Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - Our People

Senior Staff

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

J.C. (Chad) Ice
Senior Director, Clinical Research
Mr. Ice joined Inspire in July 2001 following several months of work with the company as an independent contractor. He is currently responsible for clinical research operations in the ophthalmology therapeutic area. In addition to leading a team focused on Phase 1 through Phase 3 clinical research, Mr. Ice supports the Commercial Operations group through collaboration and clinical research with Inspire's marketed products. Prior to joining Inspire, Mr. Ice held positions of increasing responsibility at a contract research organization and at Glaxo Wellcome. Mr. Ice graduated with a B.S. in Biology from Lenoir-Rhyne College and earned credits towards a Ph.D. in pharmacology at East Carolina University School of Medicine.

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Brian D. Kaufman
Chief, Quality and Continuous Improvement
Mr. Kaufman joined Inspire in December 1998. He is currently Chief, Quality and Continuous Improvement and is responsible for matters including quality systems and continuous improvement initiatives. Prior to joining Inspire, Mr. Kaufman was employed for seven years by Magellan Laboratories (CardinalHealth), a contract pharmaceutical research organization. Mr. Kaufman was responsible for quality assurance, inhalation product testing and business development during various stages of his tenure at Magellan. Before joining Magellan, Mr. Kaufman worked at Burroughs Wellcome Co. and Duke University Medical Center, where he conducted research on activation of purinergic receptors in the pulmonary surfactant system. Mr. Kaufman graduated with a B.A. from Hampden-Sydney College and conducted graduate research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Biochemistry.

Susan Kenny, PhD
Director, Statistical Programming
Dr. Kenny joined Inspire in April 2006. As Director of Statistical Programming within Biostatistics and Data Management, she is responsible for activities related to the production of study results and the management of clinical databases. Dr. Kenny brings nearly 20 years of experience to Inspire.. She has conducted public health research in academia and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and has extensive statistical and programming experience in pharmaceutical research in a variety of therapeutic areas. Dr. Kenny has been an active participant in the Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC) since 1999 and is recognized as an industry thought leader in the area of data standards implementation. Dr. Kenny received her BS and MS degrees from Kansas State University and the University of Illinois and her MPH and PhD degrees in Biostatistics from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

Jenny R. Kobin
Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
Ms. Kobin joined Inspire in August 2004 as Senior Director of Investor Relations and was promoted to her current position in June 2006. She is responsible for coordinating investor, media and public relations activities at Inspire. Ms. Kobin has more than 15 years of experience in investor relations and corporate communications in diverse industries including banking, software and healthcare, at companies ranging from small to large market capitalization sizes with listings on NASDAQ and NYSE. She has served in investor relations roles at TriPath Imaging, SciQuest, National Commerce Financial and Bank of America and began her career in investment banking with J.C. Bradford & Co. Ms. Kobin serves on the national Board of Directors of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) and was co-founder, past president and board director of the NIRI-Triangle Chapter of North Carolina. Ms. Kobin received a BS in Commerce from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ramesh Krishnamoorthy, PhD
Senior Director, Sterile Products
Dr. Krishnamoorthy joined Inspire in May 2001 and was promoted to his current position in July 2007. He is responsible for pre-formulation, formulation development and process-scale up activities for the various development programs. Prior to joining Inspire, Dr. Krishnamoorthy was employed by Bausch & Lomb Pharmaceuticals in Tampa, Florida. While at Bausch & Lomb, he was responsible for directing the scientific and operational aspects of formulation and process development activities for multiple product development programs in the therapeutic areas of ophthalmology, respiratory, and topicals. There he participated in the submission and approval of two NDAs and eight ANDAs for various products. Dr. Krishnamoorthy holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy and Master of Pharmacy degree, and earned his Ph.D. from the department of Industrial and Physical Pharmacy from Purdue University. His research focus was in the area of drug delivery to the eye and nasal cavity.

Karen Kuhn
Director, Ophthalmic Clinical Research
Ms. Kuhn joined Inspire in July 2001 following several months of work as a contractor with the company in which she focused on multiple product development programs in the areas of ophthalmology and pulmonary. While at Inspire, she has participated in IND and NDA submissions. Ms. Kuhn is currently responsible for directing the operational aspects of clinical research in the ophthalmology therapeutic area and leads a team focused on Phase 1 through Phase 3 clinical research. Additionally, she helps support the Commercial Operations group through clinical research and Phase 4 development of Inspire's marketed products. Prior to joining Inspire, Ms. Kuhn held positions as a Lead Clinical Research Associate at a contract research organization and as Clinical Research Scientist at Glaxo Wellcome. Ms. Kuhn graduated with a B.A. in Biology from Elon College.

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Mark A. Montgomery, Esquire
Vice President, Intellectual Property
Mr. Montgomery joined Inspire in March 2001 and is responsible for all intellectual property, including patents, trademarks and related agreements. Specifically, he is responsible for evaluating and protecting the company's technical information, securing licenses, and ensuring that the company maintains an effective global patent strategy. Mr. Montgomery has 20 years of patent experience. Before joining Inspire, he was Senior Counsel with Bausch & Lomb in charge of intellectual property for its pharmaceuticals group in Tampa, FL. Prior positions include Chief Patent Counsel of Calgon Corporation in Pittsburgh, PA, and patent attorney for Eastman Chemical, Fina, and Phillips Petroleum. Mr. Montgomery received his Juris Doctor in law from the National Law Center of George Washington University in Washington D.C. and his Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Arizona State University.

W.M. (Mike) Mulchi
Vice President, Manufacturing & Technical Operations
Mr. Mulchi joined Inspire in February 2007 as Senior Director, Manufacturing and Technical Operations and was promoted to his current position in July 2007. He is responsible for the commercial product supply chain, logistics, and contract manufacturing including long term supply contracts for API and finished dosage forms. In addition, Mr. Mulchi is in charge of CMC Operations, which includes overall coordination of CMC projects, CMC teams, and alliances with CMOs. Prior to joining Inspire, Mr. Mulchi was Director of Technical Operations, Logistics, and Quality Assurance for Alimera Sciences where he was heavily involved in the manufacture, approval and launch of its ophthalmic products. Mr. Mulchi brings over 20 years of pharmaceutical manufacturing experience to Inspire with a variety of dosage forms including solid dosage tablets, sterile injectable solutions, and ophthalmic products. He has also worked for GlaxoWellcome, Eisai, and Merck Manufacturing Division in various manufacturing, quality, and technical positions. Mr. Mulchi holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Food Science from North Carolina State University.

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Ward M. Peterson, PhD
Vice President, Research and Preclinical Development
Dr. Peterson has over 15 years of academic and industry experience in vision science. He has served as Vice President of Research and Preclinical Development since December 2005. Prior to this position, as Vice President of Biology, Dr. Peterson supervised Inspire's Biology department (Molecular Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Screening and Drug Evaluation) and worked with other Research and Preclinical Development functional group leaders to set the strategic direction for Biology. He is also the team leader for the glaucoma (cytoskeletal therapy) project. Prior to joining Inspire, Dr. Peterson was a retinal research scientist at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. He received his Ph.D. in Biophysics from the Dept of Molecular and Cell Biology and School of Optometry at University of California, Berkeley. He was awarded a research fellowship from the Foundation Fighting Blindness and a National Research Service Award from the National Institute of Health in support of his post-graduate training at U.C. San Francisco and Berkeley. His research has focused primarily on retinal pigment epithelium physiology and retinal disease.

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Ken Ruettimann, PhD
Senior Director, API Manufacturing
Dr. Ruettimann joined Inspire in July 2008 as Senior Director, API Manufacturing after working for several months with the company as a consultant. He is responsible for scale-up activities for the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients for clinical and commercial programs. Dr. Ruettimann brings 17 years of industry experience, with a focus on chemical process development, technology evaluation and strategic planning, and GMP API Manufacturing. In his most recent assignments prior to joining Inspire, he was responsible for leading clinical API Manufacturing organizations within Searle, Pharmacia, and Pfizer. Dr. Ruettimann holds a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Tech and MS and PhD degrees in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Page last updated: 30-Jul-2008