William G. Rice, Ph.D.
– President and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Rice serves as Cylene’s President and CEO and as a Director. Dr. Rice joined Cylene from Achillion Pharmaceuticals, where he was founder, President, CEO and Director. Under his leadership, Achillion recruited a talented senior management team, rapidly advanced a product candidate through clinical trials, built highly productive discovery and clinical development programs, and raised over $65 million. Prior to Achillion, Dr. Rice was Senior Scientist and Head of the Drug Mechanism Laboratory at the National Cancer Institute-Frederick Research Center. From 1989 to 1992, he was professor of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine, where he built a program to identify new molecular structures as antiviral targets. Dr. Rice holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Emory University School of Medicine and was a Post-doctoral Trainee in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical Center.
Daniel D. Von Hoff, MD
- Vice President, Medical Affairs
Dr. Von Hoff is a co-founder of Cylene and provides leadership in the clinical development arena for the Company. Dr. Von Hoff is one of the world’s most experienced and respected clinical oncologists and oncology drug developers, having conducted national clinical trials with more than 200 new antineoplastic and biologic agents (more than any other investigator). Dr. Von Hoff has served as Director of the Arizona Cancer Center and Professor of Medicine at The University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, the President of the American Association for Cancer Research, and a Member of the Board of Scientific Advisors of the National Cancer Institute. He has served on the FDA’s Oncology Advisory Committee and the board of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors for his patient care, teaching accomplishments and clinical investigation, including most recently the 2003 Bull Award, presented by the University of Michigan Cancer Center, the 2003 Block Award, presented by Ohio State University, and The Weinberg Award, presented by the Dana Farber Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School.
Stella M. Sung, Ph.D.
- Chief Business Officer
Dr. Stella Sung brings over a decade of experience in the healthcare sector. Prior to joining Cylene Pharmaceuticals, she was a Managing Director at Coastview Capital, a life science venture firm founded by Gordon Binder, Amgen’s CEO from 1988-2000. While at Coastview Capital, Dr. Sung served as the lead investor for the oversubscribed Series B round of financing for Cylene Pharmaceuticals. As an active investor and member of Cylene’s Board of Directors, Dr. Sung worked very closely with the Cylene management team before being recruited as Chief Business Officer. Dr. Sung has extensive experience in financing biotechnology companies. She has ten years of direct experience in life science venture capital and has led venture rounds of financing for seven transactions, co-founded two biotechnology companies, served on seven Boards of Directors and served as Chairman of the Board for four biotechnology companies. Prior to Coastview Capital, Dr. Sung was a General Partner at Oxford Bioscience Partners. Previously, she focused on life science and health care investments at Advent International, a global private equity firm that has raised over $6 billion in cumulative capital to date. Dr. Sung received her B.S. in chemistry from The Ohio State University and her Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard University, where she was a National Science Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellow.
John K.C. Lim, Pharm.D.
- VP, Clinical Development
Dr. Lim brings more than 20 years of experience in clinical research and new drug development, principally in the oncology and biotechnology areas. He joined Cylene from US Oncology Research, where he was Vice President for Research Operations. US Oncology is the country’s premier cancer care services company, and its network of research sites has contributed to the development and approval of 18 new cancer agents over the past decade. Prior to joining US Oncology, John held senior operations positions at Covance, Quintiles, Affiliated Research Centers (now called America’s Doctors), and Theradex. Originally from New Zealand, John graduated from the University of Otago with a Pharmacy degree. After completing his Doctoral degree at the University of Kentucky, he joined the faculty at the University of Otago Medical School, where he developed the University’s Clinical Pharmacy teaching program.
David M. Ryckman, Ph.D.
- VP, Manufacturing and Pharmaceutical Operations
Dr. Ryckman brings more than 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical manufacturing and operations to the management team. Before joining Cylene, Dr.Ryckman was responsible for chemical manufacturing and regulatory affairs at Myogen Inc., where he also oversaw the selection of vendors, the implementation of production strategies and the management of developmental milestones. Prior to his work at Myogen, Dr. Ryckman was a site director and director of chemical operations for Chiron Corp; he has also worked in technology and chemistry with AlliedSignal (now Honeywell), Gensia Pharmaceuticals and SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals. Dr Ryckman earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles, and he also completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in chemistry at Harvard University.
Claire S. Padgett
- VP, Clinical Operations
Ms Padgett brings more than twenty-five years of experience in establishing and managing operations for organizations in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and CRO industries. Prior to joining Cylene, she was Executive Director, Clinical Operations at Conforma Therapeutics (acquired by Biogen Idec, Inc.), where she was an integral clinical contributor to three IND submissions and was instrumental in the initiation and maintenance of clinical trials. Ms Padgett earned a M.S. in biology and business from Seton Hall University. She received her B.S., Phi Beta Kappa, from Rutgers University.
Kenna Anderes, Ph.D.
- VP, Cancer Biology
Dr. Anderes has over 17 years of life sciences research experience with a focus on cancer biology research. Dr. Anderes joined Cylene from Pfizer, Inc., where she had led large project teams in oncology and cancer biology research over the past twelve years. Prior to her tenure at Pfizer, Dr. Anderes held several group leader and senior scientist positions at major biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, such as Warner Lambert and Agouron. Dr. Anderes earned a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, and she performed a postdoctoral research fellowship in pharmacology at the University of California San Diego.
