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Iroko Pharmaceuticals, LLC
Navy Yard Corporate Center
One Crescent Drive
Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19112
p 267.546.3003
f 267.546.3004
Contact Us
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John F. Vavricka
President and Chief Executive Officer
John Vavricka has held numerous executive positions in sales, marketing, and research & development in biotech & pharmaceutical companies, both global and
locally operating companies.
Mr. Vavricka was Vice President, Commercial Operations (North America and Europe) at Chiron Vaccines, the fifth-largest vaccine company worldwide. There he
established the North American vaccine headquarters, being tasked with site selection; construction; and the hiring of marketing, sales, public policy, and
government relations personnel. Upon Chiron's merger with Novartis, Mr. Vavricka facilitated Chiron's integration and developed market expansion strategy for
the new Novartis Vaccines.
Prior to joining Chiron, Mr. Vavricka was with GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, where he served as Vice President, Marketing. Before that, he held numerous
positions of increasing responsibility at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals, lastly as Regional Vice President, Sales.
Fred C. Krieger, MBA, CPA
Chief Financial Officer
Fred Krieger has spent most his career directing various financial aspects of leading pharmaceutical companies. Prior to joining Iroko Pharmaceuticals, Mr.
Krieger spent six years as Vice President, Financial Control, Planning and Reporting, at GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Research & Development. There he
directed the R&D accounting, consolidation, and reporting process, and was responsible for the overall budgeting and three-year planning process for R&D.
Mr. Krieger formerly held positions of increasing responsibility at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals, including positions in Philadelphia and London.
For a number of years Mr. Krieger directly supported the Chief Executive Officer. He holds BBA and MBA degrees and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Veenita B. Bleznak
Senior Vice President & General Counsel
Ms. Bleznak oversees all legal matters of Iroko Pharmaceuticals and offers over 14 years of comprehensive and diverse transactional, securities, and venture
investment experience. She previously practiced at major law firms in New York City and Philadelphia, and is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania
Law School.
Humphrey J. Harte
Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations, Europe
Humphrey Harte is an international pharmaceutical executive with nearly 21 years of commercial business experience in various countries. He has extensive
sales and marketing experience for existing businesses and startup companies. Prior to joining Iroko Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Harte was Vice President of
Commercial Operations in Europe and General Manager, UK, at Novartis Vaccines. He formerly held various positions at SmithKline Beecham, and was a key member
of the management teams at PowderJect and Chiron Vaccines.
Mr. Harte is a member of the UK Institute of Directors (IoD) and was the Vice-Chairman of the UK Vaccines Industry Group.
Paul Hemsley, PhD, MBA
Senior Vice President, Strategy and Business Operations
Paul Hemsley joined Iroko Pharmaceuticals in July 2007, as Vice President Strategy & Portfolio Development. He has over 20 years of pharmaceuticals industry
experience. Prior to Iroko, Dr. Hemsley was VP for Strategic Planning and most recently VP Marketing Excellence for Novartis (formerly Chiron) Vaccines.
Before working at Chiron he was a management consultant, advising life sciences companies on commercial and R&D strategy. Earlier in his career Dr. Hemsley
also worked at Glaxo Wellcome, progressing though roles of increasing responsibility including Corporate Strategy Advisor, Global Brand Manager, and
Clinical Research Scientist. Dr. Hemsley received his B.Sc. in physiology and Ph.D. in neurobiology from the University of London and also holds a masters
degree in business administration.
Rohit C. Mehta
Senior Vice President, Corporate Development
Rohit Mehta has over 19 years of experience in a broad range of global business and corporate development, including licensing, M&A due diligence, joint
ventures, product acquisitions, start-ups, API sourcing, early- and late-stage technology assessment, project development, and company and industry analyses.
Prior to joining Iroko Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Mehta was a principal in Jay Consulting, a firm providing business and corporate development consulting to
venture capital, drug delivery, and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in the US and Asia. Before that, he held a number of senior- and middle-level
management positions, including Vice President of Corporate Development at Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (US) and EpiCept Corporation, and as Director of Business
Development at Endo Pharmaceuticals.
Mr. Mehta serves on the IRB and IBC committees at Temple University.
Michael S. Spector
Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations, North America & International
Michael Spector has significant operational experience in the United States, Brazil, and South Africa. Prior to joining Iroko Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Spector
spent 15 years with GlaxoSmithKline, most recently as the company's Vice President of Global Product Strategy. He previously served as Vice President/General
Manager at GlaxoSmithKline South Africa, and led GSK's US anti-infective business, at the time valued at $1.5 billion.
Mr. Spector was President of the Pharmaceutical Association of South Africa 2004-2005. As such, he led pharmaceutical industry pricing negotiations with the
South African Ministry of Health.
Joseph C. Crea, CQE, CQA
Senior Vice President of Operations
Joseph Crea has over 30 years' experience as a quality professional working with diverse products and processes including pharmaceuticals, medical devices,
biologics, and consumer products.
Before joining Iroko Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Crea spent almost 2 decades with Johnson & Johnson, Inc. in various positions. Most recently, he was Director of
Quality Assurance, Global External Manufacturing, North America, for Ortho McNeil Pharmaceutical's Global Pharmaceutical Supply Group. Before that, he was
Director, Contract Manufacturing, for Janssen Pharmaceutica, where he also served as Quality Assurance Manager, Contract Manufacturing. Mr. Crea also served
as Senior Quality Assurance Engineer at Ethicon, another J&J company.
Mr. Crea maintains ASQ certifications in Quality Engineering and Quality Auditing, and is an ISO-Certified Lead Assessor.
Lawrence Akinsanmi, M.D., Ph.D.
Vice President of Regulatory & Compliance Affairs
Lawrence Akinsanmi joined Iroko as Vice President of Regulatory & Compliance Affairs in July of 2008. He brings with him over 19 years experience and an
extensive pharmaceutical and biotech industry knowledge of regulatory & compliance affairs. Dr. Akinsanmi was previously VP of Clinical Operations and
Regulatory Affairs for VioQuest Pharmaceuticals Inc. Prior to that he held positions of increasing responsibility with Daiichi Medical Research Inc, Omnicare
Clinical Research Inc. and Immunomedics Inc.
Dr. Akinsanmi received his MBHCB (British MD) from Ogun State University in Nigeria and also has a DTM&H from the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine of
the University of London, an MRCP from The Royal College of Physicians, and his Ph.D. from Chelsea University.
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