Board of Directors
Martin D. Cleary
Chairman
Martin D. Cleary. He currently serves as Chairman of Amarantus BioSciences, a biotech company. Mr. Cleary is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Fish Nature, Inc. a company developing high tech products for the sport fishing industry. Since 2005 has also serves as a member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Mela Sciences, Inc., a public company (MELA) developing a medical device for the diagnosis of melanoma. Previously, Mr. Cleary served as the Chiarman and CEO of Juvaris BIoTherapeutics, an immunotherapeutic vaccine company, which he founded in 2003. From 199 to 2002, Mr. Cleary was President, CEO and Director of gene therapy company Genteric, Inc. From 1996 until its merger with Boston Scientific Corporation in 1998, Mr. Cleary was co-founder, CEO and Director of CardioGene Therapeutics, a cardiovascular gene therapy company. From 1993 to 1994, Mr. Cleary was President and CEO of Theragen, a diversified gene-therapy company, which merged with GenVec, Inc. From 1994 to 1996, Mr. Cleary served on the Board of Directors of GenVec. From 1986 to 1993, Mr. Cleary was Group Vice President and CFO of Cytogen Corporation, a biotech company. Prior to that, Mr. Cleary held several senior management positions with Johnson & Johnson, Inc. over a 14-year career, including Vice President of Operations at Johnson & Johnson’s IOLAB Corporation from 1980 to 1986. He is widely recognized as a seasoned leader and among the strongest dealmaker and fundraisers in the industry. Since 1986, Mr. Cleary has raised over $400 million in equity and partnership funds.
Mr. Cleary received a BS in accounting from Rutgers University in 1971 and a certificate in international studies from Columbia University in 1973.
Gerald E. Commissiong
Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Commissiong has served as the Chief Operating Officer and a Director of Amanrantus since April of 2011. Mr. Commissiong was the co-founder and original President and CEO of Amarantus, which was formerly known as CNS Protein Therapeutics, Inc. Mr. Commissiong has been critical to the development of Amarantus since its founding in 2008. He was instrumental in sourcing the seed funding for the company in 2008, assisted in developing a strategic corporate development pathway that involved the recruitment of relevant expertise, identification of appropriate development strategy, liaising with expertise to define development pathway, creation of a technological mitigation strategy and the identification of appropriate funding partners with a strategic interest in the Company’s technology. Mr. Commissioning also recruited senior executives to the Board of Directors to guide the company’s growth and generated its official marketing materials, including investor brochures, corporate handouts, email newsletters and other materials necessary to raise awareness of the company.
Prior to co-founding Amarantus, Mr. Commissioning played professional football for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. Mr. Commissiong holds a B.S. degree in Management Science and Engineering with a focus Financial Decisions from Stanford University.
John W. Commissiong, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Commissiong has served as the Chief Scientific Officer and a Director of Amarantus since co-founding the company in 2009. From 2000 through 2008 Dr. Commissiong served as the CSO of Neurotrophics Inc & Prescient Neuropharma Inc. Dr. Commissiong has been focused on the discovery of novel neurotrophic factors for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases as well as understanding the fundamental underlying biology of protoplasmic type-1 astrocytes that secrete neurotrophic factors. He was Chief of the Neural Transplantation Unit, NINDS-NIH, from 1989-94 where his research focused on identifying therapeutic approaches to spinal cord injury. Dr. Commissiong was Head of the Neurotrophic Factors Group, NINDS-NIH, from 1994-97 where he focused on developing technologies to systematically identify novel neurotrophic factors with applications for specific Central Nervous System disorders. He co-founded Prescient Neuropharma in 1999, and discovered MANF in 2003. MANF is currently in preclinical development for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The work pioneered by Dr. Commissiong has led to significant advancements in the field of astrocyte-neuron biology. Dr. Commissiong believes that a fundamental understanding of astrocyte-neuron interactions in the Central Nervous System will lead to a new generation of therapies to treat brain-related disorders.
Dr. Commissiong did his Postdoctoral work in the Lab Preclin Pharmac, NIMH-NIH, concentrating on the application of quadrupole mass spectrometry in the analysis of neurotransmitters. He holds a Ph.D. in Neurophysiology from the University of Southampton, an M.Sc. in Biochemical Pharmacology from the University of Southampton, and a B.S. in Biology and Chemistry from the University of the West Indies.
Gene Mancino
Director
Mr. Mancino has successfully concluded a broad range of search assignments exclusively in the life sciences industry since 1979. Clients have included international pharmaceutical corporations as well as emerging biotechnology companies. Gene is qualified to advise both development stage and fully integrated biopharma companies with respect to operational management, strategic leadership and corporate governance.
Gene’s corporate development and investment network is well established in the industry. Gene is a founding partner in the life sciences search firm of Mancino Burfield Edgerton where his practice specialty is executive management including Board Directors, Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Business Officer, VP’s of Business Development, Sales & Marketing and Clinical/Medical Affairs.
Robert L. Harris
Director
Mr. Harris has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Amarantus since December 2010. Harris is a retired vice president of Environmental, Health, Safety, Technical and Land Services at Pacific Gas and Electric Company,where he worked from September 1972 to January 2007. In 1985, he became the first and only lawyer in PG&E’s history to argue and win a case for it in the United States Supreme Court. In so doing, he became the first lawyer in the nation to convince the Supreme Court that a corporation, like an individual, has negative First Amendment rights.
He graduated from San Francisco State University in 1965 and received his Juris Doctor degree from the University Of California School of Law at Berkeley (Boalt Hall) in 1972. He was admitted to the California State Bar in December 1972 and argued and won a case in the United States Supreme Court in 1985. Harris also completed the Harvard Graduate School of Business Advanced Management Program and the Management Development Program at Duke University’s School of Business.