in pursuit of better

A doctor and a businessman reconnect at a high school reunion, and naturally, they talk shop.

Physician Charlie Birbara and entrepreneur Milt Peterson realized they shared a vision of helping people who suffered from debilitating conditions.  Together with entrepreneur Rick Peterson and scientist Philip Birbara, they formed a founding team that brought decades of individual success and complementary talents.  The team’s shared vision was to build a respected and successful pharmaceutical company that would bring real benefit to others.

They laid a vital cornerstone of that vision by convincing John Walker, a pharmaceutical visionary, to add his brilliance to the effort.  John in turn assembled a team of veteran pharmaceutical executives who quickly brought one osteoarthritis (OA) pain product, over-the-counter PainBloc24® (0.25% capsaicin), to market.  Soon, the R&D model was creating a robust pipeline of promising pharmaceutical candidates.  As the oncology program began to mature, the decision was made to separate the biotechnology and the consumer health products businesses.  Thus, Propella was formed to bring focus to the advancement of the pipeline of therapeutic candidates.

The creation of Propella has focused financial investment and management expertise on the advancement of select, high value products.