William B. Stilley
Chief Executive Officer and President
MANAGEMENT
William B. Stilley has served as our Chief Executive Officer since co-founding the company in December 2010. Prior to joining Adial Pharmaceuticals, he was the Vice President, Business Development & Strategic Projects at Clinical Data, Inc. (NASDQ CLDA), where he worked on licensing and M&A transactions and was involved in management of Phase 3 clinical trials, production of Viibryd® for initial commercial launch of the product, and sourcing drug product and drug substance for the Phase 3 clinical trials of the Company’s vasodilator drug for myocardial stress imaging. He has advised both public and private companies on financing and M&A transactions, and has been the COO and CFO of a number of private companies. Before entering the business community, Mr. Stilley served as Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Mr. Stilley has an MBA with honors from the Darden School of Business and a B.S. in Commerce/Marketing from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia. He has guest lectured at the Darden School of Business in two courses on the management of life science companies, and serves on the Advisory Board of Virginia BIO, the statewide biotechnology organization, and previously served on Virginia BIO’s board of directors.
Cary J. Claiborne
Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Claiborne has served as a director since November 2021. He previously served as CFO and board member of Indivior PLC, a publicly traded specialty pharmaceutical company developing medicines to treat addiction and serious mental illnesses. Among his accomplishments, Mr. Claiborne led the company’s spin off from its then parent company, Reckitt Benckiser, to become an independent, listed company. While at Indivior, he established and oversaw corporate reporting, internal audit, tax, treasury, external audit and information technology. Prior to joining Indivior, Mr. Claiborne served as the CFO of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a global biopharmaceutical company, which was later sold to Mallinckrodt. Before joining Sucampo, Mr. Claiborne served as CFO and Corporate Secretary of Osiris Therapeutics, Inc., and oversaw corporate finance during the company’s initial public offering. He graduated from Rutgers University with a B.A. in Business Administration and from Villanova University with an M.B.A., and was a National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Governance Fellow.
Bankole A. Johnson, M.D., DSc., M.B., ChB., M.Phil., DFAPA, FRCPsych, FACFEI
Founder and Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Bankole Johnson has been our Chief Medical Officer since March 24, 2019, after having served as the Chairman of our Board since November 2010. Dr. Johnson is a world-leading neuroscientist and a pioneer in the development of medications for the treatment of alcohol abuse and is the inventor of all patents covering AD04. Prior to accepting his appointment as our Chief Medical Officer, he was Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and led the Brain Science Research Consortium Unit at the University of Maryland. Previously, from 2004 until August 2013, he served as Alumni Dr. and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia.
Dr. Johnson graduated in Medicine from Glasgow University in 1982 and trained in Psychiatry at the Royal London and Maudsley and Bethlem Royal Hospitals. Additional to his medical degree, he trained in research at the Institute of Psychiatry (University of London) and conducted studies in neuropsychopharmacology for his doctoral thesis (degree from Glasgow University) on the Medical Research Council unit at Oxford University. More recently, in 2004, Dr. Johnson earned his Doctor of Science degree in Medicine from Glasgow University—the highest degree that can be granted in science by a British university. His primary area of research expertise is the neuropsychopharmacology of medications for treating addictions.
Dr. Johnson is a licensed physician and board-certified psychiatrist throughout Europe and in the U.S. He is the Principal Investigator on National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research studies utilizing neuroimaging, neuropharmacology, and molecular genetics techniques. Dr. Johnson’s clinical expertise is in the fields of addiction, biological, and forensic psychiatry. Honors include service on numerous NIH review and other committees including special panels.
Dr. Johnson was the 2001 recipient of the Dan Anderson Research Award for his “distinguished contribution as a researcher who has advanced the scientific knowledge of addiction recovery.” He received the Distinguished Senior Scholar of Distinction Award in 2002 from the National Medical Association. Dr. Johnson also was an inductee of the Texas Hall of Fame in 2003 for contributions to science, mathematics, and technology, and in 2006 he received the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA’s) Distinguished Psychiatrist Lecturer Award. In 2007, he was named as a Fellow in the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and in 2008 he was elected to the status of Distinguished Fellow of the APA. In 2009, he received the APA’s Solomon Carter Fuller Award, honoring an individual who has pioneered in an area that has benefited significantly the quality of life for Black people. In 2010, he was named as a Fellow in the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. In 2013, Dr. Johnson was honored by the NIH as a recipient of the Jack Mendelson Award for work that has “transformed our understanding of how abnormalities of the brain promote addiction”. And, in 2019, he is the recipient of the R. Brinkley Smithers Distinguished Scientist Award from the American Society for Addiction Medicine, which “recognizes and honors an individual who has made highly meritorious contributions in advancing the scientific understanding of alcoholism an, its prevention and treatment”
Dr. Johnson was Field Editor-in-Chief of Frontiers in Psychiatry, serves on the Editorial Board of The American Journal of Psychiatry, and reviews for over 30 journals in pharmacology, neuroscience, and the addictions. He has over 200 publications and 15,459 citations (h-index = 56; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-index). Dr. Johnson also has edited three books: Drug Addiction and Its Treatment: Nexus of Neuroscience and Behavior, Handbook of Clinical Alcoholism Treatment, and Addiction Medicine: Science and Practice, one of the foremost reference textbooks in the field. The second edition of Addiction Medicine: Science and Practice is scheduled to be released in 2019.
Dr. Johnson has served as a consultant to Johnson & Johnson (Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC), Transcept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., D&A Pharma, Organon, Psychological Education Publishing Company (PEPCo LLC), and Eli Lilly and Company. He also has served on the Extramural Advisory Board for the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) (2004-present), the National Advisory Council for the National Institute of Drug Addictions (NIDA) (2004-2007), the Medications Development Subcommittee of NIDA’s Advisory Council on Drug Abuse (2004-2007), and the Medications Development Scientific Advisory Board for NIDA (2005-2009). In addition, he has been the recipient of research grant support from both NIAAA and NIDA.
Dr. Johnson’s curriculum vitaecan be viewed by clicking here
Dr. Jack Reich, Ph.D.
Head of Regulatory
Dr. Jack Reich has served as a director since May 2020. Dr. Reich’s career spans over 35 years in the pharmaceutical, biotechnologies, and venture capital industries. He began his career at Bristol-Myers International. While working at Bristol-Myers, Dr. Reich pursued his Ph.D. His dissertation was the first in the area of international drug development and registration. Since 1987, Dr. Reich has been involved in more than 30 medical and biotech companies. He was a founding officer of Gensia where he served as Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality Operations, and co-founded the first gene therapy company, Viagene, where he served as Vice President Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance. Both companies went public. Gensia soon became the second-largest market cap biotech on NASDAQ, and Viagene was acquired by Chiron. He also co-founded the first cardiovascular gene therapy company, Collateral Therapeutics, which he took public on NASDAQ while Chairman and CEO. Subsequently, Collateral was sold to Schering AG in 2002. In 2009, Dr. Reich co-founded Renova Therapeutics, where he served as CEO until 2019.
Joseph Truluck
Chief Financial Officer
Joseph Truluck was appointed as our Chief Operating Officer and CFO in 2017 and, since May 2016, has been our VP Operations and Finance. Since January 2013, Mr. Truluck has served as the VP Operations and Finance at Adenosine Therapeutics, after the company reacquired its major drug development program. As VP, Operations & Finance, at Adenosine Therapeutics, Mr. Truluck has overseen the operations of the business, including seeing to completion a project to merge and analyze two partially completed Phase 3 trials to constitute a single trial. Previously, Mr. Truluck served as the Operations Manager of Adenosine Therapeutics’ until its purchase by Clinical Data (NASDAQ:CLDA). He is the co-founder and former VP Operations and Finance for Beonten, Inc., a software development company. Beonten’s goal was the creation of a software platform for knowledge management and sharing. Beonten was a Semi-Finalist in the prestigious MIT 100K business plan competition. Mr. Truluck has a MBA from Tulane University with a concentration in Finance and an MA in Philosophy at the University of Virginia, with a thesis in the area of modal semantics.
Mark H. Peikin
Chief Strategy Officer
Mark H. Peikin joined Adial Pharmaceuticals in October 2019, as Chief Strategy Officer and Vice President of Business Development. Mr. Peikin is the General Partner of Bespoke Growth Fund, a long-focused hedge fund, which emphasizes investments in the healthcare, biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors, and he is also the CEO of Bespoke Growth Partners, a management consulting business. Mr. Peikin previously co-founded and co-managed Aelius Healthcare Innovations Fund, a private equity fund focused on investment in healthcare technology businesses. Aelius was sold in 2016 to Ridgetop Health.
Holding a J.D. from Suffolk University School of Law, Mr. Peikin practiced as a highly successful corporate and securities attorney for nearly a decade in capital markets, private equity, venture capital, and mergers and acquisitions until 2008, when Mr. Peikin resigned from the partnership of Brown Rudnick where he was a division chairperson within the Corporate and Securities Group in the firm’s New York City office. Mr. Peikin is licensed to practice law in New York State and Massachusetts.
Mr. Peikin is the founder of The Benjamin Harry Peikin Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that funds life-changing medical procedures for children who cannot breathe or speak well on their own, which surgeries are performed by elite medical teams from Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Massachusetts General Hospital and the U.S. Armed Forces. Mr. Peikin established The Benjamin Harry Peikin Foundation Chair in Otolaryngology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear. The Benjamin Harry Peikin Foundation is working to advance the development of pediatric medical technology and medical research being conducted at Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
Alex Lugovoy
Chief Business Officer
Mr. Alex Lugovoy has over 15 years of experience working in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. His management consulting and operational experience spans portfolio strategy, licensing, marketing, sales, medical, and R&D.
Prior to starting his own company, Dobrin Consulting, Alex started and led the “Business Development, Strategy and M&A” department at Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals (now – Indivior), a leading global addiction pharmaceutical company where he was the Senior Manager. Prior to that role, Alex led the business development and brand management practice at Campbell Alliance, a leading healthcare management consulting company. And prior to joining Campbell Alliance, Alex was a director at Columbia Science and Technology Ventures where he oversaw the creation of 5 start-up pharmaceutical/biotech companies. Alex also worked as a Sales and Marketing Professional at Eli Lilly where he was the rookie of the year within the Sales division before going on to help launch Cymbalta as a member of the brand team.
Over the last 6 years as a head of Business Development and Strategy at Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals Alex worked to build a successful product launch, lifecycle management strategy and execution and a full development pipeline within Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals through licensing and partnerships with the leading addiction and CNS pharmaceutical companies.
Alex lives in Richmond, VA and enjoys running, fitness, real estate investing and global travel.
Schuyler Vinzant
Vice President of Development
Schuyler Vinzant joined Adial Pharmaceuticals in 2020 and serves as Vice President of Development. Prior to joining Adial, Mr. Vinzant has over 20 years of experience in obtaining global regulatory approvals and managing clinical trials. Most recently Mr. Vinzant was Sr. Director of Clinical Operations and Regulatory Affairs at Krystal Biotech (NASDAQ:KRYS), a company developing gene therapies for rare diseases, where he oversaw the successful IND submission early phase clinical trial conduct of a topical gene therapy. From 1999 to present day Mr. Vinzant served in several leadership positions of increasing levels of responsibility in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. He has materially contributed to the growth of multiple start-ups including the management of the multi-protocol clinical program for the FDA-approved ADHD drug Vyvanse®, which resulted in a $2.6B acquisition of New River Pharmaceuticals from Shire Plc. He has overseen clinical and regulatory operations for small molecules and biologics across of a variety of indications including multiple oncology indications, pain, ADHD, multiple rare diseases, and auto immune diseases. Mr. Vinzant received a BS in Biology from George Mason University.
Catherine Fratila
Controller
Prior experience running her own accounting practice focused on small businesses, CPA firms, and individuals. Experience working for several accounting firms in the DC area. Holds a B.S. in Accounting from George Mason School of Business, an MBA, and is a CPA. abroad
Julien Dimastromatteo, Ph.D
Vice President Biz Ops & Vice President Research
Experienced scientist with a demonstrated history of working in molecular imaging and drug development. Involved in Purnovate, Inc acquisition by Adial in 2021 where he earned a second appointment as Vice President of Research
Robert D. Thompson, Ph.D
VP Chemistry
Co-founder & CEO of Purnovate until acquisition by Adial. Over 35 years experience in medicinal chemistry focused primarily on adenosine analogs. Acknowledged world leader in adenosine chemistry.
Inventor over 20 issued patents. Leader in multiple biotech companies successfully sold
