MANAGEMENT
FOUZIA LAGHRISSI-THODE, M.D.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Fouzia Laghrissi-Thode, was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of DalCor Pharmaceuticals in April 2018. Most recently, Dr. Laghrissi-Thode was Vice-President at AstraZeneca of the US Renal-Cardiology Therapeutic Area. In her previous roles she led the global product and portfolio strategy of the cardiovascular, metabolism and renal therapeutic areas at AstraZeneca and Roche. She has more than 20 years of pharmaceutical industry leadership experience in US and Europe through working in clinical development, global strategic marketing, business development, licensing and M&A. She is a director on the board of Minerva Neurosciences Inc., Nuro Corp. and DalCor Pharmaceuticals. She served as a board member of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) Europe and was recognized by HBA in 2012 for her work in developing and promoting women leadership in healthcare. From 1992 to 2014, she held an appointment as faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, UPMC, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. Dr. Laghrissi-Thode is board certified in Psychiatry and holds Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Tours School of Medicine in France.
MICHAEL DIXON, C.P.A., C.A.
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Michael Dixon has over 20 years of experience working in an executive role for venture-backed companies. He was chief financial officer of Gemin X Pharmaceuticals where he structured and negotiated equity financings leveraged with venture debt and other forms of non-dilutive capital to fund the company’s Canadian and US operations over an 11-year period. Gemin X was successfully sold to Cephalon (now Teva), at the time one of the largest private biotech deals in Canada. Mr. Dixon was Interim COO and vice president of finance at Morphometrix Technologies, a medical device company specialized in the automation of cervical cancer screening. Mr. Dixon began his career at Price Waterhouse with a focus on compliance services for entrepreneurial businesses, strategic financial modeling and management information systems. Mr. Dixon received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto and his Chartered Accountant designation while at Price Waterhouse.
PETER SCHUEPBACH
VICE PRESIDENT, TECHNICAL OPERATIONS
Peter Schuepbach has more than 30 years of experience in operational management and consulting for major Engineering, Pharma and Biotech companies. He led the development and the implementation of Supply Chain Strategies in several global organizations. Prior to joining DalCor, he was Executive Vice President for Technical Operations at Finox Biotech, an innovative Swiss start-up company. Mr. Schuepbach held the position of Global Supply Chain Leader at Roche Pharma. In this function he was responsible for building the commercial supply chain and launching many of Roche’s major brand product including the launch readiness of the supply chain of dalcetrapib. In 1994 he joined as Head of Supply Chain Planning and Control for the Roche Diagnostics Division. Mr. Schuepbach received his Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the Bern University of Applied Sciences and is an APICS Certified Production and Inventory Manager (CPIM).
Ramy Hobeika
VICE PRESIDENT, Finance
THERESE HEINONEN, D.V.M.
Chief Development Officer
Therese Heinonen has accumulated over 27 total years of research experience, with 25 years dedicated to clinical research in the areas of cardiology, endocrinology, neurology, and oncology. Dr. Heinonen was a member of the Parke-Davis and Pfizer Global Research and Development cardiovascular senior management teams where she made significant contributions to the clinical development of several products including most notably, Lipitor. Dr. Heinonen has authored over 50 publications and managed over 30 clinical trials, many of which have focused on cardiovascular biomarkers and imaging technologies. Dr. Heinonen has worked as a consultant to government institutions, academic institutions, pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology organizations and diagnostic companies. In 2003, Dr. Heinonen began organizing the annual Cardiovascular Biomarkers and Surrogate Endpoints Symposium and in 2006 co-founded the International Partnership for Critical Markers of Disease. Dr. Heinonen has also founded or significantly contributed to the initiation of several start-up companies. Dr. Heinonen is a graduate of Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine and received training in molecular biology at Merck Research Laboratories.
DIANE SULLIVAN
CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER
Diane Sullivan joined DalCor in June 2020 as Chief Commercial Officer from The Medicines Company where, as Chief Commercial Officer, she played an integral role in the acquisition of the company by Novartis. She has held several senior leader positions including Vice President, Market Access and Patient Strategies at AstraZeneca, Vice President, Specialty Care Payer & Channel Group at Pfizer, and Vice President of Marketing, Health Systems, at Wyeth. She began her career at IBM and was a member of the team that launched IBM’s entry into the Health Data Networking business and has experience across a multitude of therapeutic areas including cardiovascular, oncology and primary care. Ms. Sullivan received a Bachelor’s degree from Dickinson College and held positions on the Boards of National Association of Specialty Pharmacy, Professional Women’s Roundtable, United Way Women’s Initiative, Leadership Philadelphia and the Support Center for Child Advocates.
