Navidea Biopharmaceuticals announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Michael M. Goldberg, M.D. as President and Chief Executive Officer effective September 22, 2016. The Board of Directors has also appointed Eric K. Rowinsky M.D., a Navidea board member since 2010, as Chairman of Navidea’s Board, a position previously held by Dr. Goldberg, who will remain a board member.
“We are delighted to announce the appointment of Michael as Navidea’s CEO,” said Dr. Rowinsky, Chairman of Navidea’s Compensation, Nominating and Governance committee and newly appointed Chairman. “Dr. Goldberg is a visionary leader with a deep knowledge and appreciation for the potential of Navidea’s macrophage targeting technology platform and its wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic applications. At this important transition point for the Company, we will benefit greatly from his expertise as we drive the development of our Manocept™ clinical immunodiagnostic and immunotherapeutic programs to deliver targeted products to improve patient outcomes.”
“I look forward to spearheading the growth of both Navidea and Macrophage Therapeutics as we execute our mission to not only diagnose but treat disease,” said Michael M. Goldberg, M.D. “The combination of exceptional technology, a strong leadership team as well as our expectation of improved financial stability will allow us to effectively execute on our strategy to more rapidly advance on numerous development programs with our ground-breaking proprietary technology for multiple high value indications.”
Michael M. Goldberg, M.D. has been a member of the Navidea Board of Directors since November 2013, serving as interim Chief Executive Officer from May to October 2014. Dr. Goldberg is currently a Managing Partner of Montaur Capital Partners. Prior to this role, he served as the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Emisphere Technologies, Inc., the pioneer in the development of oral delivery technologies for macromolecules. Prior to Emisphere, he served as Vice President in Investment Banking of The First Boston Corporation, where he was a founding member of the Healthcare Banking Group. Dr. Goldberg graduated from the accelerated six year combined BS/MD program from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Albany Medical College in 1982, and obtained an M.B.A. from the Graduate School of Business, Columbia University, in 1985.
Eric K. Rowinsky, M.D. has extensive research and drug development experience, oncology expertise, corporate strategy and broad scientific and medical knowledge and has served as a director of Navidea since July 2010. He is currently Executive Chairman and President, of Rgenix, Inc. During his career, Dr. Rowinsky has held executive positions at Stemline Therapeutics, Inc., Primrose Therapeutics, and ImClone Systems Incorporated. Prior to that, Dr. Rowinsky held several positions at the Cancer Therapy & Research Center’s Institute of Drug Development, including Director of the Institute, Director of Clinical Research and SBC Endowed Chair for Early Drug Development, and concurrently served as Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Medical Oncology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Dr. Rowinsky was an Associate Professor of Oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Rowinsky is a member of the boards of directors of Biogen Inc. and Fortress Biosciences, Inc., publicly-held life sciences companies. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at New York University.