Our Team
Management
Ehud Marom
Chairman & CEO
Uri Danon
Executive VP
Nir Bernstein
VP Finance
Shai Rubnov, Ph.D.
VP R&D
Alex Mogle
VP Corporate Development
Laura Popper, M.D.
Medical Director
Nadav Bleich Kimelman, DMD, Ph.D.
Director Clinical Operations
Rut Hayden Ideses, Ph.D.
Quality Assurance Manager
Directors
Ehud Marom
Tomer Berkovitz
Alex Mogle
Itamar Borowitz, Ph.D.
Dov Pekelman, Ph.D.
Itay Attar, CPA
Scientific Advisory Board
Professor Jerry S. Wolinksy,
M.D., Ph.D.
Professor Tamir Ben-Hur,
M.D., Ph.D.
Ehud Marom
Chairman & CEO
Ehud Marom is one of our founders and has served as our chief executive officer and as chairman of our board of directors since our inception in January 2008. Mr. Marom has over 40 years of management and operational experience in the life sciences industry. Prior to our founding, Mr. Marom served in various senior positions at multinational pharmaceutical companies, including as vice president of two divisions at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. from 1992 to 1995, where he launched Copaxone (with current sales of $4 billion per year) and was the head of the Copaxone global operation team and headed the global operations of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.’s chemical division. From 2000 to 2002, Mr. Marom served as president of Peptor Ltd., where he led the pharmaceutical development of the innovative diabetes product, DiaPep. From 2002 to 2004, Mr. Marom served as chief executive officer of Gamida-Cell Ltd., a stem cell development company. From 2005 to 2007, Mr. Marom served as chief executive officer of Makhteshim, a company with annual sales of $1 billion and the world’s leader in branded off-patent crop protection solutions (which later became Makhteshim-Agan Industries Ltd. and has since been acquired by China National Agrochemical Corporation, a subsidiary of China National Chemical Corporation). Mr. Marom served as vice president of supply of Makhteshim-Agan Industries Ltd. from 2005 to 2009. He helped guide the product of Pharma Two B, P2B001, for the treatment of early diagnosed Parkinson disease, through a successful phase IIb pivotal trial expected to be registered via the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway. Mr. Maron serves as well as chief executive officer and chairman of Stem Cell Medicine Ltd. Ehud has a B.Sc. in chemical engineering with honors, from the Technion, Israel.
Uri Danon
Executive VP
Uri Danon has served as our executive vice president since October 2013. For an accumulated five years ending in 2012, Mr. Danon served as president and later as chief executive officer of BioCancell Therapeutics Inc. (TASE: BICL), a clinical stage anti-cancer drug development company. He also previously served as chief executive officer of Atox Bio Ltd., a clinical stage drug development company focused on the treatment of severe infections and served as the company’s chairman of the board of directors from 2009 until November 2013. He previously managed international projects for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., including the development of Copaxone in solution in pre-filled syringes (which has current sales of approximately $4 billion per year), from 1994 to 2000, and was chief executive officer of Epigenesis, Ltd., a cell therapy development company, from 2001 to 2003. Mr. Danon holds an MBA in marketing from Bar Ilan University, Israel, and a B.Sc. in industrial engineering and management from Tel Aviv University, Israel.
Nir Bernstein
VP Finance
Nir Bernstein has served as our vice president of finance since September 2015. Mr. Bernstein served as our chief financial officer from November 2013 until September 2015. From October 2010 until October 2013, Mr. Bernstein served as vice president of accounting and controller of Ampal-American Israel Corp Inc., a public company (NASDAQ: AMPL) that acquires interests in businesses located or operating in Israel. From August 1997 until September 2010, Mr. Bernstein worked as a senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers, an international accounting firm. Mr. Bernstein holds a B.A. in management and accounting from the College of Management and a B.Sc. in physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Shai Rubnov
PhD, VP R&D
Shai Rubnov has served as our vice president of research and development since 2009. From 2007 to 2009, Dr. Rubnov served as head of chemistry, manufacturing and control, quality assurance and regulatory affairs at Therapix Bioscience Ltd. (formerly NasVax Ltd.), an Israeli drug development company. From 2002 to 2007, Dr. Rubnov served as a director of chemistry, manufacturing and control at DeveloGen AG., a German-Israeli biotechnology company, where he gained extensive experience in investigational new drug development and medicinal chemistry. Dr. Rubnov holds a PhD in medicinal chemistry and a BPharm from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. Dr. Rubnov has completed his post-doctoral training at the French National Center for Scientific Research in Paris.
Alex Mogle
VP Corporate Development
Alex Mogle has served as our vice president of corporate development since June 2012. Mr. Mogle has over 15 years of executive experience in the life science and chemical industries. From 2003 until 2012, Mr. Mogle served in several capacities, including company secretary, investor relations director and as the head of the supply chain of Makhteshim Agan Industries Ltd., and was responsible for sales planning and inventory management which is valued at over $1 billion. Prior to Makhteshim Agan Industries Ltd., Mr. Mogle served as business development manager of the digital video division of Nice Systems Ltd., and as an economist in the Israeli Ministry of Finance. Mr. Mogle has a B.A., with honors, in economics and an MBA, majoring in finance and accounting, both from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Laura Popper, M.D.
Medical Director
Laura Popper has served as our Medical Director since September 2016. Dr. Popper brings with her over 11 years of experience in Pharma and Biotech. Prior to joining Mapi, from 2004 through 2016, Dr. Popper served in senior positions in some of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, covering a vast arena of therapeutic areas. She most recently served as the Medical Affairs Manager in Astellas (TYO: 4503), following four years as Medical Manager at Sanofi, and, previously, as the Medical Advisor and Pharmacovigilance Country Head in Bayer. Dr. Popper started her career in the pharmaceutical industry as the Clinical Director at Foamix (Nasdaq: FOMX). Dr. Popper holds an M.D. from the University of Buenos Aires, and a post-doctorate in Neurobiology from the Weizmann Institute of Science. Dr. Popper is a pediatrician by training; she completed an internship in medicine and a residency in pediatrics and served as a teaching assistant to the Pharmacology and the Biochemistry Chairs at the University of Buenos Aires.
Nadav Bleich Kimelman, DMD, Ph.D.
Director, Clinical Operations
Nadav Bleich Kimelman has served as our director of clinical operations since 2017. Dr. Bleich Kimelman joined Mapi Pharma in 2012 to serve as depot formulation team leader, and from 2014, he served as manager of depot products. In those capacities, Dr. Bleich Kimelman was responsible for the Company’s Depot Formulations line production development and scale-up. Additionally, Dr. Bleich Kimelman managed the pre-clinical as well as the clinical studies for this product line. Dr. Bleich Kimelman graduated from the DMD-PhD program at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. He is a certified Doctor of Dental Medicine and was awarded for Excellent PhD thesis.
Rut Hayden Ideses, Ph.D.
Quality Assurance Manager
Rut Hayden Ideses serves as our Quality Assurance Manager since 2016. Dr. Hayden Ideses served in various QA positions in leading Israeli pharmaceutical manufacturers. From 2002 to 2016 she served as Quality Assurance Manager at Trima Ltd. From 1995 to 2002 served as R&D Quality Assurance Manager at Dexcel Pharma Ltd and from 1991 to 1995 she served as Quality Control Manager at Teva’s API Division. Past experience includes Team Leader at Makhteshim Chemical Works R&D Department. Dr. Hayden Ideses holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the Ben Gurion University in Beer Sheva with post-doctoral training from the Marine Biology Institute in Eilat, Israel.
Ehud Marom
Ehud Marom is one of our founders and has served as our chief executive officer and as chairman of our board of directors since our inception in January 2008. Mr. Marom has over 40 years of management and operational experience in the life sciences industry. Prior to our founding, Mr. Marom served in various senior positions at multinational pharmaceutical companies, including as vice president of two divisions at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. from 1992 to 1995, where he launched Copaxone (with current sales of $4 billion per year) and was the head of the Copaxone global operation team and headed the global operations of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.’s chemical division. From 2000 to 2002, Mr. Marom served as president of Peptor Ltd., where he led the pharmaceutical development of the innovative diabetes product, DiaPep.
From 2002 to 2004, Mr. Marom served as chief executive officer of Gamida-Cell Ltd., a stem cell development company. From 2005 to 2007, Mr. Marom served as chief executive officer of Makhteshim, a company with annual sales of $1 billion and the world’s leader in branded off-patent crop protection solutions (which later became Makhteshim-Agan Industries Ltd. and has since been acquired by China National Agrochemical Corporation, a subsidiary of China National Chemical Corporation). Mr. Marom served as vice president of supply of Makhteshim-Agan Industries Ltd. from 2005 to 2009. He currently serves also as the chairman of Pharma Two B and helped guide its product, P2B001, for the treatment of early diagnosed Parkinson disease, through a successful phase IIb pivotal trial expected to be registered via the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway. Mr. Maron serves as well as chief executive officer and chairman of Stem Cell Medicine Ltd. Ehud has a B.Sc. in chemical engineering with honors, from the Technion, Israel.
Itamar Borowitz, Ph.D.
Itamar Borowitz has served as a director since May 2009. In the past, he served as the chief executive officer of Israel’s third largest insurance company, Phoenix Insurance Company Ltd., from 1992 to 2001. This position marked the culmination of his 27 year career within the Phoenix Group, during which he held a variety of senior management positions. Since 2009, Dr. Borowitz has served as the chief executive officer of BIT Enterprises Ltd., an advisor to Generali Financial Holdings – Sub-Fund 2, a Specialised Investment Fund governed by the Luxembourg law of 13 February 2007, which invests, inter-alia, in Israeli hi-tech companies and is a principal shareholder of our company. From 2005 to 2008, Dr. Borowitz served as an advisor to the Post of Israel. Since 2001, Dr. Borowitz serves as a member of the advisory board and a representative to Israel of GLL Real Estate Partners GmBH.
Previously, Dr. Borowitz served as the chief executive officer of Dolev Insurance Co. Ltd., as the chairman of the board of directors of Surdam, Lloyd’s agent in Israel, as the chairman of Israel Insurance Association, the chairman of Academic College of Insurance and a director of Mehadrin Ltd., the largest citrus company in Israel. Dr. Borowitz serves as the Chairman of the Board of Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Polak Dance Company. Dr. Borowitz has been serving as a member of the board of governors of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and of Tel Aviv University for over 20 years, and serves as the chairman of Yissum, the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University. Dr. Borowitz’s academic background includes a PhD in High Energy Physics, an MBA and B.A. in General History from Tel Aviv University, Israel, and a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Tomer Berkovitz
Dr. Tomer Berkovitz is a Managing Director & CFO at aMoon and has more than a decade of US capital markets experience. Prior to joining aMoon, he was the CFO & COO of Alcobra (NASDAQ: ADHD), a development-stage biotech company, where he led two successful public equity offerings from leading US healthcare funds and led Alcobra’s merger with Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ARCT), a San-Diego based mRNA company.
Prior to joining Alcobra, he was an Executive Director in J.P. Morgan’s Investment Banking Division in New York, Citigroup’s Investment Bank in New York, and served as an economist in the Financial Advisory Unit to the Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. Dr. Berkovitz holds a Ph.D. in Finance and Economics (with Distinction) from Columbia Business School and holds an M.Sc. in Finance and Accounting and a B.A. in Economics and Management from Tel-Aviv University.
Dov Pekelman
Dov Pekelman currently serves as the chairman of the special committee of the board of directors of Taro Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TARO), as well as chairman of Atera Networks Ltd. Prof. Pekelman serves on the board of directors of Enzymotec Ltd. (NASDAQ:ENZY) and the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Herzliya, Israel and is chairman of the IDC Corporation, the center’s economic arm. From 1985 to 2008, Prof.
Pekelman served as a senior consultant to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and also founded and ran a leading, Israeli-based management-consulting firm, P.O.C. Ltd. Previously, he served on the board of directors of several industrial corporations, including Koor Industries Ltd. (TASE: KOR), and was also a member of the advisory committee of the Bank of Israel. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel and a doctorate from the University of Chicago.
Alex Mogle
Alex Mogle has served as our vice president of corporate development since June 2012. Mr. Mogle has over 15 years of executive experience in the life science and chemical industries. From 2003 until 2012, Mr. Mogle served in several capacities, including company secretary, investor relations director and as the head of the supply chain of Makhteshim Agan Industries Ltd., and was responsible for sales planning and inventory management which is valued at over $1 billion.
Prior to Makhteshim Agan Industries Ltd., Mr. Mogle served as business development manager of the digital video division of Nice Systems Ltd., and as an economist in the Israeli Ministry of Finance. Mr. Mogle has a B.A., with honors, in economics and an MBA, majoring in finance and accounting, both from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Itay Attar, CPA
Itay Attar serves as Portfolio Manager at Crossroad Venture Capital and CFO at Hairstetics. Mr. Attar was previously a Business Consultant in Ernst & Young’s Transaction Advisory Services Division and Financial Analyst at Intel Electronics. He holds a BA in Economics and Accounting and an MA in Economics from Ben Gurion University.
Prof. Jerry S. Wolinsky, MD, PhD
Prof. Jerry S. Wolinsky is an Interim Chair, Dept. of Neurology; Bartels Family and Opal C. Rankin Prof. of Neurology, Dept. of Neurology; Director, MRI Analysis Center; Director, Multiple Sclerosis Research Group and the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Analysis Center, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. Certified by the National Board of Medical Examiners and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Dr. Wolinsky’s primary clinical interests are multiple sclerosis and related demyelinating disorders and magnetic resonance imaging.
Dr. Wolinsky has vast experience in leading clinical trials, including Copaxone clinical trials. He is recognized in The Best Doctors in America and America’s Top Doctors lists, and has authored more than 300 publications. Dr. Wolinsky received his medical degree from the University of Illinois in 1969 and completed his residency in clinical neurology and a fellowship in experimental neuropathology at the University of California, San Francisco. He later joined the faculty of the Schools of Medicine and Hygiene and Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.
Prof. Tamir Ben-Hur, MD, PhD
Prof. Ben-Hur is the chairman of the department of neurology at Hadassah University Medical Center, Jerusalem. Prof. Ben-Hur’s research projects focus on regenerative medicine and cell therapy for the brain, demyelination and remyelination in the central nervous system, neuroimmunology of multiple sclerosis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.
He earned his MD and PhD degrees from the Hebrew University. Prof. Ben-Hur is a professor of neurology and holds the Israel S. Wechsler Chair in neurology at the Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School.