrogel
dressing, and the next generation applications intended to provide
drug delivery capability. He is also responsible for engineering
activities at BioCure including test method development and the
design of delivery systems for the various polymers. Recently, Mr.
Shums has assumed responsibilities for Quality Assurance & Regulatory
Affairs for BioCure.
Mr. Shums graduated from the University of Miami with a BS in Biomedical
Engineering with a mechanical concentration and from the University
of Georgia with a MBA.
Please
contact us if you have any questions.
We'd be happy to provide you with more information.
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