ANSBERT GADICKE, M.D.
FOUNDER, MANAGING DIRECTOR, MPM CAPITAL
Dr. Gadicke is the founder of the MPM Group and in 1997 co-founded its asset management business. He led MPM's effort to build its Advisory and Investment Banking business from 1992 to 1996. Prior to founding MPM, Dr. Gadicke was employed by The Boston Consulting Group. Dr. Gadicke received an M.D. from J.W. Goethe University in Frankfurt. He subsequently held research positions in biochemistry and molecular biology at the Whitehead Institute at MIT, Harvard University and the German Cancer Research Center. He has published in leading scientific publications including Nature and Cell. He is a member of the Advisory Council for Harvard Medical School.
JIM SCOPA
MANAGING DIRECTOR, MPM CAPITAL
Mr. Scopa is a Managing Director in MPM’s San Francisco office, having joined the firm in 2005. Previously, Mr. Scopa spent 18 years advising growth companies in biopharmaceuticals and medical devices at Deutsche Banc Alex Brown and Thomas Weisel Partners (TWP). At Deutsche Banc Alex Brown he served as Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Healthcare Investment Banking. At Thomas Weisel Partners, he served on the Investment Committee for TWP’s Health Care venture fund as well as Co-Director of Healthcare Investment Banking. He received an A.B. from Harvard College (Phi Beta Kappa), an M.B.A from Harvard Business School and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He currently serves on the boards of Peplin Inc., TriVascular Inc. as well as Solasia.
YOSHIO MATSUMI
ADVISORY MEMBER, ITOCHU CORPORATION
Mr. Matsumi is Advisor Member at Itochu Corporation, a $100 billion sales diversified Japanese company that he joined in 1969. He is concurrently Director of Itochu Research Institute of Innovative Technology. He serves on the Intellectual Property Strategy Committee of the National Council for Science & Technology Policy of the Japanese government. He built Itochu’s global strategic partnerships with MPM Capital, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Institut Pasteur and others. He spent over 20 years at Itochu’s New York office and spearheaded strategic projects including Itochu’s $500 million investment in Time Warner in 1992. He holds BA from Osaka University of Foreign Studies. He studied the Soviet Union at the Department of Regional Studies at Harvard University. He also obtained an executive education at the Harvard Business School.
MASAHIRO MICHISUJI
ADVISOR, NOVARTIS PHARMA K.K.
Mr. Michisuji joined Solasia as an outside board member in May 2008. From 1999 to 2004, he was President & Chief Executive Officer of Novartis Pharma K.K.. Mr. Michisuji was President & Representative Director of Monsanto Japan Ltd. from 1991 to 1998. He has also held senior positions at Searle Yakuhin K.K. and Bristol-Myers Squibb K.K.. For the past seven years, Mr. Michisuji has advised Novartis Pharma K.K., having served as a Director and Vice Chairman, as well as a Special Advisor to the Pharma Executive Committee of Novartis Pharma AG. He has been an outside director for Johnson Company Ltd. since 2002.
KOJI ABE
GENERAL MANAGER, ITOCHU CORPORATION
Mr. Abe joined Solasia as a member of the board in March 2010.
STEVEN E. ENGEN
PRESIDENT & REPRESENTATIVE DIRECTOR, MEMBER OF THE BOARD
Please refer to profile in Leadership Team section.
GEORGE DALEY, M.D., PH.D.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
Dr. Daley is Associate Professor, Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, and a staff member in Hematology/Oncology at the Children's Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Stem Cell Institute. Dr. Daley received a bachelor's degree magna cum laude from Harvard College, a Ph.D. in biology from MIT, and was only the twelfth individual in the history of Harvard Medical School to receive the M.D. degree summa cum laude. He trained in internal medicine, hematology, and oncology, and served as Chief Resident in Internal Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Daley was formerly Whitehead Fellow at the MIT-affiliated Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and President of the International Society for Stem Cell Research. His research into the molecular basis of human Chronic Myeloid Leukemia contributed to the development of the remarkably effective target-directed drug, Gleevec®. Dr. Daley has also received numerous awards from Harvard Medical School, the National Institutes of Health, the New England Cancer Society, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America.
ELIZABETH STONER, M.D.
MANAGING DIRECTOR, MPM CAPITAL
Dr. Stoner was at Merck Research Laboratories for 22 years. At the time of her retirement from Merck in 2007, she was Senior Vice President of Global Clinical Development Operations with responsibility for the company's clinical development activities in more than 40 countries. Dr. Stoner also oversaw the clinical development activities of Merck's Japanese partner Banyu, led the clinical development for the Merck/Schering-Plough Joint Venture for Zetia®/Vytorin®, and played a critical leadership role in Merck's efforts to transform its worldwide clinical development operations. Earlier in her career at Merck, Dr. Stoner led the entire Proscar® clinical development program from inception, establishing Merck as a leader in the field of prostate disease. As Endocrine Therapeutic Head, Dr. Stoner's responsibilities included all steroid and lipid metabolism, as well as the growth hormone secretagogue clinical research programs. Prior to Merck, she was an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Cornell University Medical College. Dr. Stoner received a B.S. in Chemistry from Ottawa University, KS, an M.S. in Chemistry from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and an M.D. from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Stoner currently serves on the Board of Metabasis and Momenta.
KAZUTO NISHIO, M.D., PH.D.
PROFESSOR, KINKI UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Dr. Nishio was the Head of Pharmacology Division at the National Cancer Center Research Institute in Tokyo from 1996 to 2006. He was also an Invited Professor at Tokyo Medical University and Kitazato University School of Medicine. He is an expert member of the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Device Agency (PMDA). From 2006, he became Professor and Chairman, Department of Genome Biology at Kinki University School of Medicine. He earned his M.D. and Ph.D. degree from Wakayama Medical University.