Tosk’s leadership consists of pharmaceutical industry veterans, including the CEO, Brian Frenzel, who co-founded four successful medical startups after leading global planning activities at Syntex Corporation, then the largest West Coast pharmaceutical company.
Brian Frenzel, President, CEO, and Director
Mr. Frenzel is a highly experienced biomedical company executive, previously serving as CEO of Centaur Pharmaceuticals, CEO of Adeza Biomedical, CEO of Vesta Medical, and COO of Genelabs Technologies, all of which went public or were acquired by large pharmaceutical companies. Earlier in his career, Mr. Frenzel was director of corporate planning at Syntex Corporation, a principal at Booz, Allen & Hamilton, a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group, and a lieutenant in the United States Navy Nuclear Power Program. Mr. Frenzel holds a BS in physics and an MBA from Stanford University.
William Garland, PhD, Executive Vice President, Research And Development
Dr. Garland’s pharmaceutical industry experience spans all aspects of drug development from early discovery through Phase 2 human clinical studies. Previously he served as senior director and head of international product management at Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., vice president of pharmaceutical development at Centaur Pharmaceuticals, vice president of development at Lpath, Inc., and CEO of AngioGenex, Inc. Dr. Garland holds a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Washington.
Stephen Yanofsky, PhD, Vice President Research, Biology
Dr. Yanofsky is an experienced cell biologist, pharmacologist, and project manager. He held positions of increasing responsibility with Affymax, Receptron, Multispan, and Amunix before coming to Tosk. His prior positions have involved scientific work in molecular biology, biochemistry, and pharmacology, including extensive work in cell culture and analytical assay development to support drug discovery efforts. Dr. Yanofsky holds a PhD in biology from the University of California San Francisco.
Outside Board Members
Mr. Crow is a retired pharmaceutical and life science executive with experience in general management, product development, business development, sales, and marketing. Mr. Crow co-founded and served as President and CEO of Hystagel and Aquintel. Previously, Mr. Crow held the positions of director of international operations at Alza Corporation and area director for an eight-country Asian region and director of business and public sector development for Syntex Corporation. Mr. Crow received a BA from San Francisco State University and holds a certificate in finance and accounting from the Wharton School of Business.
Charles Garvin, Director
Mr. Garvin is the CEO of Riptide Bioscience. He has been Chairman, CEO, or controlling shareholder at a number of tech and biotech companies during his career. Mr. Garvin served as an officer and member of the Board of Directors at the Boston Consulting Group and was a founder of the Beta Group, a seed capital firm which has incubated a number or successful medical technology companies. Mr. Garvin holds a BA and a JD from Harvard University and studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.
Advisors
J. Lawrence Marsh, PhD, Scientific Advisor
Dr. Marsh is Professor of Developmental and Cell Biology and of Pathology and Director of the Developmental Biology Center at the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Marsh is an internationally recognized expert in using Drosophila to engineer models of human diseases to identify and validate therapeutic targets and drugs that slow the disease processes. He serves on the editorial board of BioEssays and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Giuseppe Pizzorno, PhD, DPharm, Scientific Advisor
Dr. Pizzorno is Professor, Associate Dean for Research, and Chief Research Officer at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine and Erlanger Health System. Previously, he was Vice President of Research Operations and Deputy Director of the Nevada Cancer Institute where he led translational cancer research activities.
David Shuman, DVM, Scientific Advisor
Dr. Shuman is a graduate of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California Davis. He has extensive experience in small animal, large animal, and laboratory animal medicine, and has more than 20 years of experience working with USDA registered research facilities. He owns and operates the Westside Animal Hospital in Santa Cruz, California.
William Sullivan, PhD, Scientific Advisor
Dr. Sullivan is professor of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology at the University of California Santa Cruz. Dr. Sullivan is a recognized expert in using Drosophila embryonic divisions for real-time profiling of anti-cancer drugs and the molecular and cellular mechanisms driving cytokinesis.
Jeffrey Thomas, PhD, Scientific Advisor
Dr. Thomas is an Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and Biochemistry at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Dr. Thomas is an expert in Drosophila genetics, particularly as they relate to development, reproduction, and disease. He holds appointments in both the School of Medicine and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
Steven Deitcher, MD, Medical Advisor
Dr. Deitcher is a physician-entrepreneur who has developed therapeutics, diagnostics, and drug-device combinations for hematology, oncology, infectious disease, and cardiovascular medicine. He holds BS and MD degrees from the Northwestern University Medical School. Dr. Deitcher is the author of over 225 peer-reviewed journal papers, abstracts, and book chapters.
Joel Epstein, DMD, Medical Advisor
Dr. Epstein is Professor and Director of Cancer Dentistry at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute in Los Angeles and Medical Director of Dental Oncology Services at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, CA. Dr. Epstein is a specialist in maxillofacial cancer and recently received the Distinguished Service Award of the International Society of Oral Oncology.
Paul Page, MD, Medical Advisor
Dr. Page is a board certified radiation oncologist with a special interest in overcoming treatment-limiting side effects. He has been a principal investigator for Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials investigating radioprotectants in head and neck and lung cancers. Prior to earning a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from UC Davis and his MD from UC San Francisco, he worked in Silicon Valley and served as a nuclear submarine officer in the US Navy.
Ravi Patel, MD, Medical Advisor
Dr. Patel is the founder and director of the Comprehensive Blood and Cancer Center in Bakersfield, CA and an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California Los Angeles. Dr. Patel is American Board Certified in internal medicine with a subspecialty in medical oncology. In addition to directing a leading West Coast cancer center, Dr. Patel is a practicing oncologist and has been the principal investigator for over 50 human clinical studies of cancer therapeuticss.