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Michael N. Chang, Ph.D.
Michael N. Chang is a co-founder of Optimer and has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer since our inception in November 1998.
Before joining Optimer, Dr. Chang was the Chief Scientific Officer of NuSkin Enterprises, Inc., a NYSE listed direct selling company based in Utah. Dr. Chang joined NuSkin Enterprises upon its acquisition of Pharmanex, Inc., a natural healthcare company, which he co-founded and where he was employed since January 1995 as Senior Vice President, Research and Development and Chief Science Officer. Dr. Chang was also a co-founder of Pharmanex, which was purchased by Nu Skin Enterprises in 1998. Before Pharmanex, Dr. Chang worked for 15 years in the pharmaceutical industry, at Merck & Co, Inc., a publicly traded research driven pharmaceutical company, Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc., which is now Sanofi-Aventis, a publicly-traded pharmaceutical company, and ArQule, Inc., a development stage oncology company. Dr. Chang holds 35 US patents and more than 60 publications. He received a B.S. degree in chemistry from Fu-Jen University in Taiwan, a Ph.D. degree in organic chemistry from Brandeis University and post- doctoral training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT.
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Anthony E. Altig
Anthony E. Altig has served as a director since November 2007. Anthony is the Chief Financial Officer of Pelican Life Sciences, a manufacturer and distributor of microbiology and molecular biology consumables and reagents. From December 2004 to June 2007, Mr. Altig served as the Senior Vice President, Finance, Chief Financial Officer, and Secretary of Diversa Corporation (subsequently Verenium Corporation), a public company developing specialized industrial enzymes. Prior to joining Diversa, Mr. Altig served as the Chief Financial Officer of Maxim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a public biopharmaceutical company, from 2002 to 2004. From 2000 to 2001, Mr. Altig served as the Chief Financial Officer of NBC Internet, Inc., a leading internet portal company, which was acquired by General Electric. Mr. Altig's additional experience includes his role as the Chief Accounting Officer at US Web Corporation, as well as his experience serving biotechnology and other technology companies during his tenure at both Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP and KPMG LLP. In addition, Mr. Altig serves as a director and chair of the Audit Committee for MultiCell Technologies, Inc., a public biopharmaceutical company. Mr. Altig received a B.B.A. degree from the University of Hawaii.
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Mark Auerbach, C.P.A.
Mark Auerbach, C.P.A. has served as a director since June 2005. Mr. Auerbach is the current Chairman of the Board of Directors for Neuro-Hitech, Inc., an early stage pharmaceutical company specializing in brain degenerative diseases. From September 2003 through October 2006, Mr. Auerbach served as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors for Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc., a manufacturer and marketer of generic pharmaceuticals and the parent of Par Pharmaceutical, Inc. From 1993 to 2005, Mr. Auerbach served as Chief Financial Officer of Central Lewmar LLC, a national fine paper distributor. Mr. Auerbach received his B.S. degree in accounting from Rider University.
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Joseph Y. Chang, Ph.D.
Joseph Y. Chang, Ph.D. has served as a director since November 1998. Dr. Chang is Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of Nu Skin Enterprises. Dr. Chang served as the President of Pharmanex, Nu Skin Enterprises' nutritional supplement division, from April 2000 to February 2006. Dr. Chang served as Vice President of Clinical Studies and Pharmacology of Pharmanex from 1997 until April 2000. Prior to joining Pharmanex, he was the President and Chief Scientific Officer of Binary Therapeutics, Inc., a development stage company in the biotechnology industry. From 1981 to 1991, Dr. Chang was a research executive at Wyeth Research, a research-based pharmaceutical products company and formerly known as Wyeth-Ayerst Research, and Aventis Pharma, now Sanofi-Aventis. Dr. Chang received a B.S. degree from Portsmouth University and a Ph.D. degree from the University of London.
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Peter E. Grebow, Ph.D.
Peter E. Grebow, Ph.D. has served as a director since February 2009. Dr. Grebow has more than twenty-five years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and currently serves as Executive Vice President of Worldwide Technical Operations at Cephalon, Incorporated. Prior to his current position, Dr. Grebow served as the Senior Vice President, Worldwide Business Development and Senior Vice President, Drug Development at Cephalon. Prior to joining Cephalon, he was Vice President, Drug Development for Rorer Central Research; a division of Rhône-Poulenc Rorer Pharmaceuticals Inc. Dr. Grebow earned his undergraduate degree from Cornell University, a Masters of Science in Chemistry from Rutgers University and a Ph.D. in Physical Biochemistry from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
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Alain B. Schreiber, M.D.
Alain B. Schreiber, M.D. has served as a director since May 2001. Since 2000, Dr. Schreiber has been a Managing Partner at ProQuest Investments, a healthcare venture capital firm. From May 1992 to June 2000, Dr. Schreiber served as President, Director and Chief Executive Officer of Vical Incorporated, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company. From July 1985 to April 1992, he held various positions with Rhone Poulenc-Rorer Inc., which is now Sanofi-Aventis, most recently as Senior Vice President of Discovery Research. Dr. Schreiber currently serves on the board of directors of several private development stage biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Schreiber holds a B.S. in chemistry and an M.D. from the Free University Brussels and was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at the Weizmann Institute in Israel.
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Robert L. Zerbe, M.D.
Robert L. Zerbe, M.D. has served as a director since December 2009. Dr. Zerbe brings to the Board more than 25 years of pharmaceutical development experience including general management, global clinical research and development, clinical trial design and management, and regulatory affairs. Dr. Zerbe currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and President at QuatRx Pharmaceuticals, a private biopharmaceutical company he co-founded in 2000. Prior to QuatRx, he served as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Clinical Research and Development at Parke-Davis, during which time he oversaw the successful development programs for Lipitor®, Neurontin®, and other products. Prior to joining Parke-Davis, he held a variety of research and development positions, including Vice President of Clinical Investigation and Regulatory Affairs at Eli Lilly and Company in the U.S. and U.K. Dr. Zerbe earned his medical degree at Indiana University and received his post graduate training in internal medicine, endocrinology and neuroendocrinology at Indiana University and the National Institutes of Mental Health.
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