James Newman, Executive Chairman
Prior to co-founding Victory Pharma, Mr. Newman was founder and CEO of DJ Pharma, a specialty pharmaceutical company. Originally a spin-out from Dura Pharmaceuticals, DJ grew to approximately 400 employees and was sold to Biovail in 2000 for over $200 million. Prior to co-founding DJ Pharma, Mr. Newman served as CFO of Dura Pharmaceuticals. During his tenure as CFO, Dura completed its initial public offering in 1992 and grew to $300 million in sales prior to its sale to Elan Corporation in 2000. Mr. Newman began his career as a CPA with Deloitte and Touche. He earned his B.S. from the University of Illinois and his MBA from Golden Gate University. Mr. Newman also served four years in the U.S. Navy.
Matthew Heck, Chief Executive Officer
Biography appears under Management Team.
Thomas Wiggans
Mr. Wiggans served as Chief Executive Officer of Connetics Corporation, a specialty pharmaceutical company, from 1994 until December 2006 when Connetics was acquired by Stiefel Laboratories. From 1992 to 1994, Mr. Wiggans served as President and Chief Operating Officer of CytoTherapeutics, a biotechnology company. Mr. Wiggans previously served in various positions at Ares-Serono Group, a pharmaceutical company, including President of its U.S. pharmaceutical operations and Managing Director of its U.K. pharmaceutical operations. Mr. Wiggans currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Onyx Pharmaceuticals and of Peplin Limited as its Chairman. He also serves on the Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and the Board of Trustees of the University of Kansas Endowment Association. Mr. Wiggans holds a B.S. in Pharmacy from the University of Kansas and an M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University.
David Snyder, Esq.
Mr. Snyder is Chair of the Business Department of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. He has served on the firm’s Managing Board since 1998 and as its Vice Chairman from 2004 to 2006. His practice includes representing NASDAQ and NYSE public companies in their ongoing SEC reporting obligations, as well as working with numerous private companies in the health care sector. Mr. Snyder is a frequent speaker on matters of corporate securities law, and has written annual updates on federal securities law matters for The Business Lawyer since 1988. He has been profiled in the The Best Lawyers in America and in Chambers & Partners’ America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Mr. Snyder earned his B.A. from Michigan State University and his J.D. from Cornell University.
Herbert Hooper, Ph.D.
Dr. Hooper is a General Partner at Ampersand Ventures, a private equity firm focused on growth investments in the health care and specialty materials and chemicals sectors. He currently serves as Chairman of Chantest Corporation and Magellan Biosciences, and as a Director of Assay Designs, Cequent Pharmaceuticals, IBT Laboratories, RadPharm, Inc. and Signature Genomic Laboratories. Prior to joining Ampersand in 2002, Dr. Hooper served as Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Officer of ACLARA BioSciences, a public, drug discovery technology company which he co-founded in 1995. Dr. Hooper began his career at Air Products and Chemicals in various product and business development positions. Dr. Hooper holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
