TSRL Announces the Appointments of Martha Farmer and Stephen Munk to Board of Directors, and Gregory Amidon as Chairman of the Board
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ANN ARBOR, October 30, 2019 – TSRL, Inc., a preclinical accelerator, announces the appointments of Martha Farmer, PhD, and Stephen Munk, PhD to the Board of Directors, and Gregory Amidon, PhD, current board member, as Chairman. In addition, Dawn Reyna was appointed to Chief Operating Officer in January of 2019.
Elke Lipka, PhD, MBA was named CEO in 2018 after serving as President and VP of Business Development for TSRL. Lipka gained preclinical and early clinical drug development expertise at Parke Davis, Pfizer, and Esperion Therapeutics. “It has been an exciting journey transforming a local R&D organization into a US-wide preclinical accelerator for advancing therapeutics to treat the most challenging infectious diseases,” Lipka states. “Drs. Martha Farmer and Stephen Munk are champions in their respective fields and committed to TSRL’s mission to translate infectious disease product concepts into viable clinical candidates.
Martha Farmer, PhD is a co-founding board member of North Shore InnoVentures (NSIV), a technology incubator for 59 life science and cleantech startups that have raised $414M, and created 360 jobs. Farmer also has 10 years with Baxter Healthcare in biologic drug development and co-founded a radiopharmaceutical startup. “TSRL has a unique collaborative business model that fosters the acceleration of new technologies through partnerships with startups. I’m delighted to serve as an advisor,” comments Farmer.
Stephen Munk, PhD is Deputy Director of Science and Technology at Arizona State’s Biodesign Institute. While he was CEO and President at Ash Stevens, the company received 12 FDA approvals to manufacture innovator drug substances and was awarded six NIH research contracts. Munk’s expertise includes drug discovery, API development, and manufacturing. “I am particularly excited to work with the TSRL team to help early-stage biotechnology entrepreneurs drive their compounds to the clinic. The TSRL approach helps bridge the preclinical “Valley of Death” for these exciting drug candidates,” states Munk.
Dawn Reyna’s leadership has been crucial in streamlining internal and collaborator study and data processes over the past 12 years as former Senior Director of Laboratory Services for TSRL. Her expertise includes 20 years in quality assurance, preclinical study conduct, and pharmaceutical research operations management gained at MPI Research and Pfizer
Gregory Amidon, PhD is a Research Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Michigan. Amidon brings over 28 years in R&D at leading pharmaceutical companies developing pharmaceutical agents and dosage forms. He held various positions in the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) as Chair of several Expert Committees and is on the Board of Trustees. He served on the Board of Directors of TSRL for the past 10 years. “I am delighted to welcome Drs. Farmer and Munk and their expertise as we look to advance the development of new therapeutic agents that address unmet medical needs under the guidance of Dr. Lipka,” comments Amidon.
TSRL, Inc. is a privately-held preclinical accelerator based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We collaborate with partners in academia and industry to develop early-stage, anti-infective therapeutics and drug delivery technologies. We provide infrastructure, drug development expertise, and access to non-dilutive funding to support our asset-centric portfolio.
Contact: Dr. Elke Lipka, CEO, 734-663-4233, elipka(at)tsrlinc(dot)com.
