PO Box 713 Santa Barbara, California 93102
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Bexson Biomedical is developing a unique ketamine delivery system for pain disorders and mental health conditions. Our flagship project will deliver a proprietary subcutaneous formulation of ketamine via a minimally invasive, wearable, subcutaneous infusion pump to enable highly accurate delivery and dosing control.
Scientific Advisor
Dr. Wallach is a medicinal chemist with world recognized expertise in NMDA receptor pharmacology. As faculty at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, his research includes characterizing dissociative and psychedelic class chemistry, he has synthesized over 100 novel compounds, and has published numerous articles and book chapters. Dr. Wallach heads Bexson’s discovery division, helping develop the chemical basis behind Bexson’s three lead ketamine candidates for subcutaneous delivery, and efforts to synthesize new chemical entities with a polypharmacology approach. Dr. Wallach’s research in drug development spans a wide range of valuable therapeutic areas, including neuropathic pain, neurodegenerative diseases, depression and cancer.
Will Siu completed medical training at UCLA, and a doctorate in Immunology at the University of Oxford, School of Pathology. He continued with psychiatric training at Harvard Medical School, where he remained on faculty for two years before moving to New York City to study and practice ketamine and psychedelic assisted medical care. His expertise has been featured in Wired, The Wall Street Journal, Playboy, DoubleBlind, and The Goop Lab on Netflix. His work as an educator has reached a wide audience through speaking, writing and social media outlets. Siu is co-principal investigator on a pilot research study exploring MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for Fibromyalgia. He maintains a clinical office in Los Angeles, for patient care and training psychologists and psychiatrists in ketamine and psychedelic assisted psychotherapy. .
Dr. Carson is the current Chairman of the Board, and former President & CEO of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization. He is an internationally recognized pharmaceutical and biotechnology leader, who guided global approval of several drugs and digital medicines. These therapies have generated significant value while also improving the lives of patients, their families, and society. Dr. Carson is a member of the board at Excision Biotherapeutics, Inc. and the Board of Trustees of Internet2. He is also a co-founder of ExtendATouch, a free, virtual community with a mission to assemble millions of caregivers using technology to enable them. Dr. Carson received his A.B. from Harvard College and his M.D. from Case Western Reserve University. He is a Board-certified psychiatrist and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.
Dr. Carson is the current Chairman of the Board, and former President & CEO of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization. He is an internationally recognized pharmaceutical and biotechnology leader, who guided global approval of several drugs and digital medicines. These therapies have generated significant value while also improving the lives of patients, their families, and society. Dr. Carson is a member of the board at Excision Biotherapeutics, Inc. and the Board of Trustees of Internet2. He is also a co-founder of ExtendATouch, a free, virtual community with a mission to assemble millions of caregivers using technology to enable them. Dr. Carson received his A.B. from Harvard College and his M.D. from Case Western Reserve University. He is a Board-certified psychiatrist and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.
Gita Vaid, MD, is a board certified psychiatrist and psychoanalyst with expertise in ketamine assisted psychotherapy, currently practicing in in New York City. She is co-founder of the Center for Natural Intelligence, a multidisciplinary laboratory dedicated to psychedelic psychotherapy innovation in clinical practice (www.cni.nyc). Vaid is on faculty at NYU Medical Center, where she completed residency training before continuing her training at the Psychoanalytic Association of New York. She also trained as a fellow in clinical psychopharmacology and neurophysiology at New York Medical College, and completed a research fellowship at NYU Medical Center. Outside of clinical practice, Vaid now serves as the Director of Psychedelic Awareness at The Chopra Foundation, and she is on faculty at The Ketamine Training Center.
Sandhya Prashad is a board certified psychiatrist specializing in interventional modalities for treatment resistant disorders, with particular expertise in ketamine therapy. She completed medical school and psychiatry residency at Baylor College of Medicine, and remains on faculty as Clinical Assistant Professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Prashad began a private practice in the Houston area, utilizing intravenous ketamine in clinical care since 2016. She co-founded the American Society of Ketamine Physicians, Psychotherapists and Practitioners (ASKP3 / www.ASKP.org), where she sits as current President. She presents frequently, on a national level, to the public and physicians on the use of ketamine for psychiatric disorders. Prashad serves on several advisory panels and educational initiatives for ketamine related research, and she remains passionate about expanded access to treatment and education in the safe and effective use of ketamine in mental health disorders.
VP Clilincal Development
Kevin is a PhD scientist with a background in developing novel therapies for patients. He has over 15 years of experience in basic and translational research in the fields of infectious disease, cancer immunotherapy, and vaccine development. Most recently Kevin spent over 5 years in the rapidly expanding area of decentralized clinical trials, working with both small and large drug development companies to employ new strategies to enhance trial efficacy. Kevin received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and his PhD in Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics from UCLA.
Moshe Barkan has been in the medical device drug delivery field for 45 years, and is currently Strategic Advisor to the CEO for Bexson Biomedical. Between 2004 and 2018 he served as VP of Strategic Growth Platforms at West Pharmaceuticals (WST) where he was responsible for strategic initiatives within the Pharma Device Systems Group. While there, he led the development of the first Wearable Injection Pump that was commercialized through a collaboration between West Pharmaceuticals and Amgen, as well as other commercial devices that support a variety of treatments. Prior to this he was CEO of Migada Inc, an Israel-based start-up acquired by Teva Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Barkan holds an M.Sc. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from Jerusalem University, an MBA from Tel Aviv University, and a Master’s degree in Traditional Oriental Medicine.
Board of Directors
Warren Wright is a Managing Partner with the Noetic Fund, a VC firm focused on emerging and early-stage wellness, therapeutic and pharmaceutical companies around the globe. It is Noetic’s mission to nurture the scientific advancement of emotional, psychological and physical health by investing in alternative modalities, therapies and sciences committed to optimizing the human condition. Mr. Wright has over 20 years of asset management experience specifically focused on alternative strategies. He was most recently a Partner at The Carlyle Group, where he was the Chief Investment Officer of the Carlyle Liquid Market Solutions and responsible for delivering unique portfolio solutions for institutional investors. Mr. Wright has a Bachelor’s of Commerce degree in finance from Bishop’s University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the Toronto Society of Financial Analysts.
VP of Quality
Rosemary Gonzales is Bexson’s VP of Quality, and leads the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of the Company’s Quality Management System. She has over 20 years of life science industry experience in drug-device combination product development. She has guided quality and compliance strategies across the product lifecycle of several successful programs. She has a B.S. in Biology from Pepperdine University and has served on various technical committees.
She was previously the Executive Director of Final Product Technologies at Amgen accountable for creating and leading a team to provide quality oversight and technical expertise from early development throughout the lifecycle of combination products. Prior to Amgen she was VP of Regulatory and Compliance at SHL Medical where she provided strategic leadership to advance the regulatory and compliance framework for the global organization in Sweden.
Board of Director
Dr. Danovitch is the Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. His research is focused on the treatment of substance use disorders and the integration of medical and mental health services, and has research funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). He is the author of over 60 articles and book chapters, and co-editor of two books on substance use disorders. Dr. Danovitch is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and Past President of the California Society of Addiction Medicine. He has also served on multiple corporate boards. In 2016 he was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to serve as a Commissioner on the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. He earned his bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley, MD from UCLA, and MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
VP R&D
Dr. Wiederhold has extensive experience both treating chronic and acute pain, and researching solutions for pain management and PTSD. He has served as Principle or Sub-Investigator on DARPA, DoD, NIH and NSF studies, and has received funding from several Federal agencies including the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Office of Naval Research, and US Army Medical Research and Material Command. Dr. Wiederhold has completed over 300 publications, founded the CyberPsychology & Behavior Journal and served as its editor-in-chief, and serves as a reviewer for the Center for Scientific Review, National Institutes of Health. He serves on numerous scientific and technical advisory committees and panels, holds numerous patents, and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. Dr. Wiederhold received a B.S. from Northeastern Illinois University, PhD from University of Illinois Medical Center, and MD from Rush Medical College.
Sr. VP Drug Delivery
Mr. Moberg is Bexson’s Sr. VP Drug Delivery, and lead for the Company’s wearable infusion device development work. He has an M.S. in mechanical engineering from Purdue University and 30-years experience developing innovative medical devices and combination products. Mr. Moberg has 136 US patents, the majority of which apply to commercialized products. He was previously VP Drug Delivery at Amgen where he oversaw drug delivery strategy and development.
Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Becker has over 20 years of research and clinical experience in NMDA-receptor pharmacology and clinical use. He was one of the first MDs in U.S. administering and documenting ketamine for depression in the clinic, and is a world recognized speaker and expert in the clinical use of ketamine. His expertise led to development of an effective nutraceutical product addressing NMDA-receptor abnormalities. He received his B.S. from UC Berkeley and M.D from UCLA. He maintains a clinical practice focused in Functional Psychiatry and novel treatment approaches to mental health challenges.
Chief Executive Officer
Gregg has over 20 years of experience developing pharmaceutical, medical device, biologic and combination products, leading to launch of 12 products globally. He was previously a Global R&D Program Lead for S&P500 company with a focus on US, EU and AsiaPac. He has a successful history directing R&D programs from market need analysis and ideation, through Phase III clinical trials, and to regulatory approval. Gregg is a veteran of multiple startup companies including Evolus (IPO), TargeGen (sale to Sanofi-Aventis) and Somaxon (IPO). He holds a B.S. from University of Puget Sound and a M.A. from the Medical College of Wisconsin.