Company | Management Team
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Yuichi Iwaki, M.D., Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer, and Founder
Dr. Iwaki holds three professorships at the University of Southern California School of Medicine in the Departments of Urology, Surgery and Pathology and has been Director of the Transplantation Immunology and Immunogenetic Laboratory since 1992. He is also a visiting professor at the Nihon University School of Medicine, Kyushu University and the Tokyo Women's Medical School in Japan. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, Dr. Iwaki held professorships at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in the Departments of Surgery and Pathology from 1989 through 1991. He received both his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Sapporo Medical School in Sapporo, Japan. Dr. Iwaki is the author of 200 peer-reviewed publications and more than 40 books. He has been advising pharmaceutical companies and venture capital funds regarding research and investment strategies for over 20 years and is a board member of several biotechnology companies.
Shintaro Asako
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Asako joined MediciNova in July 2005. Before joining MediciNova, he was an audit senior manager at KPMG LLP (KPMG), where he provided a variety of audit and business consulting services to multinational clients and industries including pharmaceutical, manufacturing, distribution, and freight-forwarding and transportation. Mr. Asako was also responsible for the development and expansion of KPMG's Japanese practice in the Orange County and San Diego areas. Before joining KPMG, he spent four years with Arthur Andersen LLP providing audit and tax advisory services. Mr. Asako is a graduate of the Leventhal School of Accounting at the University of Southern California. Mr. Asako is a certified public accountant of the state of California and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Kirk W. Johnson, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Johnson joined MediciNova in February, 2010. Prior to joining MediciNova, he was Vice President, Research and Development at Avigen through the close of the merger with MediciNova in December 2009. Before joining Avigen in early 2004, he was Senior Director, Pharmacology and Preclinical Development and a member of the executive management team of Genesoft Pharmaceuticals. From 1991 through 2001, Dr. Johnson was employed in both protein and small molecule therapeutic R&D at Chiron Corporation and eventually served as Director, Pharmacology and Preclinical Research. Aside from general pharmacology/toxicity and other development responsibilities, he has led research and clinical development projects for diverse indications including neuropathic pain, hemophilia, antibacterials, diabetes, obesity, acute inflammation, and cardiovascular disease. Dr. Johnson has contributed to successful IND, foreign ethics committee, and NDA filings at his prior companies. His academic training includes a B.S. in toxicology from the University of California, Davis, and a Ph.D. in pharmacology and toxicology from the Medical College of Virginia. He did postdoctoral fellowships studying the mechanism of action of IL-2 with Dr. Kendall Smith at Dartmouth Medical School and with Dr. Marian Koshland at the University of California, Berkeley. He has published approximately 65 manuscripts and has over a dozen issued U.S. patents.
Masatsune Okajima
Vice President and Head of Japanese Office
Mr. Okajima joined MediciNova in September 2006. Before joining MediciNova, Mr. Okajima served as Deputy General Manager, Daiwa Securities SMBC Co., Ltd. From 1999 through 2002, Mr. Okajima served as Manager, Daiwa Securities' SB Capital Markets Co., Ltd. (currently Daiwa Securities SMBC Co., Ltd.). As Deputy General Manager, Mr Okajima was involved in pivotal phases of initial public offerings, subsequent public offerings, corporate bond issuances, and mergers & acquisitions. In addition, he handled Investors Relations and stock trading. From 1996 to 1999, Mr. Okajima served as Manager, Sumitomo Capital Securities Co., Ltd. Mr. Okajima served in various positions at Sumitomo Bank, Ltd. (currently Mitsui Sumitomo Bank) between 1991 and 1996. Mr. Okajima graduated with a B.S. Degree from the Department of Science and Technology, Tokyo Science University.
Marie Lalas
Vice President, Controller
Ms. Lalas has over 20 years of experience in accounting and finance within small cap and Fortune 500 companies in a broad range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, retail and industrial automation controls. Prior to joining MediciNova in June 2006, Ms. Lalas served as Controller at Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. and, prior to that, served as Director, International Treasury Operations at Rockwell Automation, Inc. Ms. Lalas also held positions in SEC reporting and world-wide operations finance at Allergan, Inc. Ms. Lalas holds a Bachelors of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of San Diego and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Pepperdine University.
Kale Ruby
Vice President, Chemistry, Manufacturing & Controls (CMC) and Quality Assurance
Mr. Ruby has been involved in the pharmaceutical industry for the past twenty years, having held quality control and pharmaceutical development positions at Hybritech Inc., Telios Pharmaceuticals, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, River Medical and most recently as Director of Quality Assurance at Isis Pharmaceuticals. He has extensive experience in the production and control of drug substances including peptides, oligonucleotides, and small molecules. Additional areas of expertise include aseptic processing, tablet and capsule production, formulation development, analytical method development and process validation. Mr. Ruby holds a bachelors degree in Biology from San Diego State University.
Maria Feldman
Senior Director, Regulatory Affairs
Maria Feldman has over 19 years of pharmaceutical industry experience. Ms. Feldman joined MediciNova, Inc. in 2004 as Associate Director, Regulatory Affairs and was appointed Director of Regulatory Affairs in 2005. Previously, she held positions in regulatory affairs, quality assurance, pharmaceutical development and research at Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Multiple Peptide Systems. She has a broad-range of experience, in several therapeutic areas, from formulating regulatory strategies, developing registration plans, and submitting applications to worldwide health authorities, including the FDA, Health Canadaand the EMEA. Ms. Feldman has also lectured at the University of California San Diego Adult Extension Center on Regulatory and Clinical Affairs. At her most recent position at Isis Pharmaceuticals, she was involved in the regulatory approval Vitravene. Ms. Feldman received her BA in Chemistry from St. Olaf College.