Management

Martyn Coombs – Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director
Martyn Coombs was appointed as CEO and Director of Asterand plc in March 2007. Prior to joining Asterand, Mr. Coombs worked for Amersham plc for nine years. He led global logistics during Amersham's period of rapid growth and merger activity in which the company's revenue tripled in size to £1.4 billion. Subsequently he served in Japan for five years as Executive Vice President of Nihon Medi-Physics Co. Ltd, a $300m revenue Joint Venture between Amersham and Sumitomo Chemical. Mr. Coombs served on the Board of Nihon Medi-Physics Co. Ltd as Amersham's only Executive Director, and concurrently as President Amersham KK. Mr. Coombs has also served as President of PerkinElmer Japan, a subsidiary of PerkinElmer, Inc. He holds a degree in Mathematics, and an MBA from Warwick Business School.

John Stchur, CPA - Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Stchur joined Asterand Inc. in 2002 and led the Company through two rounds of venture funding and listing on the London Stock Exchange by means of a reverse merger (with Pharmagene plc) to form Asterand plc in January 2006. He was appointed Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of the new Group in 2007. Prior to joining Asterand, Mr. Stchur served as Vice President of Finance for Big Net Holdings, a telecommunications company and as an auditor for PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. Mr. Stchur is a certified public accountant with a degree in Business Management from the University of Maryland and a Master’s of Science Degree in Accounting from Walsh College.

Victoria Blanc, Ph.D. - Vice President, Strategic Planning and Government Affairs
Victoria Blanc joined Asterand in 2002 and was appointed to General Manager, US Operations in 2007. Prior to her appointment as General Manager, Dr. Blanc held positions of increasing responsibility within the company. Her previous responsibilities include: Director of Product Development, Director of Research Services, Business Development Representative and Applications Specialist. Prior to joining Asterand, she worked for Genomic Solutions, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Through her work there, she gained experience in the applications, sales and marketing of high technology genomics and proteomics instrumentation. Dr. Blanc holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Tony Brown, Ph.D. - General Manager - US Operations
Tony Brown joined the company in 1998 as Pharmagene's Head of Pharmacology. He was appointed to General Manager, Asterand UK Ltd in 2006. His responsibilities include daily operations for Asterand's UK facility in Royston and the scientific leadership of Asterand's Drug Discovery Services division. Prior to joining the company, Dr. Brown worked for SmithKline Beecham for 10 years, where he led the Receptor Pharmacology Group within Neurosciences Research in the UK. In this role his responsibilities included biochemical and pharmacological drug screening and applied genomic approaches to identify novel drug targets. Dr. Brown also lectured in Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of Nottingham Medical School. Dr. Brown holds a first degree in Engineering from the University of Cambridge, a M.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD in Physiology from the University of Cambridge. Dr. Brown is widely published in the areas of ion and neurotransmitter transport and receptor pharmacology and biochemistry.

Amanda J Woodrooffe, Ph.D. - General Manager - UK Operations
Amanda Woodrooffe joined Asterand (formerly Pharmagene) in 2001 and has recently been appointed as General Manager UK Operations. Prior to her current role, Dr. Woodrooffe supported Asterand's corporate development activities, which included identifying opportunities for M&A. During this time she initiated discussions and led scientific diligence that resulted in the acquisition of BioSeek LLC. Prior to this, Dr. Woodrooffe was Head of Pharmagene's Biochemical Pharmacology Department and responsible for the DMPK function supporting internal drug discovery programs, for which she now continues to lead all out-licensing activities. Prior to joining Pharmagene, Dr. Woodrooffe worked for 7 years at various Glaxo companies, where her research focused on the use of human in vitro approaches. Amanda holds a Ph.D. in in vitro drug-interactions from the University of Cambridge.

Ellen Berg, Ph.D. - General Manager - BioSeek LLC
Ellen Berg was a cofounder of BioSeek, Inc. and served as its Chief Scientific Officer. She was appointed as General Manager, Bio Seek LLC after the merger of BioSeek and Asterand in 2010. Dr. Berg has more than 20 years of research experience in pathophysiologic mechanisms of inflammation and immunity. Her expertise in complex cell-based biological assays led to the development of the company's proprietary BioMAP^® technology for target validation and drug characterization using primary human cell systems. Prior to founding BioSeek, Inc., Dr. Berg was at Protein Design Labs, Inc. where she was involved in the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies for treatment of inflammatory diseases. Dr. Berg holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University and was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University where she was supported by fellowships from the American Cancer Society, the Stanford Cancer Biology Program, and the Leukemia Society of America. Dr. Berg holds a number of patents in the fields of inflammation biology and cell adhesion, and has over 60 publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Terry Reilly - Vice President of Sales & Marketing
Terry Reilly joined Asterand in November 2004 and was promoted to Vice President of Sales & Marketing in 2007. Mr. Reilly has over 15 years of proven success in leading teams, developing new products and services, and delivering bottom-line performance. He has an extensive background in diagnostic and drug discovery contract research services, anatomic pathology and diagnostic testing services. His commercial experience includes sales and marketing in Europe and North America. Prior to joining Asterand, Mr. Reilly held sales and sales management positions with Genzyme, CR Bard and Tufts Health Plans. Mr. Reilly holds degrees in History and Economics from Michigan State University.