Board of Directors
David R. Elmaleh, PhD
Chairman, Director and Chief Scientific Advisor
Dr. Elmaleh, the scientific founder of FluoroPharma Inc., is an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and the Director of Contrast Media Chemistry at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He is an inventor of three drugs that are in use in man or in late stage clinical trials including: The radiopharmaceutical preparation of (2FDG) which has been used in over a million PET imaging procedures, Beta-methyl modified fatty acid (BMIPP) a commercially successful cardiac SPECT agent, and Altropane which has completed Phase III clinical trials. His recent work has included extensive research on imaging compounds to improve the speed and effectiveness of cardiovascular disease diagnosis which constitutes the technology licensed from MGH to FluoroPharma. He is a co-author on over 120 publications and an inventor of over 40 issued and pending patents in a range of disciplines, including molecular imaging and pharmaceuticals. Dr. Elmaleh is a recipient of numerous NIH and DOE awards, and has participated as a reviewer for the National Institute of Health (NIH). He is the Scientific Founder of Biostream (changed name to Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals) and several other start-ups. He holds a BSc in Physics and Chemistry, and an MS and PhD in Chemistry from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Thijs Spoor
Director, CEO & President
Mr. Spoor previously held the title of CFO for Sunstone BioSciences. Mr. Spoor holds a Nuclear Pharmacy degree from the University of Toronto as well as an M.B.A. from Columbia University with concentrations in finance and accounting. Mr. Spoor has been a guest lecturer at Columbia Business School, Kings College in London and the University of Newcastle in Australia and has presented at medical grand rounds and psychiatric grand rounds at various hospitals on the role of brain imaging.
Prior to joining Sunstone BioSciences, he worked as a consultant at Oliver Wyman focusing on helping pharmaceutical and medical device companies evaluate their global revenue potential given the complex interplay of regulatory approvals, the reimbursement environment, as well as the impact of physician preference within constantly evolving standards of care. He further specialized on the implications of healthcare reform on new product approval and health insurance reform.
Mr. Spoor has also been an equity research analyst at J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse covering the Biotechnology and Medical Device industries. Mr. Spoor worked in the pharmaceutical industry spending 10 years with Amersham / GE Healthcare where he worked in 7 countries in a variety of roles including setting up GMP facilities meeting ISO 9001 standards, accountability for the entire nuclear cardiology portfolio and most recently as the Director of New Product Opportunities leading the PET strategic plan.
Walter Witoshkin
Director
Walter Witoshkin, is an accomplished executive with 40-years experience in the pharmaceutical, healthcare and biomedical industries. Mr. Witoshkin specialized in alternative sourcing for manufacturing and the acquisition of technologies and products. Mr. Witoshkin previously held executive positions with QuantRx Biomedical Corporation, a medical technology company with leading edge diagnostic and therapeutic technologies. Mr. Witoshkin has previously held executive positions in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries including senior financial positions at Wyeth Labs (American Cyanimade), VP Business Development and CFO positions at SmithKline Beecham (now Glaxo SmithKline) and Menley & James Laboratories, Inc. He is a founding partner of the Trident Group, a global consultancy to the pharmaceutical industry. He is Chairman of the Board at QuiqMeds Inc.
Peter Conti, MD, PhD
Director, Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Conti is Professor of Radiology, Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacy at the University of Southern California. He has been the Director of the USC PET Imaging Science Center since its inception in 1991. He served as the President of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and is a major contributor to the development of clinical PET and molecular imaging. One of Dr. Conti’s major research interests is in the development of molecular imaging agents for the diagnosis and monitoring of cancer metabolism and cell proliferation. Dr. Conti is Board certified in both Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine. He received both his MD and PhD degrees from Cornell University.
Lawrence Atinsky
Director
During the past seven years Mr. Atinsky has been a partner at Ascent Biomedical Ventures (ABV), a venture capital firm investing in seed and early-stage biomedical technology companies developing medical devices, biopharmaceuticals, healthcare services, and information technology.
Prior to joining ABV, Mr. Atinsky was a Mergers & Acquisition attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York, where he was involved in structuring and negotiating numerous private and public transactions. Mr. Atinsky has also been the General Counsel of several private companies in the healthcare industry and has been a founder and investor in early-stage medical technology companies. Mr. Atinsky earned a JD from New York University School of Law and B.A. degrees in Political Science and Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.