About
We are a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company committed to the development of novel and differentiated cancer therapies intended to improve outcomes for patients. Our approach to oncology drug development is to evaluate our drug candidates in combinations with standard-of-care therapies to overcome known resistance mechanisms and address clear medical needs to provide improved patient benefit. MEI Pharma's portfolio of drug candidates includes voruciclib, an oral cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (“CDK9”) inhibitor, and ME-344, a novel small molecule inhibitor of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). MEI is headquartered in San Diego, CA.
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. File was appointed Chief Financial Officer in August 2023 with 30 years of experience in accounting and finance, working in both public and private companies. He has a diverse range of experience, having worked in various industries, including the life sciences industry for the past 16 years. From 2015 to 2023, Mr. File was the Chief Financial Officer of Evofem Biosciences, Inc., a women's health company that developed and commercialized Phexxi®, a nonhormonal contraceptive for women. While at Evofem he helped bring the company public through a reverse merger and was responsible for overseeing corporate finance and accounting, information technology and investor relations. Previously, Mr. File provided executive financial and accounting oversight consulting services to biotechnology companies, and before that led accounting operations and reporting at Sequenom, Inc., a molecular diagnostic company. He additionally served as Treasurer of Sequenom’s diagnostic subsidiary. Before joining industry, Mr. File worked for approximately ten years in public accounting, primarily with Arthur Andersen LLP. Mr. File graduated from Central Washington University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Business Administration. He is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive).
Chief People Officer
Ms. Frese joined MEI Pharma as Chief People Officer in June 2022. She has over 30 years of experience from a variety of industries including biotech, consulting, hospitality and engineering. Throughout her career, she has been a builder of organizations and talent, matching people and culture to ensure innovation and growth. Previously, Ms. Frese served as Chief Human Resources Officer at Vyripharm Enterprises and Vice President of Human Resources at both Artiva Therapeutics and Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. She received a bachelor's degree in Labor Relations and Economics from the McGill University.
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Ghalie was appointed Chief Medical Officer as of May 3, 2021. He joined MEI as Senior Vice President, Clinical Development in March 2016. He is a hematologist and oncologist with more than 25 years of drug development experience at public and private companies. Dr. Ghalie has held several executive positions in the pharmaceutical industry, including serving as Chief Medical Officer at Denovo BioPharma, HemaQuest Pharmaceuticals, Novalar Pharmaceuticals and Favrille, and previously as Vice President at Ligand Pharmaceuticals and NeoRx. He was the medical lead of teams that successfully filed NDAs and MAAs resulting in the approval of four new indications. Previously, he served as Medical Director of the Bone Marrow Transplant Center of Rush University Medical Center. Dr. Ghalie holds a medical degree from the French School of Medicine in Lebanon, a MS from the University Paris XI and a MBA from the University of Washington in Seattle. He has authored or co-authored more than 125 manuscripts, book chapters and scientific publications.
Senior Vice President, Operations And Quality
Ms. Gomez-Naiden was appointed Senior Vice President, Operations And Quality in July 2023. She joined MEI Pharma in January 2022 with over 25 years of experience in both biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, and her expertise spans in quality assurance operations, quality systems, integrations, regulatory compliance, and quality management. She has also contributed to the successful approval of drugs and biologics in multiple therapeutic areas. Previously, Ms. Gomez-Naiden served as Vice President of Corporate Quality at AGC Biologics where she led the establishment of the company's first Global Quality Management System and Corporate Quality Program. Prior to that, Ms. Gomez-Naiden held positions of increasing responsibilities at Acerta Pharma, GE Life Sciences, Merck, Schering-Plough, PF Laboratories, and Warner Lambert (now Pfizer). She received a bachelor's degree in Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico and an MBA in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Vice President, Legal Affairs
Ms. Iida joined MEI Pharma as Associate General Counsel, Contracts and Operations in October 2018. She has over 20 years of in-house experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Most recently, she was head of a large contracts group at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals which supported the contract needs of the entire company, which included commercial, clin ops, medical affairs and CMC. Prior to that, Ms. Iida spent over a decade at Arena Pharmaceuticals, holding positions of increasing responsibilities, including lead counsel supporting several clinical studies. She began her career as a patent attorney in a small IP boutique firm in San Diego. Ms. Iida received a Juris Doctor and Masters in Intellectual Property from the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law and a bachelors degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Southern California. She is admitted to practice in the State Bar of California and the Hawaii State Bar Association (inactive), and is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Vice President, Portfolio Strategy & New Product Planning
Mr. Park joined MEI Pharma in July 2021 with over 14 years of commercial experience in oncology within the biopharma industry, most recently as Vice President, Marketing at Coherus BioSciences. He has spent the last several years serving as the head of marketing for several small biotechnology companies, including Immunomedics and Halozyme Therapeutics, where he led efforts to build out the marketing organization and capabilities in preparation for the commercial launch of novel oncology therapeutics. Previously, Mr. Park spent 10 years in big pharma, moving through various sales and marketing roles and leading multiple US launches at Pfizer Oncology and Novartis Oncology, His experience spans a broad range of tumor types and includes building brands for small molecule, biologic, and biosimilar assets. Mr. Park holds a BS in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Vice President Of Clinical Operations
Ms. Ruiz was appointed Vice President of Clinical Operations in January 2022. She joined MEI as Executive Director of Clinical Operations in July 2020. She has over 20 years of experience in drug development across multiple indications, including oncology, the central nervous system, and immunology. She has held various senior positions in Clinical Management and Clinical Operations, managing regional business units, large portfolios (40+ studies), and global teams. Previously, she was Senior Director, Neurodegenerative Disease Portfolio Head, at IQVIA. She received a bachelor’s degree in Biology from University of California, San Diego.
Vice President, Information Technology
Mr. Sausser joined MEI Pharma as Vice President, Information Technology in March 2022. He brings over 25 years of information technology experience in a variety of Life Sciences and Health Care industries. Mr. Sausser previously held positions as Head of IT for Omniome, Inc. supporting R&D and business efforts to develop new sequencing technologies and Sequenom, Inc. (now LabCorp) supporting Sequencing research and laboratory operations. He is an Adjunct Faculty member at Point Loma Nazarene University in the Computer and Mathematics Department. Mr. Sausser received a B.S. degree in Business from the University of Redlands and a M.S. in Information Systems from San Diego State University.
President And CEO
Mr. Urso was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer in June 2023, he also serves as a member of the MEI board. He joined MEI Pharma as a senior vice president and general counsel in April 2014 with nearly two decades of experience in the life science industry. In July 2018, he was appointed MEI’s chief operating officer. Previously, he was chief operating officer and general counsel at Tioga Pharmaceuticals Inc. a privately held drug development company he co-founded in 2005 as a principal at Forward Ventures, where he was responsible for identifying and developing life science venture capital investments. Before joining Forward Ventures in 2002, Mr. Urso was director of corporate development and legal affairs at DNA Sciences. Previously, he worked as an attorney in the corporate securities and technology transfer groups at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati LLP and Cooley Godward LLP, after beginning his career as a bench scientist at SmithKline Beecham and the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. Mr. Urso received a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a bachelor's degree in Molecular Biology and Philosophy from Reed College.
Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs
Mr. Walsey joined MEI Pharma as Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications in February 2018. He was appointed Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs in May 2021. Mr Walsey has over 20 years of experience leading communications initiatives for public biotech companies. He has led investor relations and corporate communications programs at Alder Biopharmaceuticals, Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Sarepta Therapeutics (f/k/a AVI BioPharma), Arena Pharmaceuticals and Maxim Pharmaceuticals. He also has agency experience developing communications strategy and programs for biotechnology clients, having held senior positions at W20, Ruth Group and Noonan Russo. He began his career as an attorney in private practice in New York City. Mr. Walsey holds an LL.M. in Taxation from the New York University School of Law, a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School, and a B.A. from Franklin and Marshall College.
Chairperson and Non-Executive Director
Mr. Baltic has served as a Director of MEI Pharma since October 2011. He served as Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee from 2012 until he was appointed Chair of the Board in January 2023. Mr. Baltic also serves as a Director and Chairman of the Board of AssayQuant Technologies, Inc., a private, commercial-stage company focused on kinase-based assay technology licensed from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mr. Baltic was affiliated with Needham & Company, LLC as Managing Director and Co-Head of Healthcare Banking from 2009 - 2019 and as Senior Advisor from 2019 - 2022. Mr. Baltic served as acting CEO of Amyndas Pharmaceuticals, a private biotechnology company focused on immunology and innate immunity complement therapeutics based on technology licensed from the University of Pennsylvania from March 2021 to October 2021. Mr. Baltic served as Executive Vice President and COO of SIDIS Corp. from 2019 - 2021, overseeing the sale of the Propel Labs flow cytometry business to Thermo Fisher Scientific in February 2021. Mr. Baltic was a Managing Director and head of the biotechnology practice at CRT Capital Group from 2006 - 2008. From 2001 - 2006, he served as a Managing Director in Healthcare Investment Banking at Wachovia Securities. Prior to Wachovia, he was with Healthcare Investment Banking at Cowen from 1996 - 2001. Prior to his investment banking career in 1996, Mr. Baltic practiced corporate and securities law with the firm of Dewy Ballantine. Mr. Baltic previously served as a Director of SIDIS Corp. from 2015 - 2019. Mr. Baltic served as a Director of the trade association Life Science Washington from 2013 - 2018. He served as a Director of MedVantage Inc., a private health informatics company acquired by IMS Health (now IQVIA Holdings) in 2011. Mr. Baltic served on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Growth Companies from 2013 - 2015. He served as a founding Trustee of Hope Funds for Cancer Research from 2007 - 2017. Mr. Baltic earned B.A (honors) and J.D. degrees from Georgetown University and a M.B.A. degree in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Non-Executive Director
Mr. Datoo has been a director since October 2023. He has served in various roles of increasing seniority at Anson Funds, a hedge fund with a global investment portfolio, since 2016, including most recently as Principal and Portfolio Manager since January 2023, as well as Portfolio Manager from January 2019 to December 2022 and as an Analyst, from 2016 to December 2019. While employed at Anson Funds, Mr. Datoo has primarily focused on North American small-cap equities, special situations and thematic investing. Prior to joining Anson, Mr. Datoo served as an investment banker for BMO Capital Markets, the capital markets subsidiary of Bank of Montreal (NYSE/TSX: BMO), an international financial services company, from 2013 to 2015. Mr. Datoo earned a B.A. in economics and finance from McGill University. We believe that Mr. Datoo’s extensive experience identifying, funding and engaging in business development activities qualifies him to serve on the Board.
Non-Executive Director
Mr. Driscoll has been a director of MEI Pharma since February 2018. He currently serves on the board of directors of Calliditas, Cue Biopharma and Cellectar Biosciences, Inc. He served as the chief financial officer of Flexion Therapeutics, Inc. from 2013 to 2017 and rejoined in June 2021 as chief financial officer. Prior to joining Flexion, he was the chief financial officer at Novavax, Inc. from 2009 to 2013. From 2008 to 2009, Mr. Driscoll served as the chief executive officer at Genelabs Technologies, Inc. and from 2007 to 2008 he served as the company’s chief financial officer. He was also the chief executive officer of OXiGENE, Inc. from 2000 to 2006. Mr. Driscoll also served as the chairman of the board and audit committee chair at OXiGENE and as a member of the audit committee for Cynapsus Therapeutics, Inc. Mr. Driscoll earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance from Bentley University.
Non-Executive Director
Mr. Flynn has been a director since October 2023. He is currently a Managing Member and Portfolio Manager of Nerium Capital LLC, an investment adviser he founded in 2021. Nerium Capital LLC is the General Partner of Nerium Partners LP, a healthcare focused investment partnership. Mr. Flynn also currently serves as a Board Member for ARCA Biopharma, a publicly-listed biopharmaceutical company, and Axiom Health, a provider of software and big-data solutions to the healthcare industry, both since 2022. From 2017 to 2018, Mr. Flynn worked as a therapeutics analyst at Aptigon Capital (a Citadel Company), an investment firm. Prior to that, from 2003 to 2017, Mr. Flynn served in various roles at Amici Capital, LLC, an investment firm, including healthcare portfolio manager (2008 to 2017). From 2002 to 2003, Mr. Flynn worked in the credit research/high yield group at Putnam Investments, an investment firm. Mr. Flynn earned a S.B. degree in Management Science with a concentration in Finance and a minor in Economic Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Mr. Flynn is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder. We believe that Mr. Flynn’s relevant industry expertise and extensive experience identifying, funding and engaging in business development activities qualifies him to serve on the Board.
Non-Executive Director
Dr. Glover has been a director of MEI Pharma since June 2013. He is currently a consultant to the biotech industry. Previously, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Sierra Oncology (NASDAQ: SRRA), a drug development company focused on advancing targeted therapeutics for the treatment of patients with cancer, from July 2014 through May 2020. Prior to joining Sierra, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of YM Biosciences, an oncology drug development company, from November 2010 until its acquisition by Gilead Sciences in February 2013. Previously, Dr. Glover was President and Chief Executive Officer of Viventia Biotech, a biopharmaceutical company involved in the discovery and development of monoclonal antibody-based technologies for the treatment of cancer, which he joined after serving as an investment manager for MDS Capital, a life sciences venture capital firm. Dr. Glover holds a B.Sc. (Hons) in Chemistry from the University of East Anglia, U.K., a M.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of British Columbia, Canada, and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Simon Fraser University, Canada.
Non-Executive Director
Dr. Reynolds has been a director of MEI Pharma since February 2013. He is President of Two Paddles Consulting LLC since December 2013, providing consulting services to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Reynolds served as an independent director of Trillium Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIL; TSX: TR), an immuno-oncology company, until April 2021. Previously, he served as Chief Medical Officer of Seattle Genetics from March 2007 until his retirement in February 2013. While at Seattle Genetics, he was responsible for building and leading an integrated clinical development, regulatory and medical affairs organization, highlighted by the development and approval of ADCETRIS®. From 2002 to 2007, Dr. Reynolds served at ZymoGenetics (acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2010), most recently as Vice President, Medical Affairs, where he oversaw the clinical development and regulatory filing of RECOTHROM®. Previously, he was Vice President, Clinical Affairs at Targeted Genetics, and before that was at Somatix Therapy (acquired by Cell Genesys in 1997). Dr. Reynolds received his M.D. and Ph.D. in Biophysics from Stanford University and a B.A. in Chemistry from Dartmouth College.
President and CEO
Mr. Urso was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer in June 2023, he also serves as a member of the MEI board. He joined MEI Pharma as a senior vice president and general counsel in April 2014 with nearly two decades of experience in the life science industry. In July 2018, he was appointed MEI’s chief operating officer. Previously, he was chief operating officer and general counsel at Tioga Pharmaceuticals Inc. a privately held drug development company he co-founded in 2005 as a principal at Forward Ventures, where he was responsible for identifying and developing life science venture capital investments. Before joining Forward Ventures in 2002, Mr. Urso was director of corporate development and legal affairs at DNA Sciences. Previously, he worked as an attorney in the corporate securities and technology transfer groups at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati LLP and Cooley Godward LLP, after beginning his career as a bench scientist at SmithKline Beecham and the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. Mr. Urso received a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a bachelor's degree in Molecular Biology and Philosophy from Reed College.
Non-Executive Director
Mr. Wood, CFA, has been a director since October 2023. He is the founder and Chief Investment Officer of GreenWood Investors, LLC., an investment advisory firm established in 2010. Mr. Wood also currently serves as a Board Member of Leonardo SpA, an Italian-listed international Aerospace & Defense company, and CTT - Correios De Portugal, a publicly-listed Iberian logistics company. Prior to founding GreenWood Investors in 2010, Mr. Wood was a research analyst at Carr Securities from 2009 to 2013. Previously, Mr. Wood worked as an investment banking analyst for RBC Capital Markets in the Syndicated and Leveraged Finance group. He began his career with the special situations team at Kellogg Capital Group. Mr. Wood is a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder. He received a triple degree, Cum Laude, from Tulane University in Economics, Political Economy and International Relations in 2005. We believe that Mr. Woods’s prior experience as a Board Member and extensive experience identifying, funding and engaging in business development activities qualifies him to serve on the Board.
Our Mission and Commitment
In pursuing our mission to develop novel and differentiated cancer therapies, we are committed to doing so in a manner that serves society more broadly, including the environment, good corporate governance practices, and supporting diversity, equality and inclusion at our company and in the communities in which we serve and operate.
Additional ESG Information PDF