George Ng

Chief Executive Officer

George Ng

George Ng

Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Ng is a seasoned life sciences industry executive.  He previously was Board Director, President & Chief Operating Officer at Calidi Biotherapeutics, Inc.  Mr. Ng is also a partner at PENG Life Science Ventures (PENG LSV).  He has founded and/or led multiple companies, including Scilex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (now, Scilex Holding Co (NASDAQ:SCLX)), where he was Co-Founder and President, and led the company through development, clinical trials, NDA submission, FDA approval, $140 million financing, commercial launch of the company’s first FDA-approved drug product, and ultimate company sale.  Mr. Ng has also held various other senior management positions, including Board Director, Managing Director, Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Business Officer, Corporate Secretary, Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, with publicly-traded and private, global biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SRNE), BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. (NASDAQ: BDSI), Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPPI) and Alpharma, Inc. (NYSE:ALO), which is now, a part of Pfizer Inc. In these roles, Mr. Ng helped lead the strategy, development, fundraising and commercialization efforts and launches of multiple pharmaceutical drug products.  Previously, in private practice, Mr. Ng was a partner in two AMLAW 200 law firms, where he had leadership roles, including establishing the life sciences practice group for one firm and heading it as the national co-chair.  Additionally, Mr. Ng is a past and current member of the Board of Directors for multiple companies, including Iacta Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Morphogenesis, Inc., and Calidi Biotherapeutics, Inc.

Mr. Ng was also a past President-Elect of the Pan Asian Lawyers of San Diego (PALSD) and was previously appointed to the Leadership Development Committee of the Wake County Bar Association in North Carolina.  In addition, he is a frequent speaker and noted authority on business, legal, compliance and regulatory issues in the life sciences, with past speaking engagements at the 2011 BIO International Convention and various pharmaceutical, legal and compliance congresses and conferences.  Among his multiple awards and commendations, Mr. Ng is a recipient of the 2015 Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business Award, past recipient of M&A Advisor’s Top 40 Under 40 Award (in 2012) and nominee for the Orange County Business Journal’s Inaugural General Counsel Awards (in 2010); and, in 2010, MDB Capital recognized Mr. Ng (and the company where he led the intellectual property efforts) for its Best and Brightest Award and as an Astrum Award nominee for a pharmaceutical patent portfolio that he managed and developed. 

Mr. Ng earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in law from the University of Notre Dame School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences (B.A.S.) dual degree in Biochemistry & Economics from the University of California, Davis.

David Young, Pharm.D., Ph.D.

President, Research & Development

David Young, Pharm.D., Ph.D.

David Young, Pharm.D., Ph.D.

President, Research & Development

Dr. Young has over 30 years of pharmaceutical research, drug development, and corporate experience. He was a Founder and CEO of Promet Therapeutics, LLC since its formation in August 2015. Dr. Young was Chief Scientific Officer of Questcor Pharmaceuticals from 2009-2014 and was responsible for working with the FDA on modernizing the Acthar Gel label and in obtaining FDA approval in Infantile Spasms. From 2006-2009 prior to joining the executive management team, Dr. Young served as an independent Director on the Questcor Board of Directors. During the eight years that Dr. Young was involved with Questcor, Questcor transitioned to an orphan drug specialty pharmaceutical company, moving from near bankruptcy in 2007 to a valuation of approximately $5.6 billion in 2014. While serving on Questcor's Board of Directors, Dr. Young was Executive Director & President, U.S. Operations of AGI Therapeutics plc. Dr. Young has also served as the Executive Vice President of the Strategic Drug Development Division of ICON plc, an international CRO, and was the Founder and CEO of GloboMax LLC, a CRO specializing in FDA drug development, purchased by ICON plc in 2003. Prior to forming GloboMax, Dr. Young was a Tenured Associate Professor at the School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland., where he led a group of 30 faculty, scientists, postdocs, graduate students and technicians in evaluating the biological properties of drugs and drug delivery systems in animals and humans.

Dr. Young is an expert in small molecule and protein non-clinical and clinical drug development. He has served on FDA Advisory Committees, was Co-Principal Investigator on a FDA funded Clinical Pharmacology contract, was responsible for the analytical and pharmacokinetic evaluation of all oral products manufactured in the UMAB-FDA contract which lead to the SUPAC and IVIVC FDA Guidance's, for 5 years taught FDA reviewers as part of the UMAB-FDA contract, has served on NIH grant review committees, and was Co-Principal Investigator on a National Cancer Institute contract to evaluate new oncology drugs.

Dr. Young has met more than 100 times with the FDA on more than 50 drug products and has been a key team member on more than 30 NDA/supplemental NDA approvals. Dr. Young has more than 150 presentations-authored publications-book chapters, including formal presentations to the FDA, FDA Advisory Committees, and numerous invited presentations at both scientific and investment meetings.

Dr. Young received his B.S. in Physiology from the University of California at Berkeley, his M.S. in Medical Physics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and his Pharm.D. - Ph.D. with emphasis in Pharmacokinetics and Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Southern California.

Sian Bigora, Pharm.D.

Chief Development and Regulatory Officer and Founder

Sian Bigora, Pharm.D.

Sian Bigora, Pharm.D.

Chief Development and Regulatory Officer and Founder

Dr. Bigora has over 20 years of pharmaceutical research, regulatory strategy and drug development experience working closely with Dr. Young. She was Co-Founder, Director, and Chief Development Officer at Promet Therapeutics, LLC. Prior to Promet, Dr. Bigora was Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Questcor Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals in 2014) from 2009-2015, including leading efforts on modernizing the Acthar Gel label and in obtaining FDA approval in Infantile Spasms, events of material importance to Questcor's subsequent success. During her time at Questcor she assisted in building an expert regulatory group to address both commercial and development needs for complex products such as Acthar. Dr. Bigora's role at Questcor included heading up the development of a safety pharmacovigilance group and a clinical quality group.

Prior to her position at Questcor, Dr. Bigora was Vice President of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs, U.S. Operations of AGI Therapeutics, plc. In this role she was responsible for the development and implementation of Global Phase 3 studies and interactions with regulatory authorities. Previously she operated her own consulting company, serving as the regulatory and drug development expert team member for multiple small and mid-sized pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Bigora held multiple positions in regulatory affairs, operations and project management ending as VP of Regulatory Affairs at the Strategic Drug Development Division of ICON, plc, an international CRO, and at GloboMax LLC, a CRO specializing in FDA drug development, purchased by ICON plc in 2003. Prior to GloboMax, she worked in the Pharmacokinetics and Biopharmaceutics Laboratory at the School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland on the FDA funded Clinical Pharmacology contract and UMAB-FDA contract as a clinical scientist and instructor for FDA reviewers.

Dr. Bigora received a Pharm.D. from the School of Pharmacy at the University of Maryland at Baltimore. She also completed a Fellowship in Pharmacokinetics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Maryland at Baltimore.

Wendy Guy

Chief Administrative Officer & Founder

Wendy Guy

Wendy Guy

Chief Administrative Officer & Founder

Ms. Guy has more than 20 years' experience in business operations. She has worked closely with Dr. Young over the last 18 years in corporate management and operations, HR, and finance. She was Co-Founder, Director, and Chief Administrative Officer of Promet Therapeutics, LLC. Prior to Promet, Ms. Guy was employed at Questcor Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals in 2014) as Senior Manager, Business Operation in charge of the Maryland Office for Questcor. During the five years she spent at Questcor, she built a dynamic administrative and contracts team, grew the Maryland Office from 2 employees to just under 100, and expanded the facility from 1,200 sq. ft. to 15,000 sq. ft.

Prior to her position at Questcor, Ms. Guy was Senior Manager, U.S. Operations of AGI Therapeutics, plc. In this role she was responsible for the day to day business and administrative operations of the company. Previously she held multiple senior level positions with the Strategic Drug Development Division of ICON, GloboMax, and Mercer Management Consulting.

Ms. Guy received an A.A. from Mount Wachusett Community College. 

Patrick Lin

Chief Business & Strategy Officer and Founder

Patrick Lin

Patrick Lin

Chief Business & Strategy Officer and Founder

Mr. Lin has over 20 years of financing and investing experience in the Biopharm Sector. He was Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of Promet Therapeutics, LLC. He is Founder and Managing Partner of Primarius Capital, a family office that manages public and private investments focused on small capitalization companies. For 10 years prior to forming Primarius Capital, Mr. Lin worked at several Wall Street banking and brokerage firms including Robertson Stephens & Co., E*Offering, and Goldman Sachs & Co. Mr. Lin was Co-Founding Partner of E*Offering.

Mr. Lin received an MBA from Kellogg Graduate School of Management, a Master of Engineering Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Southern California.

James Stanker

Chief Financial Officer

James Stanker

James Stanker

Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Stanker was appointed as our Chief Financial Officer effective September 5, 2018. Mr. Stanker has over 30 years of financial and executive leadership experience in the areas of accounting principles and audit standards, regulatory reporting, and fiscal management and strategy. He has served in a financial leadership role as an audit partner at Grant Thornton from February 2000 until his retirement in August 2016. His responsibilities included managing the audit quality in the Atlantic Coast Market Territory. From 2009 to 2012, he served as the Global Head of Audit Quality for Grant Thornton International. Prior to joining Grant Thornton, Mr. Stanker served as the Chief Financial Officer for a NASDAQ listed company and for a privately-held life science company. Mr. Stanker is a Certified Public Accountant. He has a bachelor's degree in Aeronautics from San Jose State University and a Master's in Business Administration from California State University, East Bay. He currently serves on the Board of Directors and is Chairman of the Audit Committee of GSE Systems, Inc. Mr. Stanker is also an adjunct professor in the George B. Delaplaine School of Business at Hood College. Since his retirement from Grant Thornton, Mr. Stanker has provided financial consulting services to numerous companies.