About Us
Our Company
Our Company
Kadmon is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and delivers transformative therapies for unmet medical needs. Our team has a proven track record of successful drug development and commercialization. Our clinical pipeline includes treatments for immune and fibrotic diseases as well as immuno-oncology therapies.
Our late-stage product candidate, belumosudil (KD025), is an orally administered selective inhibitor of Rho-associated coiled-coil kinase 2 (ROCK2) in development for the treatment of inflammatory and fibrotic diseases. A pivotal study of belumosudil is underway in chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) as well as a Phase 2 study in systemic sclerosis. Kadmon is also developing next-generation immuno-oncology therapies, specifically IL-15 containing fusion proteins, for the treatment of cancer. Our lead I-O product candidate, KD033, is an anti-PD-L1/IL-15 fusion protein in development for liquid and solid tumors. We initiated a clinical trial of KD033 in Q2 2020.
Harlan W. Waksal, M.D.
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
Dr. Waksal has been our President and Chief Executive Officer since August 2014 and was elected to our Board of Directors in 2013. Prior to joining Kadmon as an employee, Dr. Waksal served as President and Sole Proprietor of Waksal Consulting LLC from 2003 to 2014. From 2011 to 2014, Dr. Waksal served as Executive Vice President, Business and Scientific Affairs at Acasti Pharma, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, and as a consultant to Neptune Technologies & Bioressources, Inc., a publicly traded life sciences company and the parent company of Acasti. Dr. Waksal co-founded ImClone Systems (ImClone) in 1987, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company acquired by Eli Lilly and Company in 2008. Dr. Waksal served in senior roles at ImClone, including: President (1987 to 1994); Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (1994 to 2002); and President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer (2002 to 2003). Dr. Waksal also served as a Director of ImClone from 1987 to 2005. Dr. Waksal served on the boards of Oberlin College and Sevion Therapeutics through March 2016 and the boards of Acasti and Neptune through February 2016 and July 2015, respectively. Dr. Waksal received his B.A. from Oberlin College and his M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine. He completed his training in Internal Medicine at New England Medical Center and in Pathology at Kings County Hospital Center in Brooklyn.
Simon Cooper, MBBS
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Cooper was appointed Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer of Kadmon in 2021. Dr. Cooper’s background in immunology-focused biological drug development is marked by several key leadership roles spanning the ranks of major pharmaceutical corporations, capped off with his most recent role as Chief Medical Officer of Anokion, a private biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for autoimmune diseases. Dr. Cooper joined Anokion in January 2019 from AbbVie, where he most recently served as Asset Strategy Leader with responsibility for the development of SKYRIZI® (risankizumab), an anti-IL-23 antibody, across multiple indications. Prior to joining AbbVie, Dr. Cooper was Vice President, Global Project Head, Immunology and Inflammation at Sanofi, where he was involved in the development of KEVZARA® (sarilumab), an IL-6R antibody approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA). He played a key role in its worldwide submission in RA and was a lead contributor in the product’s global launch. Earlier in his career, Dr. Cooper was Global Program Medical Director at Novartis, Executive Director, Clinical Research for Human Genome Sciences (now part of GlaxoSmithKline), and Clinical Science Leader at Roche. In these roles, he was instrumental in the development and approvals for BENLYSTA® (belimumab), COSENTYX® (secukinumab) and RITUXAN® (rituximab). He earned his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne Medical School, United Kingdom (UK) before completing his higher medical training at Oxford University (UK).
Steven Meehan
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Meehan was appointed Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of Kadmon in 2019. Mr. Meehan has over 25 years of financial leadership experience spanning corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, capital raising and financial planning and analysis. Mr. Meehan served as a member of the Board of Directors at Kadmon from 2017 to 2019. Mr. Meehan previously served as a partner in the Healthcare Group of Moelis & Company, leading the effort in Life Sciences and Advanced Diagnostics. Prior to Moelis, Mr. Meehan was Head of Life Sciences within the Global Healthcare Group in the New York office of UBS Investment Bank (UBS). During his tenure at UBS, Mr. Meehan was Chief Executive Officer of UBS Russia and the former Soviet Union across all businesses, including securities, banking and wealth management. He was also a member of the UBS Group’s EMEA Management Committee. During his investment banking career, Mr. Meehan also held senior roles in M&A, leveraged finance and capital markets at Salomon Smith Barney, NatWest Securities and Drexel Burnham Lambert. Mr. Meehan holds a B.S. in Business Administration/Finance from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.
Gregory S. Moss, Esq.
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Chief Compliance Officer
Mr. Moss was appointed Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Kadmon in 2019. Mr. Moss also serves as Kadmon’s Chief Compliance Officer. Mr. Moss joined Kadmon in 2012 and from 2015 until August 2019, served as its Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Moss worked as a solicitor in the Corporate Risk practice group of one of Australia’s leading law firms and at a boutique legal practice and hedge fund in New York City. Mr. Moss holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (BA/LLB) from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
John Ryan, M.D., Ph.D.
Executive Medical Director, Clinical and Regulatory Development
Dr. Ryan was appointed Executive Medical Director, Clinical and Regulatory Development in 2021. Dr. Ryan joined Kadmon in 2011 and served as Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer from 2011 to 2021. Prior to joining Kadmon, Dr. Ryan served as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Cerulean Pharma, Inc., a publicly traded pharmaceutical company, from 2009 to 2011. Prior to joining Cerulean, Dr. Ryan was Chief Medical Officer at Aveo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded company, from 2006 to 2009. Prior to joining Aveo, Dr. Ryan served as Senior Vice President of Translational Research at Wyeth, a publicly-traded specialty-pharmaceutical company (formerly Genetics Institute), where he served as head of the Department of Experimental Medicine, from 1995 to 2006. Dr. Ryan also served as an Executive Director of Clinical Research at Merck Research Laboratories from 1989 to 1995 and he previously served on the scientific advisory boards of ArQule, Inc. and Expression Analysis, Inc. Dr. Ryan received his B.S. and his Ph.D. from Yale University. Dr. Ryan received his M.D. from the University of California, San Diego.
Haya Taitel, RPh, M.S.
Chief Commercial Officer
Ms. Taitel was appointed Senior Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer of Kadmon in 2018 and is responsible for the strategy, tactical execution and forecasting of in-line promoted products and the launch readiness of all pipeline assets.
Ms. Taitel leads commercial operation disciplines including marketing, sales, national accounts and contracting strategies. Ms. Taitel also oversees the commercial operation infrastructure, including the business analytics, market segmentation and customer service units.
Prior to joining Kadmon in early 2014, Ms. Taitel led the U.S. commercial franchises of the Pharma and Device sectors of Johnson & Johnson (J&J). In her 25-year tenure with J&J, Ms. Taitel launched new chemical entities in several therapeutic areas including neurology, analgesia, peripheral diabetic neuropathy, women’s health, and urology, with a focus on interstitial cystitis.
Ms. Taitel earned her M.S. in pharmacology and Teratology from Temple University School of Pharmacy in Philadelphia, PA. Ms. Taitel earned her B.S. and graduated as a registered pharmacist from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel.
Tasos G. Konidaris
Chairman of the Board
Mr. Konidaris was appointed to our board of directors in February 2017 and was appointed chairman in 2019. Mr. Konidaris has served as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since March 2020. He previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Alcresta Therapeutics, Inc. Prior to that, Mr. Konidaris served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Head of Corporate Development of Ikaria, Inc., a biotherapeutics company, from 2011 to 2015. Prior to joining Ikaria, since 2007, Mr. Konidaris served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) Corporation, a leading commercial information services company, and previously held financial and general management roles of increasing responsibility at Schering-Plough Corporation, Pharmacia Corporation, Novartis Corporation and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Mr. Konidaris currently serves on the board of Zep, Inc. Mr. Konidaris holds an MBA from Drexel University and a B.S. from Gwynedd Mercy College.
Harlan W. Waksal, M.D.
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
Dr. Waksal has been our President and Chief Executive Officer since August 2014 and was elected to our Board of Directors in 2013. Prior to joining Kadmon as an employee, Dr. Waksal served as President and Sole Proprietor of Waksal Consulting LLC from 2003 to 2014. From 2011 to 2014, Dr. Waksal served as Executive Vice President, Business and Scientific Affairs at Acasti Pharma, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, and as a consultant to Neptune Technologies & Bioressources, Inc., a publicly traded life sciences company and the parent company of Acasti. Dr. Waksal co-founded ImClone Systems (ImClone) in 1987, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company acquired by Eli Lilly and Company in 2008. Dr. Waksal served in senior roles at ImClone, including: President (1987 to 1994); Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (1994 to 2002); and President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer (2002 to 2003). Dr. Waksal also served as a Director of ImClone from 1987 to 2005. Dr. Waksal served on the boards of Oberlin College and Sevion Therapeutics through March 2016 and the boards of Acasti and Neptune through February 2016 and July 2015, respectively. Dr. Waksal received his B.A. from Oberlin College and his M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine. He completed his training in Internal Medicine at New England Medical Center and in Pathology at Kings County Hospital Center in Brooklyn.
Eugene Bauer, M.D.
Director
Dr. Bauer has served as a member of our Board since 2010. In 2010, Dr. Bauer co‑founded Dermira, a publicly traded specialty biopharmaceutical company acquired by Eli Lilly and Company in 2020. Dr. Bauer served as Chief Medical Officer of Dermira, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lilly, through March 2020. Prior to founding Dermira, Dr. Bauer served as Director, President and Chief Medical Officer of Pelpin, Inc., a publicly traded specialty pharmaceutical company, from 2008 to 2009. Dr. Bauer served as Chief Executive Officer of Neosil, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, from 2004 to 2008, and he co‑founded and served as a member of the board of directors at Connetics, a publicly traded specialty pharmaceutical company, from 1990 to 2006. Prior to initiating his career in industry, Dr. Bauer served as Dean of Stanford University School of Medicine from 1995 to 2001 and as Chair of the Department of Dermatology at Stanford University School of Medicine from 1988 to 1995. Dr. Bauer is the Lucy Becker Professor Emeritus at Stanford University School of Medicine, a position he has held since 2002. Dr. Bauer was a U.S. National Institutes of Health (“NIH”)‑funded investigator for 25 years and has served on review groups and Councils for the NIH. Dr. Bauer currently serves as a board member for First Wave Technologies. He is member of numerous honorific societies, including the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Bauer received his B.S. from Northwestern University and his M.D. from Northwestern University Medical School.
David E. Cohen, M.D., MPH
Director
Dr. Cohen has been a director of our company since February 2019. Dr. Cohen is the Charles C. and Dorothea E. Harris Professor of Dermatology at New York University School of Medicine, where he also serves as Chief of Allergy and Contact Dermatitis, Vice Chairman of Clinical Affairs, and Director of Occupational and Environmental Dermatology. Dr. Cohen joined the NYU faculty in 1994 and his work has concentrated on cutaneous allergic and toxic reactions to exogenous and photo-reactive chemicals and the interaction of environmental stressors on the skin. Dr. Cohen has previously served as a lecturer of Environmental Sciences at Columbia University School of Public Health since 1993 and has served as an Affiliated Faculty Member of the NYU Global Institute of Public Health since 2014. Dr. Cohen served on the board of directors of Dermira from 2014 until its acquisition by Eli Lilly and Company in 2020 and had previously served as a scientific advisor to Dermira since its inception in 2010. Dr. Cohen also served on the Boards of Vyteris from 2011 to 2012 and Connetics from 2005 until its acquisition by Stiefel in 2006. Dr. Cohen is the Past President of the American Dermatological Association, and served as President of the American Contact Dermatitis Society, the Dermatology Section of the New York Academy of Medicine, and the New York Dermatological Association. Dr. Cohen served as a founding board member for the American Acne and Rosacea Society, and led the national guidelines of care for individuals with Latex allergy and served on the panel to establish the national guidelines of care for Atopic Dermatitis for the American Academy of Dermatology. Dr. Cohen received a B.S. in biomedical science from the City University of New York, an M.D. from State University of New York at Stony Brook School of Medicine and an M.P.H. in environmental science from Columbia University School of Public Health.
Arthur Kirsch
Director
Mr. Kirsch has served as a member of our Board since 2019. Currently Mr. Kirsch is a Senior Advisor with Alvarez and Marsal within the Life Science sector. He also advises several private healthcare companies on strategic initiatives. Previously he was a Senior Advisor and Head of Healthcare from 2005 to 2019 at GCA Global, an investment bank providing strategic M&A, capital markets and private funds advisory services to growth companies and market leaders. From 1994 to 2004, Mr. Kirsch was Global Head of Healthcare Research, with more than 200 companies under coverage, and later served as Head of Capital Markets at Vector Securities, a healthcare investment banking boutique that was later acquired by Prudential Securities. From 1990 to 1993, Mr. Kirsch was Chief Executive Officer of NatWest Markets, currently the investment banking arm of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. Mr. Kirsch began his career on Wall Street at Drexel Burnham Lambert, where he served as Executive Vice President of the Global Equity Division, a member of the Executive Committee and notably was a #1-ranked Institutional Investor research analyst.
Mr. Kirsch serves on the Board of Directors of Liquidia Technologies, Inc., a public nanotechnology healthcare company, where he is also Chair of the Audit Committee. He previously served on the Board of Directors of Immunomedics, a public biopharmaceutical company, where he also served on the Audit Committee. Mr. Kirsch serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Aralez, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, where he is also Chair of the Audit Committee. Mr. Kirsch received his B.A. in Finance from the University of Rhode Island and his MBA in Finance from Bernard M. Baruch College.
Nancy Miller-Rich
Director
Ms. Miller-Rich was appointed to our board of directors in 2020. Ms. Miller-Rich has 35 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Since September 2017, Ms. Miller-Rich has served as a consultant to several biopharmaceutical companies and healthcare organizations. Previously, Ms. Miller-Rich served as Senior Vice President, Global Human Health Business Development & Licensing, Strategy and Commercial Support at Merck from 2013 to 2017. At Merck, Ms. Miller-Rich’s responsibilities included direct global business development, alliance management, strategy and commercial assessment. Prior to this role, Ms. Miller-Rich was Group Vice President, Consumer Care Global New Ventures and Strategic Commercial Development at Schering-Plough from 2007 to 2013. Prior to joining Schering-Plough in 1990, Ms. Miller-Rich served in a variety of commercial and marketing roles at Sandoz (now Novartis) and at Sterling Drug. Ms. Miller-Rich currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Aldeyra Therapeutics and the TB Alliance as well as an advisor to 1063 Therapeutics and Aurora Bio. Ms. Miller-Rich received her B.S. in Business Administration and marketing from Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York.
Cynthia Schwalm
Director
Ms. Schwalm was appointed to our board of directors in 2019. Ms. Schwalm currently serves as the Owner of EIR Advisory LLC, a healthcare-focused strategic partnership and investment company, and as a member of the board of directors of G1 Therapeutics, Caladrius Biosciences and Hikma Pharmaceuticals. Ms. Schwalm served as President and CEO of Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals North America from 2014 through 2017. Prior to joining Ipsen, Ms. Schwalm spent two years in various acting COO and C-suite consulting roles for emerging biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Prior to these roles, Ms. Schwalm served as President of Eisai Pharmaceuticals from 2008 to 2010, and as Executive Director from 2003 to 2005 and Vice President from 2005 to 2008 at Amgen, where she ran their oncology business. From 1985 to 2003, Ms. Schwalm held multiple commercial roles, domestically and internationally, at Johnson & Johnson. Ms. Schwalm started her career in oncology and critical care nursing. Ms. Schwalm received her MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and her B.S.N. from the University of Delaware. Ms. Schwalm is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors.