Decision Makers
Board of Directors
Jack Lief is a co-founder of Arena and has served as a director and our President and Chief Executive Officer since April 1997. Mr. Lief has also served as the Chairman of our Board of Directors since October 2007. From 1995 to April 1997, Mr. Lief served as an advisor and consultant to numerous biopharmaceutical organizations. From 1989 to 1994, Mr. Lief served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Secretary of Cephalon, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. From 1983 to 1989, Mr. Lief served as Director of Business Development and Strategic Planning for Alpha Therapeutic Corporation, a manufacturer of biological products. Mr. Lief joined Abbott Laboratories, a pharmaceutical company, in 1972, where he served until 1983, most recently as the head of International Marketing Research. Mr. Lief serves as a member of the board of directors of Adventrx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a research and development company focused on pharmaceuticals for cancer and infectious disease. Mr. Lief is also an Executive Board Member of BIOCOM, a life science industry association representing more than 550 member companies in Southern California, and was the Chairman of the board of directors of BIOCOM from March 2005 to March 2006. Mr. Lief holds a B.A. from Rutgers University and an M.S. in Psychology (Experimental and Neurobiology) from Lehigh University.
Dominic P. Behan, Ph.D., is a co-founder of Arena and has served as a director since April 2000, and as our Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer since June 2004. Dr. Behan served as our Vice President, Research from April 1997 to June 2004. From 1993 to January 1997, Dr. Behan directed various research programs at Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. From 1990 to 1993, Dr. Behan was engaged in research at the Salk Institute. Dr. Behan holds a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from Leeds University, England, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Reading University, England.
Robert E. Hoffman, C.P.A., has served as our Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer since December 2005. Mr. Hoffman served as our Vice President, Finance and Chief Accounting Officer from June 2004 to December 2005, as our Vice President, Finance from April 2000 to June 2004, and as our Controller from August 1997 to April 2000. From 1994 to 1997, Mr. Hoffman served as Assistant Controller for Document Sciences Corporation, a software company. Mr. Hoffman serves as a member of the steering committee of the Association of Bioscience Financial Officers and as a supervisory committee member of the San Diego County Credit Union. He is also a director and a former President of the San Diego chapter of Financial Executives International. Mr. Hoffman holds a B.B.A. from St. Bonaventure University and is licensed as a C.P.A. in the State of California.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer |
Current |
| Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Document Sciences Corporation |
Assistant Controller |
Former |
| St. Bonaventure University |
B.B.A. |
Former |
William R. Shanahan, Jr., M.D., J.D., has served as our Vice President and Chief Medical Officer since March 2004. From August 2000 to March 2004, Dr. Shanahan served as Chief Medical Officer for Tanox, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. From October 1994 to August 2000, Dr. Shanahan held various positions at Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, most recently as Vice President, Drug Development. From 1989 to 1994, Dr. Shanahan served as Director, Clinical Research for Pfizer Central Research, a pharmaceutical company. From 1986 to 1989, Dr. Shanahan held various positions at Searle Research & Development, a pharmaceutical company subsequently acquired by Pfizer, most recently as Director, Clinical Research. Dr. Shanahan holds an A.B. from Dartmouth College, an M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco and a J.D. from Loyola University, Chicago.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
Vice President & Chief Medical Officer |
Current |
| Merchant Advisory Group (Mag) |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Olink |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Industry Ventures |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Diageo plc |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Resgen Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative, Inc |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Microseq |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Merchant Advisory Group (Mag) |
Committee Member |
Current |
| Colgate-Palmolive Company |
President |
Former |
| Tanox, Inc. |
Chief Medical Officer |
Former |
| Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
Vice President |
Former |
| Pfizer Inc. |
Director |
Former |
| The University of California, San Francisco |
M.D. |
Former |
| Loyola University |
J.D. |
Former |
| University of California, San Francisco |
M.D. |
Former |
| Dartmouth College |
Bachelor of Arts Degree In Geography |
Former |
Steven W. Spector, J.D., has served as our Senior Vice President and General Counsel since June 2004. Mr. Spector served as our Vice President and General Counsel from October 2001 to June 2004. Mr. Spector has also served as our Secretary since November 2001. Mr. Spector is a member of the board of directors and the immediate-past President of the Association of Corporate Counsel, San Diego. Prior to joining Arena, Mr. Spector was a partner with the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, where he worked from 1991 to October 2001. Mr. Spector was a member of the Morgan Lewis Technology Steering Committee. Mr. Spector was our outside corporate counsel from 1998 to October 2001. Mr. Spector holds a B.A. and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.
K.A. Ajit-Simh has served as our Vice President, Quality Systems since January 2004. Mr. Ajit-Simh provided regulatory compliance services to several companies in the United States and internationally from 1999 to the end of 2003. Mr. Ajit-Simh held various positions of increasing responsibility at Mallinckrodt Inc. from 1975 to 1985, Baxter Healthcare from 1986 to 1989, Abbott BioTech from 1989 to 1992, and Cytel Corporation from 1992 to 1999. In addition, he has been an instructor at the University of California, San Diego since 1994, teaching classes in regulatory compliance and quality control/assurance. He also teaches courses in Good Manufacturing Practices and Advanced Quality Control and Assurance at San Diego State University as part of the graduate program in Regulatory Affairs. Mr. Ajit-Simh received a B.Sc. degree in Biology and Chemistry from Bangalore University and an M.S. in Cell Biology from St. Louis University.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Cara Therapeutics Inc. |
Chief Executive Officer, President, and Director |
Current |
| Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
Co-Founder |
Current |
| Cara Therapeutics Inc. |
Co-Founder |
Current |
| Cara Therapeutics Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| A-R-E-N-A.Com |
Vice President |
Former |
| A-R-E-N-A.Com |
Executive Director |
Former |
| Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. |
Principal Investigator |
Former |
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
|
Current |
| University of California, Los Angeles |
professor of Economics |
Former |
| Micromet, Inc. |
member |
Former |
| University of California, Los Angeles |
Chairman |
Former |
| University of California, Los Angeles |
Ph.D. in Economics |
Former |
Array
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Sequenom, Inc. |
Chairman of the Board of Directors |
Current |
| San Diego Opera |
Member of the Board |
Current |
| Discovery Partners International, Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Signal Pharmaceuticals, LLC |
Director |
Current |
| Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
Director |
Current |
| Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc |
Director |
Current |
| Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
Member |
Current |
| Braincells, Inc. |
Chief Executive Officer |
Former |
| Amgen Inc. |
President and Chief Operating Officer and Member |
Former |
| Braincells, Inc. |
Co-Founder |
Former |
| Abbott Laboratories |
|
Former |
| Discovery Partners International, Inc. |
Chairman |
Former |
| Sequenom, Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| University of Chicago |
M.B.A. |
Former |
| Purdue University |
B.S. In Chemical Engineering |
Former |
| Amgen Inc. |
Member |
Former |
J. Clayburn La Force, Jr., Ph.D., has served as a member of our Board of Directors since October 2002. Dr. La Force served as a professor of Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1962 to 1978, and served as Dean of the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles from July 1978 to June 1993. From 1969 to 1978, Dr. La Force served as the Chairman of the Economics Department at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. La Force formerly severed on a number of boards of directors, including for the following registered investment companies: Payden Funds, Metzler Payden, and Advisors Series Trust. Dr. La Force holds an A.B. in Economics from San Diego State College and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Novacardia, Inc |
President and Chief Executive Officer |
Current |
| Sequel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
President and CEO |
Current |
| Bente Hansen & Associates |
President |
Current |
| Biocom, Inc. |
Chairman of The Board of Directors |
Current |
| Sequel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
Member of The Board of Directors |
Current |
| Bente Hansen & Associates |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Novacardia, Inc |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Corvas International, Inc. |
Chief Executive Officer |
Former |
| NovaCardia, Inc. |
Chief Executive Officer |
Former |
| NovaCardia, Inc. |
President |
Former |
| Boehringer Mannheim |
Vice President of Marketing and Sales |
Former |
| Eli Lilly and Company |
|
Former |
| Sequel |
|
Former |
| Biocom, Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Former |
| Western Michigan University |
M.B.A. |
Former |
| Ball State University |
B.S. Degree In Biology |
Former |
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Selective Genetics |
Chief Operating Officer |
Former |
| Nanogen, Inc. |
Co-Founder |
Former |
| Hybritech, Inc. |
|
Former |
| University of California, Irvine |
B.S. In Biological Sciences |
Former |
Timothy M. Buono has served on our board of directors since March 2000. Mr. Buono is a founder and member of Aura Equity Partners, LLC, a private equity firm focused on growth oriented investments in companies within the consumer driven health and personal care markets. Mr. Buono previously served as vice-president of Tullis-Dickerson & Co., Inc. from 1997 to 2008, a healthcare focused venture capital firm. During this time, he was also a partner in the general partner entities of its sponsored venture capital funds. From 1994 to 1997, he served as senior vice president, business development, for Health Partners, Inc., a healthcare services company. From 1993 to 1994, Mr. Buono served as director, business development, for Occupational Health Resources, Inc., a healthcare services company. From 1990 to 1993, Mr. Buono served as an associate of Tullis-Dickerson & Co., Inc. From 1988 to 1990, Mr. Buono was a financial and operations analyst for Shaffer-Clarke. Mr. Buono is a director of a number of privately-held companies. He received his B.A. in Economics from Connecticut College in 1988, and completed an Executive Program at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business in 2003.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Genoptix, Inc. |
President, Chief Executive Officer |
Current |
| University of San Diego |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| UCSD-CONNECT |
Director |
Current |
| Cyntellect, Inc. |
Member of the Company's Board of Directors |
Current |
| Cypress Bioscience, Inc. |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Heska Corporation |
Director |
Current |
| Biocom, Inc. |
Executive Board Member |
Current |
| Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
Director |
Current |
| Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
Member |
Current |
| Nanogen, Inc. |
Chief Operating Officer and President |
Former |
| Selective Genetics |
Chief Operating Officer |
Former |
| Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated |
Executive Director |
Former |
| Nanogen, Inc. |
Co-Founder |
Former |
| Genoptix, Inc. |
Co-Founder |
Former |
| Hybritech, Inc. |
|
Former |
| University of California |
PH.D. In Biochemistry |
Former |
| University of California, Riverside |
Ph.D. Degree In Biochemistry |
Former |
| University of California, Irvine |
B.S. In Biological Sciences |
Former |
| Cyntellect, Inc. |
Member |
Former |
| Heska Corporation |
member |
Former |
Mr. Belcher has served as a member of our Board of Directors since December 2003. Mr. Belcher served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Banta Corporation, a printing and supply-chain management company, from May 1995 to April 2004, Chief Executive Officer from January 1995 to October 2002 and President from September 1994 to January 2001. Mr. Belcher holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Scott H. Bice has served as a member of our Board of Directors since December 2003. Since June 2000, Mr. Bice has been the Robert C. Packard Professor at the University of Southern California Law School, where he served as Dean from 1980 to June 2000. Mr. Bice has experience on several corporate boards, including Imagine Films, from 1992 to 1994, Western and Residence Mutual Insurance Companies, from 1996 to 2003, and Jenny Craig, from 1996 to 2002. Mr. Bice holds a B.S. in finance and a J.D. from the University of Southern California.
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