the hearts & minds
Leadership with direction, purpose and lifetimes of experience that encompass all aspects of pharmaceutical development through commercialization.
William Moore, PhD PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
A business and scientific leader in pharmaceutical and biotechnology R&D, Dr. Moore has devoted his 30-year career to championing new chemical entities from discovery to the clinic (navigating the pharmaceutical industry ‘Valley of Death’) for the treatment of asthma, osteoporosis, inflammatory diseases, and with an emphasis on oncology. Before joining Propella in 2017, Dr. Moore held key positions of increasing responsibility at Merrell Dow Research Institute, Axys Pharmaceuticals, Locus Pharmaceuticals, Viamet Pharmaceuticals, and most recently at Innocrin Pharmaceuticals. At Innocrin, Dr. Moore led development activities for seviteronel, a lyase selective inhibitor of CYP17 enzyme, for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer and advanced breast cancer. Dr. Moore’s responsibilities have included corporate strategy, business development, management of external alliances, intellectual property strategy, fundraising, and all aspects of R&D and technology innovation.
Dr. Moore holds a BS in chemistry from Southeastern Massachusetts University, a PhD in chemistry from Brown University and, prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, was a Winston Fellow and Assistant Professor in Biochemistry at Cornell University Medical College.
George Cox, PhD, JD CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER & CORPORATE SECRETARY
Dr. George Cox brings more than 30 years of combined science and legal experience to Propella Therapeutics. Prior to joining Propella, Dr. Cox was in private practice at IP & Business Law Counseling, LLC, Miles & Stockbridge PC, and Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP. Before attending law school, he enjoyed a career as a biomedical scientist and medical school professor at the National Cancer Institute and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine. He’s authored more than 70 publications in diverse scientific disciplines including pharmacology, immunology, biochemistry, and cell and molecular biology.
Dr. Cox earned his BA degree in chemistry and zoology from Ohio Wesleyan University, his PhD degree in pharmacology from The Ohio State University College of Medicine, and his JD degree from The American University Washington College of Law. Dr. Cox also serves on the Board of Directors of Luminary Therapeutics.
Brendan Griffin, MBA, MSPPM CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Brendan has spent the bulk of his career as an investment banker providing capital markets and advisory services to clients across North America, Europe, and Asia. Prior to joining Propella Therapeutics, he was a senior member of the biotechnology investment banking team at SVB Leerink. During his time at SVB Leerink, he completed over 100 transactions, including more than 20 IPOs. Brendan began his career focused on funding early-stage innovation as the financial officer for an R&D company headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. Brendan earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business, a Master of Public Policy Management degree from Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz School of Public Policy, and a B.S. from Elon University.
Jackie Walling, MBChB, PhD CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, CONSULTING
Dr. Jackie Walling, a British trained physician scientist and seasoned pharmaceutical executive, has over 25 years’ experience in the development of anticancer drugs. She is the principal of a consulting group that provides expertise on a wide range of global drug development and regulatory projects in oncology and rare diseases. Dr. Walling has contributed to the development and regulatory approval of several medicines that provide clinical benefit to patients. These include gemcitabine, pemetrexed, elosulfase, relugolix and talazoparib.
Prior to her extensive consulting work, Dr. Walling was the Vice President of Clinical Development at BioMarin, where she led the clinical development of new drugs for a variety of rare genetic diseases.
Dr. Walling received an MBChB from the University of Bristol and a PhD from the University of Southampton, UK.
Matthew Sharp, PhD VICE PRESIDENT, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Dr. Matt Sharp brings more than 25 years of pharmaceutical product development experience to Propella Therapeutics. Prior to joining Propella he was Senior Director of Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) at Innocrin Pharmaceuticals. Previously, he held a number of positions of increasing responsibility with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), most recently serving as U.S. Head of Process Robustness and 2nd Generation, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs). In these roles he was responsible for the development and manufacture of APIs as well as finished drug products. He has extensive experience in the manufacturing of drug products, research and development, process development, cGMP manufacturing, analytical development and quality systems.
In preparation for his pharmaceutical career, Matt received a BSc degree in Chemistry from Sheffield City (England) Polytech, a MSc in Organic Chemistry from the University of Waterloo (Canada), a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of California, Irvine, and then trained as postdoctoral research fellow at the University of California, Berkeley.
