Industry Leaders

Dr. Shane Johnson’s career has focused principally on offering strategic business advisory services to companies in the biotechnology and healthcare sectors. His work has included guiding regulatory strategy, product portfolio assessment and valuations, and product development and launch strategies for companies including Biogen Idec, Amgen, and Genentech.  Shane was a Principal at Hamilton BioVentures (a Life Science venture capital firm), an Engagement Manager at L.E.K. Consulting (an international strategy consulting firm), and held operational roles in several early stage companies. For the past 4 years, Shane’s work has been focused on the cannabis and cannabinoid science space, and he has developed a strong working knowledge of clinical opportunities in the sector.  He is currently on the Board of Directors of several cannabis-related companies, and is a co-founder of one of Nevada’s leading cultivators and producers of premium cannabis products including a patented lozenge. Shane holds a B.A. in Studio Art and a B.S. in Neuroscience (with honors) from Brown University, an M.D. from the Stanford University School of Medicine, and is a Fulbright Scholar.

While at COR Therapeutics, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Takeda and Exelixis Inc., Dr. Chuck Marlowe was instrumental in helping drive a number of small molecule therapeutics to entry into later-stage clinical trials and FDA approval. These products include Integrilin and Betrixaban (FDA-approved) , Cromafiban, XL147 and XL765 (Phase II, with Sanofi) and Elinogrel Phase III, with Novartis.  Has worked in a number of fields including agricultural chemistry with Dow Chemical, biotechnology with Chiron Corporation (now Novartis Pharmaceuticals), and medicinal chemistry. Most recently Chuck was the Principal of Pharmaceutical Consultants, supplying chemical expertise to startup companies in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, fermentation and the renewable synthetic biology space.  Chuck has authored over 30 publications in leading journals and holds over 25 issued world and US patents. He holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from UC Berkeley, and was an NIH Postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University.

Dr. Jim Kealey has an extensive background in biochemistry, molecular biology, enzymology and synthetic biology. He has focused his research efforts using these skills to engineer organisms, including yeast, to produce small molecules, pharmaceuticals, and biofuels. At Intrexon, Jim built and managed a large research team that developed pioneering methods and platforms to convert inexpensive methane into higher value products. His use of a Design-Build-Test-Learn approach allowed him to grow his cross-functional team to 30+ members while rapidly engineering molecules from proof of concept to pilot commercialization scale. In his role as director he served as point person for presenting the team’s work to a variety of outside audiences. Prior to Intrexon, Jim led a number of groups at Amyris whose focus was the rapid engineering and development of S. cerevisiae to produce terpenes for industrial applications – (terpenes are common compounds in cannabis). While as Kosan Biosciences, Jim led groups that focused on the production of polyketides – a class of molecules that include anticancer, antibiotic and cannabinoids. Jim earned a BA in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology of UC Santa Cruz and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from UCSF.

As a graduate student, Dr. Phil Barr invented the antiviral compound Brivudine, which was approved for use in Europe. While Director of Molecular Biology at Chiron (now Novartis) and Adjunct Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at UC San Francisco, Phil headed or worked with teams that used engineered yeast to successfully manufacture yeast-derived recombinant human insulin (Novolin, Novo Nordisk) and gamma-interferon (with Lucky Goldstar), the first bio-pharmaceutical approved for use in Asia. He also developed commercial diagnostic antigens for HIV and HCV,  and later as Founder, CSO and CEO of Arriva Pharmaceuticals, he spearheaded the development of recombinant human alpha 1-antitrypsin for hereditary emphysema. Phil has significant industrial scale experience with yeast, including ultra-low cost manufacturing of biofuels and specialty chemicals. He has specialized in the field of polyketide production in yeast. Significantly, the cannabinoids are members of the polyketide family of natural products. Notably he also holds over 50 issued patents, and has authored some 200 papers and book chapters in chemistry, yeast molecular biology and genetic engineering. Phil holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry, has over 30 years of experience in industrial chemistry and molecular biology, and was the primary editor of the first book on commercial yeast genetic engineering.

Mr. Griffin has a wealth of experience across various markets and with numerous cannabinoid products, and a proven track record as a seasoned sales executive. He has held several senior positions at both privately and publicly held companies including Fortune 500 companies. Most recently, Mr. Griffin was the Vice President of Sales and Business Development at Creo Ingredients, a biotechnology-based ingredient company that produces rare cannabinoids. Prior to Creo, he was the President of a successful wellness company, overseeing all aspects of a business that develops and distributes cannabinoid-based products. With his extensive hands-on experience in the rapidly expanding cannabinoid industry, he brings significant real-world knowledge across the entire value chain to the Company.

Mr. Cacheiro is an executive operations professional with a background in manufacturing, project management, business process management, compliance and quality / continuous improvement. Most recently he ran operations for Kzen California, a cannabis beverage company. Previously, Mr. Cacheiro spent 15 years with Pfizer, most recently as a Senior Manager of Operational Excellence. With this background, he is elevates the game for the entire BayMedica team. Mr. Cacheiro holds an MBA in Finance, and a Masters in Chemical Engineering.