The Vascular Pharmaceuticals management team brings deep operational, drug development and clinical expertise, with a particular focus in diabetic nephropathy. Our leaders promote strong collaboration and a patient-focused purpose throughout the organization.
Richard J. Shea, MBA, Chief Executive Officer
Richard J. Shea, MBA, is a 20-year veteran of the life sciences industry and has held a series of diverse leadership roles in both large pharmaceutical companies (Merck) and several start-up and mid-size companies. Rich joined VPI in an advisory capacity in 2006 and accepted the CEO role in early 2009. During his tenure, VPI has closed on a Series A venture funding with top tier firms MPM Capital and Intersouth Partners as co-lead investors and executed two strategic collaborations with Janssen Biotech, a division of Johnson and Johnson Corporation. Rich holds a B.S. degree from the University of Notre Dame (cum laude) and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business (Fuqua Scholar, top 10%).
David Clemmons, M.D., Co-Founder, Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. David Clemmons is the Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Medicine and former Chief of the Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine. He is a leader in the field on IGF-1 signaling having authored over 200 publications on the topic and has extensive experience as an investigator in over 40 clinical trials. David received his B.S. degree from Davidson College and his M.D. with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Laura Maile, Ph.D., Co-Founder, Director, Research and Development
Laura Maile, Ph.D., is the co-discoverer of VPI-2690B and has collaborated on the basic research program with Dr. Clemmons since 1998. She leads VPI’s pre-clinical research efforts, overseeing all non-clinical aspects of the development program. Laura holds both a B.S. and Ph.D. in cell biochemistry from the University of Bristol (U.K.)
Elizabeth Stoner, M.D., Chief Development Officer
Elizabeth Stoner, M.D., is a Managing Director at MPM Ventures, joining the firm in 2007 after a 22-year career at Merck Research Laboratories. At the time of her retirement from Merck, Liz was Senior Vice President, Global Clinical Development Operations with responsibility for the company’s clinical development activities in more than 40 countries. Prior to Merck, she was an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Cornell University Medical College. Liz received a B.S. in Chemistry from Ottawa University, KS, an M.S. in Chemistry, State University of New York at Stony Brook; an M.D. from Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Dee Rodriguez, MPH, Program Director
Dee Rodriguez has over 15 years of experience in managing and leading global clinical programs, including the successful submissions of several New Drug Applications, and Marketing Authorization Applications. Dee was formerly the Vice President of Clinical Operations at Infinity Pharmaceuticals, where she was responsible for the operational plans and strategy for the full product portfolio, including several programs in oncology and inflammatory disease indications. Dee has been the program leader for programs in oncology, infectious diseases, hemophilia, and inflammatory diseases. Dee received her BS in education, and MPH in epidemiology from Boston University.
Bonnie Layman, Chief Financial Officer
Bonnie joined Vascular Pharmaceuticals in 2012 and brings a wealth of experience in both public accounting and venture finance to our team. Prior to joining Vascular, Bonnie served as CFO of one of Vascular Pharmaceuticals’ Series A investors, Intersouth Partners (ISP), for 13 years. She retired from Intersouth in 2012. Prior to her tenure at ISP, Bonnie was a Tax Partner with Ernst & Young and a Tax Director with PricewaterhouseCoopers. She holds a Masters in Business, a Masters in Taxation and is a retired CPA.