Dr. Janet Wolfe is President and Founder of Wolfe Laboratories (WLI), a biopharmaceutical development services company located in Watertown, Massachusetts. Dr. Wolfe’s scientific and business career has focused on the intersection of the critical path activities in CMC, DMPK, preclinical and clinical development. The company was founded on her insight that the physicochemical, metabolic and pharmacokinetic properties of an experimental therapeutic strongly influence its success in attaining commercialization. Hundreds of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have sought the expertise of WLI’s scientific team to facilitate the translation of their compounds from late-stage discovery into the clinic. Dr. Wolfe has designed and directed early stage development programs for small molecules and biologics across therapeutic areas such as CNS, cardiovascular, metabolic diseases, immunology, and oncology. WLI has contributed to the advancement of molecules through all stages of development and commercialization.
Prior to starting Wolfe Laboratories in 1999, Dr. Wolfe was on the faculty of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Tennessee, Memphis, which followed her postdoctoral fellowship in the Warren G. Magnuson Clinical Center Pharmacy at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Wolfe has over fifteen years experience in pharmaceutical research and development and is the author of numerous articles and presentations. She has mentored undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows over the course of her career. Dr. Wolfe received her bachelor of science from the University of Sciences in Philadelphia and doctorate in pharmaceutical chemistry from the University of Kansas.
Dr. Wolfe serves on Interpolymer Corporation’s Board of Directors, and on the Executive Committee for MassBio Ed.
Dr. Wolfe was recognized as one of New England’s Top Entrepreneurs and Innovators by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in 2011. In 2010, Dr. Wolfe was recognized as one of PharmaVoice’s 100 Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs in the Life Sciences, and WLI was honored as an Eastern Regional Finalist in The US Chamber of Commerce’s DREAM BIG Small Business of the Year Award. In 2009, Dr. Wolfe was awarded the Leadership Prize from Women Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology (WEST) and honored as Ernst & Young’s 2009 Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist; in 2008, she was named Entrepreneur to Watch by MIT Enterprise Forum and named Boston’s Entrepreneur of the Year by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce; and in 2007, WLI was ranked as one of the top 100 Woman-Led Businesses in Massachusetts by The Commonwealth Institute.
Robert Ings, Ph.D., DMPK Advisor
Dr. Robert Ings has an extensive industrial career covering over thirty years, initially with several European pharmaceutical companies in the UK plus assignments in Italy, Sweden and ultimately the US, most recently as Vice President DMPK, Roche, Palo Alto, CA. Dr. Ings has experience working with European, US and Japanese mid to large size pharmaceutical and biotech companies including Pharmacia/Pfizer, Amgen and Daiichi. He directed pharmacokinetics and metabolism laboratories of approximately 100 staff supporting both small and large molecule discovery and development, in various therapeutic areas such as oncology, CNS, metabolic disease, inflammation, cardiovascular and anti-infectives, including anti-viral. Dr. Ings contributed to 11 global/US and 13 European successful registrations of new medicines to date. He is active in the scientific community including being a past member of the editorial boards or reviewer for Xenobiotica, Biopharm. & Drug Dis., Current Drug Metabolism, J. Pharmacokin. & Biopharm, Eur. J. Clin. Pharm, Brit. J. Clin. Pharm. and J. Pharm. Pharmacol. In addition, he is a past Chairperson of the DMDG (UK) and joint founder of the societies, PK-UK and DMDG (Italy.) He has authored over 80 publications, including several book chapters, and given over 120 presentations and training courses throughout the world.
Dr. Ings graduated in biochemistry from the University of Birmingham, UK with a B.Sc. (Hons.) then obtained a Ph.D. while working in industry in conjunction with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Edward Bjurstrom, Senior Manufacturing Advisor
Edward Bjurstrom has twenty-five years experience in the biopharmaceutical industry including broad involvement in all aspects of process operations, manufacturing, quality, engineering and capital projects across multiple global sites. In addition, Mr. Bjurstrom has had senior management responsibility for preclinical and clinical development activities for new biotech products. He has successfully led negotiations with governmental agencies, including the FDA and a variety of international regulatory bodies, as well as negotiations with business partners on both sides of the contract manufacturing relationship.
Mr. Bjurstrom is President and Founder of Cross Tech Consulting, through which he has served in senior manufacturing, operations and executive roles at NovaRx, Trinity Therapeutics and Abgenix. Prior to founding Cross Tech Consulting, Mr. Bjurstrom held positions of increasing responsibility and executive roles during the eighteen years he spent at Amgen, most recently serving as Vice President of Corporate Engineering and Capital Projects. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the AMFA Foundation, and serves as the US Chairman of the International Leadership Foundation. Most recently, Mr. Bjurstrom established the CareNow Foundation to promote and support the development of community-based healthcare solutions in Africa. Mr. Bjurstrom received a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from California State University at Long Beach and has completed the Executive Business Program at the University of Michigan.
Ronald Borchardt, Ph.D., Senior Scientific Advisor
Dr. Ronald Borchardt is the Solon E. Summerfield Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at The University of Kansas-Lawrence. Professor Borchardt received his B.S. degree in Pharmacy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from The University of Kansas-Lawrence. After serving as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, Maryland) from 1969-1971, Professor Borchardt returned to The University of Kansas as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. In the 1970's Professor Borchardt was promoted through the academic ranks to his current position as Solon E. Summerfield Distinguished Professor. From 1983-1998, Professor Borchardt served as the Chairman of the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry in the School of Pharmacy.
During his academic career Professor Borchardt has received numerous awards and honors for his teaching and research accomplishments. Professor Borchardt is the author or co-author of approximately 500 scientific publications and 460 abstracts. Professor Borchardt is also the editor of 10 books, and the series editor of "Pharmaceutical Biotechnology" (14 published volumes, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers) and “Biotechnology: Pharmaceutical Aspects” (9 volumes in development, AAPS Press). His research interests are focused in the areas of drug design and drug delivery.
Michael Webb, Strategic Advisor
Mike Webb has over twenty-five years of experience in healthcare and life sciences. Most recently, he was the CEO of Ascent Therapeutics, a venture-backed company focusing on developing pepducins, a new biology platform for drug discovery. Prior to founding Ascent, he was the CEO of EPIX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 1994 through 2005. During this period, EPIX grew from a venture-backed startup to the world leader in discovery and development of pharmaceuticals for imaging with MRI, achieving worldwide approval for its lead product and completing numerous public financings and corporate partnerships including an IPO. Mr. Webb joined EPIX from CIBA, where he was most recently Senior Vice President, Worldwide Marketing and Strategic Planning of CIBA Diagnostics, responsible for global marketing, program management, corporate planning, business development and licensing. Prior to CIBA, Mr. Webb was a senior consultant at Booz, Allen & Hamilton, specializing in healthcare and life sciences.
Mr. Webb holds Bachelors degrees in Biochemistry and Economics from the University of Kansas, Summa Cum Laude and an MA in International Relations from Sussex University in the UK, completing his thesis on "Pharmaceuticals Policy and the World Health Organization." In addition, Mr. Webb holds an M.B.A. degree with honors from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He currently serves on the boards of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, where he is past Chairman, the Kellogg Center for Biotechnology at Northwestern and is a Senior Advisor to Johnston and Blakely, a life sciences investment banking firm.
Edward Bjurstrom has twenty-five years experience in the biopharmaceutical industry including broad involvement in all aspects of process operations, manufacturing, quality, engineering and capital projects across multiple global sites. In addition, Mr. Bjurstrom has had senior management responsibility for preclinical and clinical development activities for new biotech products. He has successfully led negotiations with governmental agencies, including the FDA and a variety of international regulatory bodies, as well as negotiations with business partners on both sides of the contract manufacturing relationship.
Dr. Ronald Borchardt is the Solon E. Summerfield Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at The University of Kansas-Lawrence. Professor Borchardt received his B.S. degree in Pharmacy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from The University of Kansas-Lawrence. After serving as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, Maryland) from 1969-1971, Professor Borchardt returned to The University of Kansas as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. In the 1970's Professor Borchardt was promoted through the academic ranks to his current position as Solon E. Summerfield Distinguished Professor. From 1983-1998, Professor Borchardt served as the Chairman of the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry in the School of Pharmacy.
Mike Webb has over twenty-five years of experience in healthcare and life sciences. Most recently, he was the CEO of Ascent Therapeutics, a venture-backed company focusing on developing pepducins, a new biology platform for drug discovery. Prior to founding Ascent, he was the CEO of EPIX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 1994 through 2005. During this period, EPIX grew from a venture-backed startup to the world leader in discovery and development of pharmaceuticals for imaging with MRI, achieving worldwide approval for its lead product and completing numerous public financings and corporate partnerships including an IPO. Mr. Webb joined EPIX from CIBA, where he was most recently Senior Vice President, Worldwide Marketing and Strategic Planning of CIBA Diagnostics, responsible for global marketing, program management, corporate planning, business development and licensing. Prior to CIBA, Mr. Webb was a senior consultant at Booz, Allen & Hamilton, specializing in healthcare and life sciences.