ROBERT BALTERA, JR., M.B.A.
Chief Executive Officer

Robert Baltera is a seasoned pharmaceutical industry executive, who acquired a wealth of business and product management experience during 17 years with biotech pioneer Amgen. Before becoming Amira’s CEO, Bob held a number of senior management positions at Amgen, the last being vice president of corporate and contract manufacturing.

A scientist by training, Bob joined Amgen at the beginning of his career as a research associate but quickly moved to the operations side of the business, working in finance, product development and commercial operations.  He successfully used his collective experience to serve as team leader responsible for the approval of Kineret™ in rheumatoid arthritis, a highlight of his many accomplishments while at Amgen.

Bob has a master’s of business administration from the Anderson School at UCLA and earned his bachelor’s degree in microbiology and a master’s degree in genetics from The Pennsylvania State University.

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PEPPI PRASIT, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer, Co-Founder

Peppi Prasit has more than 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical research and management, most recently serving in various positions with Merck. These roles included head of chemistry at the company's San Diego facility. While at Merck, Peppi was the lead scientist responsible for Vioxx® and Arcoxia® and was involved in the optimization program that led to Singulair®.

During his career, Peppi has led and/or contributed to research resulting in more than 65 published papers exploring various elements of drug discovery. Among other numerous research achievements, Peppi was part of a group that discovered potent, orally active CysLT1 antagonists, cathepsin K inhibitors and FLAP inhibitor that went to clinic. He holds more than 30 granted patents.

Peppi received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand and served as a post-doctoral fellow in organic and organometallic chemistry at Princeton University in New Jersey.

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HARI KUMAR, Ph.D.
Chief Business Officer

Hari Kumar brings to Amira almost 20 years of big pharmaceutical experience. Hari spent a total of 17 years at Hoffmann-La Roche, where he began his career in basic research, moved to sales and marketing, lifecycle management, and finally, business development. In 1996, Hari moved to Eisai Ltd, where he served as the company’s European Marketing Director before returning to Roche in 1999.

During his career, Hari has overseen the launches of the immunosuppressive CellCept®, the Alzheimer’s drug Aricept® and the gastric ulcer drug Aciphex®. He was also involved in guiding cross-functional teams at Roche for the Transplantation franchise, during which time the products in the franchise achieved billion dollar sales. In his role as lead in-licensing manager for inflammation at Roche, Hari identified and partnered valuable products that significantly enhanced Roche’s global portfolio. He was instrumental in securing partnerships with Isotechnika, Biotie, Biocryst and Actellion. Experience in almost all aspects of the pharmaceutical industry has given Hari a unique understanding of the elements that contribute to a successful drug.

Hari trained as an immunologist at University College London, where he completed his Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor N A Mitchison. Hari then completed post-doctoral fellowships at Tufts New England Medical Center in Boston and at the Marie Curie Cancer Research Centre in the United Kingdom.

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MICHAEL V. SWANSON, M.B.A.
Chief Financial Officer

Michael Swanson has over 30 years of experience in finance and accounting, including 17 years of CFO-level experience in life sciences and specialty pharmaceutical companies. Prior to joining Amira, Swanson was the CFO of Prometheus Laboratories Inc., a privately-held specialty pharmaceutical company which sells both pharmaceutical products and diagnostic testing services for gastrointestinal diseases and disorders. During his time at Prometheus, Swanson led several financings totaling over $200 million dollars and, most recently, led the filing of a registration statement for Prometheus’ initial public offering. Prior to Prometheus, Swanson was the CFO of Advanced Tissue Sciences, Inc. where his responsibilities included the financing of this publicly-held, life sciences company.

Swanson is a Certified Public Accountant and holds an MBA from the University of Southern California.

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JILLY EVANS, Ph.D.
Vice President, Biology, Co-Founder

Jilly Evans began conducting biochemistry research more than 30 years ago.  Jilly obtained a first class honors Masters degree in cell biology from Auckland University in New Zealand.  She received her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver working with Nobel Prize winner Michael Smith. Jilly started her post-doctoral career at McGill University and then served in various biochemistry research positions at Merck Frosst and Merck & Company, most recently serving as director of cardiovascular diseases.  While at Merck, Jilly was a lead biologist responsible for Singulair^®, Vioxx^® and the 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein (FLAP) inhibitor MK-591. She also led the teams that identified FLAP and the CysLT1 and CysLT2 receptors.

Jilly is a world authority in the eicosanoid field and her work includes research resulting in more than 100 published papers. She has published extensively on the subject of biological inflammatory mechanisms and inhibitors, particularly FLAP, the cysteinyl leukotriene receptors and COX-2.

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JOHN HUTCHINSON, Ph.D.
Vice President, Chemistry, Co-Founder

John Hutchinson has nearly 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical discovery. Prior to 2005, John was at Merck Research Labs, most recently serving as Director of Chemistry and head of the Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK) department. John has a proven record of drug discovery success demonstrated by the preparation of two phase 2 clinical compounds and a number of back-up compounds in 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein (FLAP), avb3 and fibrinogen receptor antagonists, RAS-farnesyl transferase inhibitors, selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMS), CCR2 antagonists and multiple sclerosis programs. While at Merck, John made key discoveries that led to the generation of a series of novel 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) inhibitors.

John played a lead role in research resulting in more than 60 publications, including five years of work focused on leukotrienes. He holds more than 50 U.S. and foreign patents.

John received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He completed post-doctoral research at the University of Nottingham, England and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA.

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ISABELLE DeARMOND, M.D.*
Vice President, Clinical Development

Isabelle DeArmond has more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Before joining Amira Pharmaceuticals, she was the respiratory clinical research liaison for Roche Palo Alto in California. In this role, she led efforts to build a respiratory portfolio, developed clinical plans for new chemical entities, prepared INDs, and evaluated licensing opportunities.

Isabelle obtained her medical degree and specialty in allergy immunology from the Medical School of the University of Paris (France) in 1983 and 1987, respectively. She started her career in the pharmaceutical industry conducting clinical evaluation of immune response modifiers. She then joined Rhone Poulenc Rorer to register an antihistamine and became the leader for the respiratory inflammation clinical group, with Azmacort® and Nasacort® as main marketed products. She also developed expertise in pharmacoeconomics and the integration of QOL measures in the development of new products. In 1998, Isabelle moved to Bristol Myers Squibb, in Princeton, NJ, where she worked on inflammation and dermatology compounds.

Isabelle has global experience in both early and late clinical development. Over the course of her career, she played an instrumental role in five drug approvals, and multiple INDs. She has also authored numerous expert reports as part of European registration dossiers.

*formerly Isabelle Raizon-Ounis

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