Board of Directors

Sandesh Seth

Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board

Sandesh has 25+ years of experience in investment banking (Laidlaw& Co (UK) Ltd., Cowen & Co.), equity research (Bear Stearns, Commonwealth Associates) and in the pharma industry (Pfizer, Warner-Lambert, SmithKline in strategic planning, business development and R&D project management). Sandesh was chairman of Relmada Therapeutics Inc., a specialty pharma company focused on CNS therapeutics, which he helped co-found. Sandesh has an MBA in Finance from New York University; an M.S. in the Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Oklahoma Health Center and a B.Sc. in Chemistry from Bombay University. He has published several scientific articles and was awarded the University Regents Award for Research Excellence at the University of Oklahoma. Sandesh was designated as Regulatory Affairs Certified by the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society which signifies proficiency with U.S. FDA regulations. He has several patents related to use of radiopharmaceuticals as conditioning agents for adoptive cell therapies and as therapeutic combinations.

C. David Nicholson, B.S., Ph.D

Lead Independent Director

C. David Nicholson, BS, PhD., is lead Independent Director of Actinium Pharmaceuticals Inc. He is Chief R&D Officer at Allergan and has served in this role since March 2015. Dr. Nicholson joined Allergan (then Actavis) in August 2014 as Senior Vice President, Global Brands R&D. Previously he was on the Executive Committee of Bayer CropScience as Head of Research & Development responsible for the integration of the company’s R&D activities into one global organization. Dr. Nicholson graduated in pharmacology, earning his B.Sc. from the University of Manchester (1975) and his Ph.D. from the University of Wales (1980). Between 1978 and 1988, Dr. Nicholson worked in the pharmaceutical industry for the British company Beecham-Wülfing in Gronau, Germany. The main emphasis of his activities as group leader in a multidisciplinary project group was the development of cardiovascular drugs. From 1988-2007, Dr. Nicholson held various positions of increasing seniority in the UK, the Netherlands and the USA with Organon a Business Unit of Akzo Nobel. Ultimately he became Executive Vice President, Research & Development, and member of the Organon Executive Management Committee. He implemented change programs, leading to maximizing effectiveness in research & development, ensuring customer focus and the establishment of a competitive pipeline of innovative drugs. In 2007, Dr. Nicholson transferred to Schering-Plough, Kenilworth, New Jersey, USA, as Senior Vice President, responsible for Global Project Management and Drug Safety. From 2009 to December 2011, he was Vice President Licensing and Knowledge Management at Merck in Rahway, New Jersey, USA, reporting to the President of Merck R&D. As an integration team member, David Nicholson played a role in the strategic mergers of Organon BioSciences, the human and animal health business of Dutch chemical giant Akzo-Nobel, and Schering-Plough in 2007 as well as of Schering-Plough and Merck in 2009. C. David Nicholson is presently on the Board of multiple biotechnology companies, including Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Committees

Committee Role
Compensation Committee Chair
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Member

Ajit Shetty, Ph.D.

Director

Dr. Shetty is a pharmaceutical industry executive with 36 years of experience at Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and its subsidiary Janssen. Most recently Dr. Shetty served as the Head of Enterprise Supply Chain at J&J where he was responsible for the transformation and optimization of J&J's global supply chain.

Dr. Shetty joined Janssen Pharmaceutica, Inc. in 1976 ultimately rising to the position of President in 1986 where he led the establishment of Janssen's business in the U.S. From 1999 to 2008 he was Managing Director of Janssen Pharmaceutica, during this time the Janssen Group of companies' global sales grew from $1 billion to $8 billion, and from 2004 until 2012 he was Chairman of the Board of Directors. In Dr. Shetty's most recent role at Johnson & Johnson he was head of Enterprise Supply Chain, where he reported to the CEO and was responsible for the transformation and optimization of Johnson & Johnson's supply chain. Dr. Shetty earned a Ph.D. in Metallurgy and B.A. Natural Sciences from Trinity College, Cambridge University and a Master of Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University.

In 2007, Dr. Shetty was bestowed the title of Baron by King Albert II of Belgium for his exceptional merits. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Carnegie Mellon University, serves on the Board of Governors for GS1 (Global Standards) in Belgium and formerly served on the Corporate Advisory Board of the John Hopkins Carey Business School. In 2016, Dr. Shetty was named as Chairperson of the Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB), a Belgium based life sciences research institute focused on translating scientific results into pharmaceutical, agricultural and industrial applications. In addition, he was elected Manager of the Year in 2004 in Flanders and received a Life-Time Achievement Award in India in 2010.

Committees

Committee Role
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Chair
Audit Committee Member
Compensation Committee Member

Richard l. Steinhart

Director

Richard I. Steinhart has served as our Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee since November 2013. Mr. Steinhart is also a member of our Corporate Governance Committee. Mr. Steinhart has significant financial and strategic experience in the biotechnology and medical device industries. Currently, he is Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of  BioXcel Therapeutics. Previously, Richard served as Vice President and CFO at Remedy Pharmaceuticals, Inc., until it sold its only asset, CIRARA, to Biogen for $120M plus earn-outs. Prior to joining Remedy Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Steinhart served as an independent consultant to biotechnology and medical device companies. Previously, Mr. Steinhart was the Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of MELA Sciences. Prior to joining MELA Sciences, Mr. Steinhart held a variety of senior-level positions at Forest Street Capital/SAE Ventures, a boutique investment banking, venture capital, and management consulting firm focused on healthcare and technology companies, Emisphere Technologies, Inc., and CW Group, Inc., a venture capital firm focused on medical technology. He began his career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Mr. Steinhart is a member of the Board of Directors of and Atossa Genetics, Inc. He holds B.B.A. and M.B.A. degrees from Pace University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Committees

Committee Role
Audit Committee Chair
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Member

Jeffrey W. Chell, M.D.

Director

Jeffrey W. Chell, M.D., became the National Marrow Donor Program's Chief Executive Officer in 2000 where he led the NMDP through transformational growth as the Be The Match Registry tripled to more than 12 million donors, the number of transplants facilitated has grown five fold to over 6,400 annually, and blood transplants and revenue more than tripled to nearly $400 million per year. Dr. Chell is the co-founder and served as Executive Director of CIBMTR ®, the leading research program in the field contributing over 70 research publications per year in peer-reviewed journals. In addition, he served as co-chair of Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide (BMDW) during its IT transformation project, improving revenues and reducing costs. He then oversaw the merger of BMDW with World Marrow Donor Association and EuroCord. Dr. Chell currently serves as Chair of CLR Insurance, a captive insurance company domiciled in the Cayman Islands. Prior to joining the NMDP, he served as president, Allina Medical Clinics, a 450-physician multi-specialty medical group from 1994 to 1999. Prior to that he practiced Internal Medicine in Minneapolis and in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps.

Dr. Chell received his M.D. from the University of Minnesota and his training in Internal Medicine at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Dr. Chell is a member of the American Society of Hematology and a member of the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. He has received multiple honors including the 2018 Public Service award of the ASBMT, 2017 Most Admired CEO by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, 2010 Healthcare Executive of the Year by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, 2017 Bone Marrow Foundation Service Award.

Committees

Committee Role
Audit Committee Member
Compensation Committee Member