Sergio Traversa
Chief Executive Officer
bioRelmada Therapeutics, Inc.
A new approach to treatment
At the end of 2024, Relmada initiated the process to transforming the Company through strategic product acquisition to maximize shareholder value.
Currently, Relmada is focused on progressing our product pipeline including NDV-01 and sepranolone into their next pivotal phase of development. Relmada will continue exploring product acquisitions opportunities targeting the key criteria of Innovation, established proof-of-concept proof points, near-term value creation drivers, and the potential to address well-defined, underserved markets.
Our team
We bring decades of drug development experience and extensive expertise—many of our employees have previous experience from leading biopharmaceutical companies, including Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, Acorda, Sepracor (now Sunovion), Abbott, Alkermes, Sandoz, Novartis, Bayer, Merck, Sanofi, and Roche.
Our scientific advisory board spans world-class academic and medical institutions, such as Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Cornell University, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Network, and Mount Sinai Hospital.
Leadership
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About Sergio Traversa
Chief Executive Officer
Before joining Relmada, Dr. Traversa was the co-founder and CEO of Medeor Inc. a spinoff pharmaceutical company from Cornell University. Dr. Traversa has over twenty-five years of experience in the healthcare sector in the United States and Europe, ranging from management positions in the pharmaceutical industry to investing and strategic advisory roles. He has held financial analyst, portfolio management and strategic advisory positions at large U.S. investment firms specializing in healthcare, including Mehta and Isaly and Mehta partners, ING Barings, Merlin BioMed and Rx Capital.
Dr. Traversa was a founding partner of Ardana Capital, a pharmaceutical and biotechnology investment advisory firm. In Europe, he held the position of Area Manager for Southern Europe of Therakos Inc., a cancer and immunology division of Johnson & Johnson. Prior to Therakos, Dr. Traversa was at Eli Lilly, where he served as Marketing Manager of the Hospital Business Unit. He was also a member of the CNS team at Eli Lilly, where he participated in the launch of Prozac and the early development of Zyprexa and Cymbalta. Dr. Traversa started his career as a sales representative at Farmitalia Carlo Erba, the largest pharmaceutical company in Italy later sold to Pharmacia and now part of Pfizer.
Dr. Traversa holds a Laurea degree in Pharmacy from the University of Turin (Italy) and an MBA in Finance and International Business from the New York University Leonard Stern School of Business.
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About Maged Shenouda
Chief Financial Officer
Maged Shenouda previously served as CFO and Executive Vice President of Corporate Development for AzurRx BioPharma, Inc. Prior to his tenure at AzurRx, Mr. Shenouda was Senior Vice President and Head of Business Development and Licensing at Retrophin, Inc. Before this, Mr. Shenouda spent the bulk of his career on Wall Street as an equity research analyst. He held senior level positions at UBS, JP Morgan and Stifel Nicolaus, covering a broad range of small and large capitalization biotechnology companies. Mr. Shenouda started his sell-side equity research career at Citigroup and Bear Stearns where his coverage universe focused on U.S and European pharmaceutical companies. Before entering Wall Street, he was a management consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers Pharmaceutical Consulting practice and also spent time in pharmaceutical sales, having worked as a hospital representative and managed care specialist for Abbott Laboratories Pharmaceutical Products Division. He earned a B.S. in Pharmacy from St. John's University and is a registered pharmacist in New Jersey and California. He also received an M.B.A from Rutgers Graduate School of Management.
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About Chuck Ence
Chief Accounting and Compliance Officer
Charles Ence is currently our Chief Accounting and Compliance Officer. From August 2003 until June 2019, Mr. Ence was Chief Financial Officer/Corporate Controller of New Age Beverages Corp/Xing Beverages, LLC located in Denver, Colorado. He managed all the financial affairs of New Age and their other portfolio companies helping lead the firm into becoming one of the top 100 non-alcoholic beverage companies worldwide. He helped guide the expansion of the business to ultimately penetration of 46 states domestically and 10 countries internationally, with consistent growth and profitability throughout his tenure. Mr. Ence was also instrumental in successfully uplisting the company onto the NASDAQ capital market. Prior to New Age, Mr. Ence was a senior executive, Planning Manager and Director of Finance for Quantum Corp. Following Quantum he served as a Director of Finance and Investor Relations at On Command Corp. Mr. Ence began his career at PepsiCo. During his 12 years at PepsiCo, Mr. Ence served as a financial analyst, planning supervisor, planning and analysis manager and ultimately controller.
He received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Accounting from Southern Utah University in 1984, and obtained a Masters in Business Administration in Finance from Arizona State University School of Business in 1985.
About Sergio Traversa
Before joining Relmada, Dr. Traversa was the co-founder and CEO of Medeor Inc. a spinoff pharmaceutical company from Cornell University. Dr. Traversa has over twenty-five years of experience in the healthcare sector in the United States and Europe, ranging from management positions in the pharmaceutical industry to investing and strategic advisory roles. He has held financial analyst, portfolio management and strategic advisory positions at large U.S. investment firms specializing in healthcare, including Mehta and Isaly and Mehta partners, ING Barings, Merlin BioMed and Rx Capital.
Dr. Traversa was a founding partner of Ardana Capital, a pharmaceutical and biotechnology investment advisory firm. In Europe, he held the position of Area Manager for Southern Europe of Therakos Inc., a cancer and immunology division of Johnson & Johnson. Prior to Therakos, Dr. Traversa was at Eli Lilly, where he served as Marketing Manager of the Hospital Business Unit. He was also a member of the CNS team at Eli Lilly, where he participated in the launch of Prozac and the early development of Zyprexa and Cymbalta. Dr. Traversa started his career as a sales representative at Farmitalia Carlo Erba, the largest pharmaceutical company in Italy later sold to Pharmacia and now part of Pfizer.
Dr. Traversa holds a Laurea degree in Pharmacy from the University of Turin (Italy) and an MBA in Finance and International Business from the New York University Leonard Stern School of Business.
About Maged Shenouda
Maged Shenouda previously served as CFO and Executive Vice President of Corporate Development for AzurRx BioPharma, Inc. Prior to his tenure at AzurRx, Mr. Shenouda was Senior Vice President and Head of Business Development and Licensing at Retrophin, Inc. Before this, Mr. Shenouda spent the bulk of his career on Wall Street as an equity research analyst. He held senior level positions at UBS, JP Morgan and Stifel Nicolaus, covering a broad range of small and large capitalization biotechnology companies. Mr. Shenouda started his sell-side equity research career at Citigroup and Bear Stearns where his coverage universe focused on U.S and European pharmaceutical companies. Before entering Wall Street, he was a management consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers Pharmaceutical Consulting practice and also spent time in pharmaceutical sales, having worked as a hospital representative and managed care specialist for Abbott Laboratories Pharmaceutical Products Division. He earned a B.S. in Pharmacy from St. John's University and is a registered pharmacist in New Jersey and California. He also received an M.B.A from Rutgers Graduate School of Management.
About Chuck Ence
Charles Ence is currently our Chief Accounting and Compliance Officer. From August 2003 until June 2019, Mr. Ence was Chief Financial Officer/Corporate Controller of New Age Beverages Corp/Xing Beverages, LLC located in Denver, Colorado. He managed all the financial affairs of New Age and their other portfolio companies helping lead the firm into becoming one of the top 100 non-alcoholic beverage companies worldwide. He helped guide the expansion of the business to ultimately penetration of 46 states domestically and 10 countries internationally, with consistent growth and profitability throughout his tenure. Mr. Ence was also instrumental in successfully uplisting the company onto the NASDAQ capital market. Prior to New Age, Mr. Ence was a senior executive, Planning Manager and Director of Finance for Quantum Corp. Following Quantum he served as a Director of Finance and Investor Relations at On Command Corp. Mr. Ence began his career at PepsiCo. During his 12 years at PepsiCo, Mr. Ence served as a financial analyst, planning supervisor, planning and analysis manager and ultimately controller.
He received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Accounting from Southern Utah University in 1984, and obtained a Masters in Business Administration in Finance from Arizona State University School of Business in 1985.
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About Paul Kelly
Chief Operating Officer
Paul Kelly has been actively involved as an analyst, consultant and investor in the biotechnology sector for the past thirty years. He has been a Director of the Company since November, 2015. Additionally, he has been acting as a Special Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer of the Company since January 1, 2023. He began as an equity analyst at Mabon Securities in 1993, and later served in the same capacity at UBS Securities, Volpe, Brown, Whalen, ING Securities, and Merrill Lynch. Mr. Kelly was named to the inaugural Fortune Magazine All Star Analyst Team in 2000. Since 2007, Mr. Kelly has engaged in consulting for private and public biotechnology companies and for hedge funds. He currently manages his own investments and continues his industry consulting activities. Mr. Kelly holds an A.B. in biochemistry from Brown University, attended the University of Rochester School of Medicine, and received an M.B.A in finance from the William E. Simon School at the University of Rochester.
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Dr. Pruthi holds multiple leadership roles within the urology community. He is the Chair of the Advisory Council for Urology of the American College of Surgeons and serves on its Board of Governors. He is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Urology at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University/Northwell and Professor, Department of Health System Sciences, Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine at Belmont University. Previously, he served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Urology at the University of California at San Francisco and at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Dr. Pruthi is a former member of the American Board of Urology/American Urological Association Examination Committee and is Past-President for the Society of Academic Urology. He served on the Guidelines Committee and helped to develop the AUA Guidelines on the Management of NMIBC, and also served on the Bladder Cancer Guidelines Committee of the International Consultation on Urological Diseases.
Dr. Pruthi graduated from Duke University School of Medicine and completed his residency and post-graduate training in Urologic Surgery at Stanford University. He also holds a Master of Health Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
About Raj S. Pruthi, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Raj Pruthi is an accomplished physician, surgeon and clinical scientist with an extensive career in academic medicine and industry and long publication history. Prior to joining Relmada, Dr. Pruthi was Chief Medical Officer at enGene Holdings Inc., where he led a global team in the development of a registrational therapeutic trial for bladder cancer. Prior to that, he was the Global Medical Affairs Leader, Bladder Cancer and Senior Medical Director, Oncology (Global – Prostate and Bladder Cancer) at Johnson and Johnson Innovative Medicine.Dr. Pruthi holds multiple leadership roles within the urology community. He is the Chair of the Advisory Council for Urology of the American College of Surgeons and serves on its Board of Governors. He is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Urology at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University/Northwell and Professor, Department of Health System Sciences, Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine at Belmont University. Previously, he served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Urology at the University of California at San Francisco and at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Dr. Pruthi is a former member of the American Board of Urology/American Urological Association Examination Committee and is Past-President for the Society of Academic Urology. He served on the Guidelines Committee and helped to develop the AUA Guidelines on the Management of NMIBC, and also served on the Bladder Cancer Guidelines Committee of the International Consultation on Urological Diseases.
Dr. Pruthi graduated from Duke University School of Medicine and completed his residency and post-graduate training in Urologic Surgery at Stanford University. He also holds a Master of Health Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
About Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly has been actively involved as an analyst, consultant and investor in the biotechnology sector for the past thirty years. He has been a Director of the Company since November, 2015. Additionally, he has been acting as a Special Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer of the Company since January 1, 2023. He began as an equity analyst at Mabon Securities in 1993, and later served in the same capacity at UBS Securities, Volpe, Brown, Whalen, ING Securities, and Merrill Lynch. Mr. Kelly was named to the inaugural Fortune Magazine All Star Analyst Team in 2000. Since 2007, Mr. Kelly has engaged in consulting for private and public biotechnology companies and for hedge funds. He currently manages his own investments and continues his industry consulting activities. Mr. Kelly holds an A.B. in biochemistry from Brown University, attended the University of Rochester School of Medicine, and received an M.B.A in finance from the William E. Simon School at the University of Rochester.
About Raj S. Pruthi, MD
Raj Pruthi is an accomplished physician, surgeon and clinical scientist with an extensive career in academic medicine and industry and long publication history. Prior to joining Relmada, Dr. Pruthi was Chief Medical Officer at enGene Holdings Inc., where he led a global team in the development of a registrational therapeutic trial for bladder cancer. Prior to that, he was the Global Medical Affairs Leader, Bladder Cancer and Senior Medical Director, Oncology (Global – Prostate and Bladder Cancer) at Johnson and Johnson Innovative Medicine.
Dr. Pruthi holds multiple leadership roles within the urology community. He is the Chair of the Advisory Council for Urology of the American College of Surgeons and serves on its Board of Governors. He is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Urology at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University/Northwell and Professor, Department of Health System Sciences, Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine at Belmont University. Previously, he served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Urology at the University of California at San Francisco and at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Dr. Pruthi is a former member of the American Board of Urology/American Urological Association Examination Committee and is Past-President for the Society of Academic Urology. He served on the Guidelines Committee and helped to develop the AUA Guidelines on the Management of NMIBC, and also served on the Bladder Cancer Guidelines Committee of the International Consultation on Urological Diseases.
Dr. Pruthi graduated from Duke University School of Medicine and completed his residency and post-graduate training in Urologic Surgery at Stanford University. He also holds a Master of Health Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dr. Pruthi holds multiple leadership roles within the urology community. He is the Chair of the Advisory Council for Urology of the American College of Surgeons and serves on its Board of Governors. He is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Urology at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University/Northwell and Professor, Department of Health System Sciences, Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine at Belmont University. Previously, he served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Urology at the University of California at San Francisco and at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Dr. Pruthi is a former member of the American Board of Urology/American Urological Association Examination Committee and is Past-President for the Society of Academic Urology. He served on the Guidelines Committee and helped to develop the AUA Guidelines on the Management of NMIBC, and also served on the Bladder Cancer Guidelines Committee of the International Consultation on Urological Diseases.
Dr. Pruthi graduated from Duke University School of Medicine and completed his residency and post-graduate training in Urologic Surgery at Stanford University. He also holds a Master of Health Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Board of directors
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About Charles J. Casamento
Chairman of the Board
Since 2007 Mr. Casamento has been executive director and principal of The Sage Group, a health care advisory group. He was president and CEO of Osteologix from October 2004 until April 2007. Mr. Casamento was the founder of Questcor Pharmaceuticals where he was president, CEO and chairman. In 2014 Questcor was acquired by Mallinckrodt for approximately $6 Billion. At RiboGene Inc. he was president, CEO and chairman until it merged with another company to form Questcor. He was also co-founder, president and CEO of Indevus (formerly Interneuron Pharmaceuticals). Indevus was eventually acquired by Endo for approximately $800 Million. He has held senior management positions at Genzyme Corporation, where he was Senior Vice President and General Manager for Biochemicals and Pharmaceuticals, American Hospital Supply, where he was Vice President of Business Development for the Critical Care Division, Johnson & Johnson, Hoffmann-LaRoche and Sandoz. During his career he has been a Director of fourteen other pharmaceutical/biotechnology companies and has been on the board of two not for profit organizations. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from Fordham University and an M.B.A. from Iona University.
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About John Glasspool
Director
John Glasspool is CEO and member of the Board of Directors of Anthos Therapeutics. Mr. Glasspool is also a member of the Board of Directors of Dalcor Corporation. He was formerly the Executive Vice President, Head of Corporate Strategy and Customer Operations at Baxalta Incorporated (NYSE: BXLT), formerly Baxter BioScience (NYSE: BAX). Prior to joining Baxter in August 2012, Mr. Glasspool was Head of Region Europe and Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics (NYSE: NVS), a member of the V&D Executive Committee. Mr. Glasspool served as a board member, Vice President and President of the European Vaccine manufacturers (EVM), from 2010 until December 2012. Previously, Mr. Glasspool was Head of Global Pricing & Market Access and Head of Global Commercial Operations in Novartis Pharma, where he led the functions in embedding the needs of customers and consumers for brands at all stages of their lifecycle development, launch, and in market. Mr. Glasspool joined Novartis as Head of Marketing for Neuroscience. He was promoted to Global Head Cardiovascular & Metabolism Business Franchise in 2006, during which time he grew the franchise sales over a three-year period.
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About Fabiana Fedeli
Director
Ms. Fedeli has extensive knowledge of international capital markets, sustainability, governance and corporate strategy. In her current role at M&G Investments, which Ms. Fedeli joined in 2021, she leads a team of over 100 investment professionals with assets deployed across the globe. She is responsible for teams managing assets in the UK, US, Singapore, Hong Kong and France. Prior to joining M&G Investments, Ms. Fedeli served as Global Head of Fundamental Equities, Managing Director, at Robeco Asset Management, from 2013-2021. In this role, she led Robeco’s Fundamental Equities investments, with over 70 direct and indirect reports based in Rotterdam, Zurich, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Earlier in Ms. Fedeli’s career, she held senior portfolio management and research positions at multiple leading institutional investment firms and investment banks, including Pioneer Investment Management, Occam Asset Management, Indus Capital Partners, Lehman Brothers, and ING Barings Corp.
Ms. Fedeli holds a Master of Economics from Hitosubashi University in Tokyo, Japan, and a Bachelor’s in Economics from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. She also received a Certificate in Financial Asset Management and Engineering from the University of Lausanne, Swiss France Institute, in Lausanne, Switzerland.
About Charles J. Casamento
Since 2007 Mr. Casamento has been executive director and principal of The Sage Group, a health care advisory group. He was president and CEO of Osteologix from October 2004 until April 2007. Mr. Casamento was the founder of Questcor Pharmaceuticals where he was president, CEO and chairman. In 2014 Questcor was acquired by Mallinckrodt for approximately $6 Billion. At RiboGene Inc. he was president, CEO and chairman until it merged with another company to form Questcor. He was also co-founder, president and CEO of Indevus (formerly Interneuron Pharmaceuticals). Indevus was eventually acquired by Endo for approximately $800 Million. He has held senior management positions at Genzyme Corporation, where he was Senior Vice President and General Manager for Biochemicals and Pharmaceuticals, American Hospital Supply, where he was Vice President of Business Development for the Critical Care Division, Johnson & Johnson, Hoffmann-LaRoche and Sandoz. During his career he has been a Director of fourteen other pharmaceutical/biotechnology companies and has been on the board of two not for profit organizations. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from Fordham University and an M.B.A. from Iona University.
About John Glasspool
John Glasspool is CEO and member of the Board of Directors of Anthos Therapeutics. Mr. Glasspool is also a member of the Board of Directors of Dalcor Corporation. He was formerly the Executive Vice President, Head of Corporate Strategy and Customer Operations at Baxalta Incorporated (NYSE: BXLT), formerly Baxter BioScience (NYSE: BAX). Prior to joining Baxter in August 2012, Mr. Glasspool was Head of Region Europe and Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics (NYSE: NVS), a member of the V&D Executive Committee. Mr. Glasspool served as a board member, Vice President and President of the European Vaccine manufacturers (EVM), from 2010 until December 2012. Previously, Mr. Glasspool was Head of Global Pricing & Market Access and Head of Global Commercial Operations in Novartis Pharma, where he led the functions in embedding the needs of customers and consumers for brands at all stages of their lifecycle development, launch, and in market. Mr. Glasspool joined Novartis as Head of Marketing for Neuroscience. He was promoted to Global Head Cardiovascular & Metabolism Business Franchise in 2006, during which time he grew the franchise sales over a three-year period.
About Fabiana Fedeli
Ms. Fedeli has extensive knowledge of international capital markets, sustainability, governance and corporate strategy. In her current role at M&G Investments, which Ms. Fedeli joined in 2021, she leads a team of over 100 investment professionals with assets deployed across the globe. She is responsible for teams managing assets in the UK, US, Singapore, Hong Kong and France. Prior to joining M&G Investments, Ms. Fedeli served as Global Head of Fundamental Equities, Managing Director, at Robeco Asset Management, from 2013-2021. In this role, she led Robeco’s Fundamental Equities investments, with over 70 direct and indirect reports based in Rotterdam, Zurich, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Earlier in Ms. Fedeli’s career, she held senior portfolio management and research positions at multiple leading institutional investment firms and investment banks, including Pioneer Investment Management, Occam Asset Management, Indus Capital Partners, Lehman Brothers, and ING Barings Corp.
Ms. Fedeli holds a Master of Economics from Hitosubashi University in Tokyo, Japan, and a Bachelor’s in Economics from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. She also received a Certificate in Financial Asset Management and Engineering from the University of Lausanne, Swiss France Institute, in Lausanne, Switzerland.
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About Sergio Traversa
Chief Executive Officer
Before joining Relmada, Dr. Traversa was the co-founder and CEO of Medeor Inc. a spinoff pharmaceutical company from Cornell University. Dr. Traversa has over twenty-five years of experience in the healthcare sector in the United States and Europe, ranging from management positions in the pharmaceutical industry to investing and strategic advisory roles. He has held financial analyst, portfolio management and strategic advisory positions at large U.S. investment firms specializing in healthcare, including Mehta and Isaly and Mehta partners, ING Barings, Merlin BioMed and Rx Capital.
Dr. Traversa was a founding partner of Ardana Capital, a pharmaceutical and biotechnology investment advisory firm. In Europe, he held the position of Area Manager for Southern Europe of Therakos Inc., a cancer and immunology division of Johnson & Johnson. Prior to Therakos, Dr. Traversa was at Eli Lilly, where he served as Marketing Manager of the Hospital Business Unit. He was also a member of the CNS team at Eli Lilly, where he participated in the launch of Prozac and the early development of Zyprexa and Cymbalta. Dr. Traversa started his career as a sales representative at Farmitalia Carlo Erba, the largest pharmaceutical company in Italy later sold to Pharmacia and now part of Pfizer.
Dr. Traversa holds a Laurea degree in Pharmacy from the University of Turin (Italy) and an MBA in Finance and International Business from the New York University Leonard Stern School of Business.
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About Paul Kelly
Chief Operating Officer
Paul Kelly has been actively involved as an analyst, consultant and investor in the biotechnology sector for the past thirty years. He has been a Director of the Company since November, 2015. Additionally, he has been acting as a Special Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer of the Company since January 1, 2023. He began as an equity analyst at Mabon Securities in 1993, and later served in the same capacity at UBS Securities, Volpe, Brown, Whalen, ING Securities, and Merrill Lynch. Mr. Kelly was named to the inaugural Fortune Magazine All Star Analyst Team in 2000. Since 2007, Mr. Kelly has engaged in consulting for private and public biotechnology companies and for hedge funds. He currently manages his own investments and continues his industry consulting activities. Mr. Kelly holds an A.B. in biochemistry from Brown University, attended the University of Rochester School of Medicine, and received an M.B.A in finance from the William E. Simon School at the University of Rochester.
About Sergio Traversa
Before joining Relmada, Dr. Traversa was the co-founder and CEO of Medeor Inc. a spinoff pharmaceutical company from Cornell University. Dr. Traversa has over twenty-five years of experience in the healthcare sector in the United States and Europe, ranging from management positions in the pharmaceutical industry to investing and strategic advisory roles. He has held financial analyst, portfolio management and strategic advisory positions at large U.S. investment firms specializing in healthcare, including Mehta and Isaly and Mehta partners, ING Barings, Merlin BioMed and Rx Capital.
Dr. Traversa was a founding partner of Ardana Capital, a pharmaceutical and biotechnology investment advisory firm. In Europe, he held the position of Area Manager for Southern Europe of Therakos Inc., a cancer and immunology division of Johnson & Johnson. Prior to Therakos, Dr. Traversa was at Eli Lilly, where he served as Marketing Manager of the Hospital Business Unit. He was also a member of the CNS team at Eli Lilly, where he participated in the launch of Prozac and the early development of Zyprexa and Cymbalta. Dr. Traversa started his career as a sales representative at Farmitalia Carlo Erba, the largest pharmaceutical company in Italy later sold to Pharmacia and now part of Pfizer.
Dr. Traversa holds a Laurea degree in Pharmacy from the University of Turin (Italy) and an MBA in Finance and International Business from the New York University Leonard Stern School of Business.
About Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly has been actively involved as an analyst, consultant and investor in the biotechnology sector for the past thirty years. He has been a Director of the Company since November, 2015. Additionally, he has been acting as a Special Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer of the Company since January 1, 2023. He began as an equity analyst at Mabon Securities in 1993, and later served in the same capacity at UBS Securities, Volpe, Brown, Whalen, ING Securities, and Merrill Lynch. Mr. Kelly was named to the inaugural Fortune Magazine All Star Analyst Team in 2000. Since 2007, Mr. Kelly has engaged in consulting for private and public biotechnology companies and for hedge funds. He currently manages his own investments and continues his industry consulting activities. Mr. Kelly holds an A.B. in biochemistry from Brown University, attended the University of Rochester School of Medicine, and received an M.B.A in finance from the William E. Simon School at the University of Rochester.
Scientific advisors
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About Yair Lotan, MD
Chair of the Clinical Advisory Board
Yair Lotan, MD, is a urologic oncologist with over 20 years of experience caring for bladder cancer patients.
Dr. Lotan graduated with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin and with honors from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He trained in general surgery and urology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Dr. Lotan heads a clinical research office and is involved in many clinical trials related to bladder cancer.
Dr. Lotan is known nationally for his research on urine markers and molecular markers, which will help determine which patients are at higher risk for recurrent cancer. He is also involved in health economics research, which evaluates the cost-effectiveness of surgery and cancer prevention. Dr. Lotan has participated in multiple collaborative studies involving early detection of bladder cancer. He is also a co-investigator on several NIH funded trials evaluating urine-based tumor markers. Dr. Lotan is the primary investigator on several investigator-initiated studies evaluating the role of urine and tissue markers in the management of bladder cancer. He is a member of panels that establish guidelines for the evaluation of hematuria and management of muscle invasive bladder cancer. Dr. Lotan has published over 650 peer reviewed papers and multiple reviews and book chapters.
Dr. Lotan is a frequent guest speaker at medical conferences around the world and belongs to numerous professional organizations, including the American Urological Association, the Society of Urologic Oncology, and the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network. He also serves as editorial reviewer for medical periodicals such as the Journal of Urology, European Urology, Cancer, Urologic Oncology, and the British Journal of Urology International.
Dr. Lotan has been included in D Magazine’s Best Doctors list multiple times over the last decade.
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About Max Kates, MD
Clinical advisor
Dr. Kates is a nationally recognized clinician-scientist in bladder cancer with one of the largest surgical bladder cancer practices in the U.S., integrating clinical care with translational research.
Dr. Kates serves as chair of the Phase 3 EA8212 BRIDGE Trial (NCT05538663) trial, comparing Gemcitabine/Docetaxel to BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) in non–muscle invasive bladder cancer (over 900 patients enrolled across >65 centers). He has also been the Principal Investigator on numerous studies evaluating new potential treatments for NMIBC. Dr. Kates has pioneered improvements in surgical innovation for robotic intracorporeal cystectomy and neobladder as well as novel techniques and early recovery programs for TURBT translational research, has advanced understanding of immune resistance in BCG-unresponsive disease, pioneered novel intravesical therapies, and explored antibody–drug conjugates and immunotherapy for bladder preservation.
Throughout his career, Dr. Kates has published more than 150 peer-reviewed manuscripts in leading journals such as Clinical Cancer Research, Cancer Immunology Research, Journal of Urology, and European Urology. Dr. Kates also serves as a reviewer for prominent journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, and the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Dr. Kates is the R. Christian B. Evensen Professor of Urology and Director of the Division of Urologic Oncology at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and Associate Professor, Urology and Oncology and Co-Director of the Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute. He received his medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. He trained in general surgery and urologic surgery at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland and completed a Clinical Research Fellowship at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. Dr. Kates graduated with High Distinction with a B.A. from Wesleyan University.
About Yair Lotan, MD
Yair Lotan, MD, is a urologic oncologist with over 20 years of experience caring for bladder cancer patients.
Dr. Lotan graduated with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin and with honors from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He trained in general surgery and urology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Dr. Lotan heads a clinical research office and is involved in many clinical trials related to bladder cancer.
Dr. Lotan is known nationally for his research on urine markers and molecular markers, which will help determine which patients are at higher risk for recurrent cancer. He is also involved in health economics research, which evaluates the cost-effectiveness of surgery and cancer prevention. Dr. Lotan has participated in multiple collaborative studies involving early detection of bladder cancer. He is also a co-investigator on several NIH funded trials evaluating urine-based tumor markers. Dr. Lotan is the primary investigator on several investigator-initiated studies evaluating the role of urine and tissue markers in the management of bladder cancer. He is a member of panels that establish guidelines for the evaluation of hematuria and management of muscle invasive bladder cancer. Dr. Lotan has published over 650 peer reviewed papers and multiple reviews and book chapters.
Dr. Lotan is a frequent guest speaker at medical conferences around the world and belongs to numerous professional organizations, including the American Urological Association, the Society of Urologic Oncology, and the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network. He also serves as editorial reviewer for medical periodicals such as the Journal of Urology, European Urology, Cancer, Urologic Oncology, and the British Journal of Urology International.
Dr. Lotan has been included in D Magazine’s Best Doctors list multiple times over the last decade.
About Max Kates, MD
Dr. Kates is a nationally recognized clinician-scientist in bladder cancer with one of the largest surgical bladder cancer practices in the U.S., integrating clinical care with translational research.
Dr. Kates serves as chair of the Phase 3 EA8212 BRIDGE Trial (NCT05538663) trial, comparing Gemcitabine/Docetaxel to BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) in non–muscle invasive bladder cancer (over 900 patients enrolled across >65 centers). He has also been the Principal Investigator on numerous studies evaluating new potential treatments for NMIBC. Dr. Kates has pioneered improvements in surgical innovation for robotic intracorporeal cystectomy and neobladder as well as novel techniques and early recovery programs for TURBT translational research, has advanced understanding of immune resistance in BCG-unresponsive disease, pioneered novel intravesical therapies, and explored antibody–drug conjugates and immunotherapy for bladder preservation.
Throughout his career, Dr. Kates has published more than 150 peer-reviewed manuscripts in leading journals such as Clinical Cancer Research, Cancer Immunology Research, Journal of Urology, and European Urology. Dr. Kates also serves as a reviewer for prominent journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, and the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Dr. Kates is the R. Christian B. Evensen Professor of Urology and Director of the Division of Urologic Oncology at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and Associate Professor, Urology and Oncology and Co-Director of the Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute. He received his medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. He trained in general surgery and urologic surgery at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland and completed a Clinical Research Fellowship at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. Dr. Kates graduated with High Distinction with a B.A. from Wesleyan University.
