Saving Lives is Our Focus

DMK Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage neuro-biotechnology company committed to patients. Our commercial and development products aim to address areas of significant unmet medical need, with blockbuster potential.

Leadership

Dr. Eboo Versi, MD, PhD

Chief Executive Officer

Seth Cohen

Chief Financial Officer

John Dorbin

General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Board of Directors

David J. Marguglio

President, Chief Executive Officer

Richard C. Williams

Founder and President of Connor-Thoele Limited, Chairman

Dr. Eboo Versi, MD, PhD

Chief Executive Officer

Howard C. Birndorf

Meera J. Desai, PhD

Vickie Reed

Jannine Versi

John Dorbin

General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Mr. Dorbin is a seasoned executive with over two decades of experience representing national and international publicly traded companies and local government entities and serving as an independent business consultant. He joins DMK from Arcimoto, Inc. (Nasdaq: FUV), a manufacturer of three wheeled electric vehicles, where he served in leadership roles of increasing responsibility, culminating in his final role as the Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary. From February 2012 to August 2018, Mr. Dorbin served as Vice President, General Counsel, and Assistant Secretary for Supreme Industries, Inc. (NYSE American: STS) and its wholly owned subsidiary, Supreme Corporation, a national manufacturer of truck bodies and specialty vehicles, which was successfully sold to Wabash National Corporation (NYSE: WNC) in 2017. He also was Corporate Counsel at CTS Corporation (NYSE: CTS), an international electronics manufacturer, from May 2005 to February 2012. Mr. Dorbin holds a B.A., With Distinction, from Purdue University and a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame.

Seth Cohen

Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Cohen has over thirty years of experience in business and finance. Since 2011, Mr. Cohen has been a principal at CFOX Consulting, LLC, an advisory firm that specializes in CFO and transaction services for public, private equity backed, and start-up businesses. From 2000 to 2011, Mr. Cohen served in various leadership roles of increasing responsibility at Newtek Business Services, Inc. In 2007 he was appointed CFO and tasked with directing the corporate accounting and finance department as well as overseeing the company’s various subsidiaries. Prior to that, Mr. Cohen served as Director of the Mayor’s Office of Pensions and Public Finance for the City of New York where he managed the securitization of assets, oversaw multibillion-dollar debt issuances, and initiated and helped oversee pension policy. As a trustee for the City of New York’s five pension systems, Mr. Cohen oversaw $100 billion in assets. He developed his corporate and municipal finance skills at Lehman Brothers, Patricof & Co., and Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. Mr. Cohen holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a B.A. from Yale University.

Dr. Eboo Versi, MD PhD

Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Ebrahim (Eboo) Versi, MD, PhD is the founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DMK. Dr. Versi is a trained surgeon who grew up in the United Kingdom and received a BA, MA and DPhil (PhD) from Oxford University, before obtaining his MB BChir (MD) degree from Cambridge University.
Following medical school, Dr. Versi completed a residency and fellowship at Kings College Hospital and served as a Senior Registrar at the Royal London Hospital. He was then a Senior Lecturer and Consultant (Attending) at St. Thomas’ & Guys Hospitals before moving to the U.S. to accept an academic position as Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. At Harvard, he set up the first urogynecology program at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital and served as Chief of Urogynecology prior to leaving academia.
Since Harvard, Dr. Versi has spent the last 20+ years in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry with both larger companies such as Lilly, Astellas and Pfizer, where he served as medical lead, as well as smaller companies like Odyssey, Plethora, Auxilium and Mt. Cook where he was a senior executive. Prior to founding DMK, he was CEO of Urigen Pharmaceuticals Inc. Dr. Versi has planned and executed clinical programs for multiple products that are currently marketed. During his career in the industry, Dr. Versi has been the inventor of several patents and the recipient of several NIH grants, and has helped develop drugs and devices for a variety of indications.
Dr. Versi is an internationally recognized key opinion leader with more than 100 scientific publications; the majority of which are data-based, peer reviewed original research articles.

Jannine Versi

Jannine Versi is the co-founder and COO of Elektra Health, an innovative women’s health company. Elektra helps women navigate the menopause transition with access to evidence-based virtual care, education, and community. Jannine has spent her career in healthcare, technology, and government. Since 2017, she has been on the Board of DMK Pharma advising on matters related to fundraising and business strategy. She was on the founding team of Cityblock Health, a digital health unicorn, and has held roles at Google, in the Obama Administration’s National Economic Council and as the chief of staff to the Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, and at several startups. Jannine earned her BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from Harvard Business School, was a Fulbright Scholar and Blavatnik fellow in healthcare and life sciences at Harvard Business School.

Dr. Eboo Versi, MD PhD

Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Ebrahim (Eboo) Versi, MD, PhD is the founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DMK. Dr. Versi is a trained surgeon who grew up in the United Kingdom and received a BA, MA and DPhil (PhD) from Oxford University, before obtaining his MB BChir (MD) degree from Cambridge University.
Following medical school, Dr. Versi completed a residency and fellowship at Kings College Hospital and served as a Senior Registrar at the Royal London Hospital. He was then a Senior Lecturer and Consultant (Attending) at St. Thomas’ & Guys Hospitals before moving to the U.S. to accept an academic position as Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. At Harvard, he set up the first urogynecology program at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital and served as Chief of Urogynecology prior to leaving academia.
Since Harvard, Dr. Versi has spent the last 20+ years in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry with both larger companies such as Lilly, Astellas and Pfizer, where he served as medical lead, as well as smaller companies like Odyssey, Plethora, Auxilium and Mt. Cook where he was a senior executive. Prior to founding DMK, he was CEO of Urigen Pharmaceuticals Inc. Dr. Versi has planned and executed clinical programs for multiple products that are currently marketed. During his career in the industry, Dr. Versi has been the inventor of several patents and the recipient of several NIH grants, and has helped develop drugs and devices for a variety of indications.
Dr. Versi is an internationally recognized key opinion leader with more than 100 scientific publications; the majority of which are data-based, peer reviewed original research articles.

Vickie Reed

Ms. Reed, until her retirement in 2022, served as Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Accounting Officer at Mirati Therapeutics where she previously held the positions of Chief Accounting Officer, Vice President of Finance and Senior Director and Corporate Controller. She is also a member of the board of directors of Evoke Pharma. Previously, she served as Senior Director, Finance and Controller at Zogenix, Inc., a public biotechnology company in San Diego and Emeryville, California, acquired by UCB in 2022, and held corporate accounting positions at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a public biotechnology company acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb in 2012. Prior to joining Amylin, Ms. Reed held financial leadership roles at several biotechnology and telecommunications companies. Ms. Reed began her career with Price Waterhouse, now PricewaterhouseCoopers, in Denver. She is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) in the State of Colorado and received a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Colorado, Denver.

David J. Marguglio

President, Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Marguglio was named President and Chief Executive Officer of DMK in May 2022. He is a co-founder of DMK and previously served as Senior Vice President, Chief Business Officer and on the Board of Directors. He joined DMK in 2006 as Vice President, Business Development and Investor Relations and from 2011 to 2017 served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development. From 1996 to 2006, Mr. Marguglio held various positions with Citigroup Global Markets, Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch. Before entering the financial industry, from 1994 to 1996, he founded and ran two different startup companies, the latter of which was eventually acquired by a Fortune 100 company. Mr. Marguglio began his career as a financial analyst after receiving a degree in finance and management from the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University.

Dennis J. Carlo, Ph.D.

President, Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Carlo is a co-founder of DMK Pharmaceuticals Corporation and has served as its President and Chief Executive officer since October 2006. Dr. Carlo has extensive biotechnology research and development experience. At Hybritech Inc., the first biotechnology company in San Diego, he served as Vice President of Research and Development and Therapeutic Manufacturing. There, he managed a successful program to carry out research and development in the areas of monoclonal antibody and cancer therapy. After Hybritech was acquired by Eli Lilly & Co in 1985, Dr. Carlo, along with Dr. Jonas Salk, James Glavin and Kevin Kimberlin, founded The Immune Response Corporation, a public company, where he served in various capacities including Chief Scientific Officer, COO and President and Chief Executive Officer. At The Immune Response Corporation, he established programs in Autoimmunity, Gene Therapy and HIV and led the product development in successful clinical trials. In 1991, while at Immune Response, Dr. Carlo was awarded “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst & Young LLP. From 2003 to 2006, He served as president of Telos Pharmaceuticals, a private biotechnology company. Early in his career, as Director of Developmental and Basic Cellular Immunology and Director of Bacterial Vaccines and Immunology at Merck & Co., he oversaw research and product development for PNEUMOVAX (multi-valent polysaccharide vaccine), MENINGOVAX A, MENINGOVAX C, MENINGOVAX A-C, and H. influenzae type b, and also directed a multi-disciplinary task force whose goal was the development of novel adjuvants. Dr. Carlo received a B.S. degree in Microbiology from Ohio State University and has a Ph.D. in Immunology and Medical Microbiology from Ohio State University. He is named on 23 patents and has authored over 225 articles and abstracts in the field of Immunology.

Meera J. Desai, Ph.D.

Dr. Desai is the founder and managing partner of Silicon Valley based Karana Biotech, a boutique advisory firm focused on guiding pharmaceutical and biotech clients through complex international licensing, commercialization, and other strategic transactions. In addition to her proven track record in business development and strategic in- and out-licensing of biopharmaceuticals assets, Dr. Desai has over 15 years of drug development experience, from discovery through commercialization. Prior to founding Karana Biotech, she led corporate development efforts for AcelRx Pharmaceuticals. Previously, Dr. Desai was involved in pharmaceutical development for Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Nektar Therapeutics and ALZA Corporation, a division of Johnson & Johnson. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry from Drew University and a Doctorate in Analytical Chemistry from Iowa State University.

Howard C. Birndorf

Mr. Birndorf is a biotechnology entrepreneur and one of the founders of the biotech industry in San Diego, California. In 1978, Birndorf co-founded San Diego’s first biotech, the monoclonal antibody company Hybritech. The company was subsequently bought by Eli Lilly and Company in 1986, and Mr. Birndorf went on to found or co-found a number of other successful companies including Gen-Probe, IDEC Pharmaceuticals (which merged with Biogen to form Biogen-Idec), and Ligand Pharmaceuticals. Birndorf was also involved in the formation of Gensia (Sicor) and was a director of Neurocrine Biosciences. He was the founder and co-chair of the Coalition for 21st Century Medicine and was co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Nanogen, Inc. Birndorf received his B.A. in Biology from Oakland University, an M.S. in Biochemistry from Wayne State University, and has received honorary Doctor of Science degrees from Oakland University and Wayne State University.

Richard C. Williams

Founder and President of Connor-Thoele Limited, Chairman

Mr. Williams has served as the founder and President of Conner-Thoele Limited, a consulting and financial advisory firm specializing in the healthcare industry and pharmaceutical segment. He has completed in excess of fifty divestments, acquisitions, financings and cross-border transactions, which have exceeded $8.0 billion. Prior to founding Conner-Thoele Limited in 1989, Mr. Williams served in a number of progressively responsible operational and financial management positions with multinational firms. These firms included American Hospital Supply Corporation, UNC Resources, Abbott Laboratories, Field Enterprises and Erbamont NV. Mr. Williams once served as a director and Vice Chairman of Strategic Planning for King Pharmaceuticals. Prior to King, he served as Chairman and a director of Medco Research before Medco was acquired by King Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Williams has also been on several other public and private Board of Directors, several as Chairman and a Director. These include Ista Pharmaceuticals, Vysis Pharmaceuticals, Immunemedics, EP Medical and Cellegy Pharmaceuticals. He was a member of the Listed Company Advisory Committee of New York Stock Exchange. Mr. Williams received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from DePauw University and a Masters of Business Administration from the Wharton School of Finance.

Thomas Moll, Ph.D.

Vice President of Research

Dr. Moll has close to 20 years of experience in both academic and industrial preclinical research and development in the areas of inflammation, immunology and cancer biology. As part of his work, Dr. Moll has gained extensive experience in the generation, production and use of biologics, including protein/Fc chimeras, antibodies and gene therapeutics. After concluding his diploma studies in Biochemistry at the Biocenter, University of Basel, Switzerland, Dr. Moll received his doctorate degree in Genetics and Biochemistry “With Honours” from the University of Vienna, Austria. Subsequent to his work with Boehringer Ingelheim and Sandoz (now Novartis) in Vienna, Austria, Dr. Moll served as Assistant Professor at the University of Muenster, Germany, before joining Cardion AG, a privately held German biotech company. At Cardion, (then Cardiogene) Dr. Moll was initially in charge of the company’s preclinical cardiovascular gene therapy program, before taking over the responsibility for Cardion’s immunology programs as Vice President of Immunology. In this function he supervised the research and preclinical development of several protein/Fc fusion proteins, including CRB-15, an antagonist IL-15/Fc fusion protein. In 2003, Roche Pharmaceuticals licensed this protein for clinical development in various autoimmune disease indications. Before joining the DMK management team, Dr. Moll was responsible for all research and development activities at Telos Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Moll serves as Editor of the Journal of Immune Based Therapies and has been a member of the European Society of Gene Therapy, the North American Vascular Biology Organization, the American Association of Immunologists, and the American Society of Transplantation.

Ronald B. Moss, M.D.

Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Moss joined DMK as Chief Medical Officer in February 2017. Prior to joining DMK, Dr. Moss worked at Ansun Biopharma as CEO and President from October 2012 to February 2017 and as interim CEO from October 2011 to October 2012. Dr. Moss served as Executive Vice President of Clinical Development & Medical Affairs at NexBio from January 2009- October 2011. From June 2006 to January 2009 Dr. Moss served as the Vice President of Clinical Development at Vical Inc. During January 2004- March 2006 he served as the Vice President of Medical Affairs at Telos Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Moss served as the Senior Director of Worldwide Regulatory Affairs for Vaccines/Biologics at Merck and Company from January 2003- January 2004. Dr. Moss joined The Immune Response Corp. in January 1994 as Medical Director and advanced through positions of increasing responsibility and served as the interim President and Chief Executive Officer from August 2002 to January 2003. From July 1993 to January 1994 Dr. Moss served as Assistant Medical Director at Immunization Products Ltd., a joint venture between Rhone-Poulenc Rorer and Immune Response. Dr. Moss trained in Pediatrics at SUNY Stony Brook and completed his Fellowship in Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the National Institutes of Health, and is board certified in allergy & immunology. He is Fellow of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (FAAAI) and a Fellow of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (FCAAI). Dr. Moss is a voluntary faculty member at UCSD School of Medicine Department of Medicine. Dr. Moss earned his M.D. degree at the Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science and his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

David J. Marguglio

President, Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Marguglio is a co-founder of DMK and previously served as Senior Vice President, Chief Business Officer and on the Board of Directors. He joined DMK in 2006 as Vice President, Business Development and Investor Relations and from 2011 to 2017 served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development. From 1996 to 2006, Mr. Marguglio held various positions with Citigroup Global Markets, Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch. Before entering the financial industry, from 1994 to 1996, he founded and ran two different startup companies, the latter of which was eventually acquired by a Fortune 100 company. Mr. Marguglio began his career as a financial analyst after receiving a degree in finance and management from the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University.

David C. Benedicto

Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Benedicto has more than two decades of experience operating in finance roles at public and private companies. Since joining DMK in late 2014, he has served as Controller and then as Chief Accounting Officer. He previously held a senior accounting manager role at Trius Therapeutics, Inc. prior to the business being acquired. He has also held controller positions and led finance functions at HERC Products, Inc. and BAE Systems Inc. Mr. Benedicto is a CPA and a CMA (Certified Management Accountant) and holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Saint La Salle and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Redlands.

Dennis J. Carlo, Ph.D.

President, Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Carlo is a co-founder of DMK Pharmaceuticals Corporation and has served as its President and Chief Executive officer since October 2006. Dr. Carlo has extensive biotechnology research and development experience. At Hybritech Inc., the first biotechnology company in San Diego, he served as Vice President of Research and Development and Therapeutic Manufacturing. There, he managed a successful program to carry out research and development in the areas of monoclonal antibody and cancer therapy. After Hybritech was acquired by Eli Lilly & Co in 1985, Dr. Carlo, along with Dr. Jonas Salk, James Glavin and Kevin Kimberlin, founded The Immune Response Corporation, a public company, where he served in various capacities including Chief Scientific Officer, COO and President and Chief Executive Officer. At The Immune Response Corporation, he established programs in Autoimmunity, Gene Therapy and HIV and led the product development in successful clinical trials. In 1991, while at Immune Response, Dr. Carlo was awarded “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst & Young LLP. From 2003 to 2006, He served as president of Telos Pharmaceuticals, a private biotechnology company. Early in his career, as Director of Developmental and Basic Cellular Immunology and Director of Bacterial Vaccines and Immunology at Merck & Co., he oversaw research and product development for PNEUMOVAX (multi-valent polysaccharide vaccine), MENINGOVAX A, MENINGOVAX C, MENINGOVAX A-C, and H. influenzae type b, and also directed a multi-disciplinary task force whose goal was the development of novel adjuvants. Dr. Carlo received a B.S. degree in Microbiology from Ohio State University and has a Ph.D. in Immunology and Medical Microbiology from Ohio State University. He is named on 23 patents and has authored over 225 articles and abstracts in the field of Immunology.

Adamis Pharmaceuticals logo

ADAMIS Announces Merger With DMK Pharmaceuticals

What is DMK?
Private, clinical-stage, neuro-biotech company
  • Focused on developing potential blockbuster products for underserved patients.
  • Product candidates selected and developed from proprietary library of approximately 750 small molecule neuropeptide analogues with broad utility.

Developing multiple first-in-class products targeting large unmet needs
  • Addiction
  • Acute and chronic pain
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Bladder control
  • Other neuro-based diseases

Want to learn more?

Read our press release go to our Investor Relations page or visit https://dmkpharma.com/

Check this page for the most recent updates regarding the merger process.