Led By A World
Class Executive Team
Led By A World
Class Executive Team
Our team is dedicated to building a leading non-opioid analgesic and neurology specialty pharmaceutical company.
Joseph V. Pergolizzi, Jr., MD
Founder & Executive Chairman
Dr. Joseph V. Pergolizzi, Jr., MD is an internationally recognized thought leader in internal, perioperative and pain medicine, as well as critical and palliative care, pharmacology, drug development and regulatory affairs. An internationally recognized key opinion leader in pain medicine, Joe is a top development and regulatory consultant for blockbuster-branded analgesics, such as Nucynta, Cymbalta and Butrans. Joe is an experienced C-suite executive who brings an extensive professional network and background in global healthcare to Neumentum.
He is the co-founder of NEMA Research, Inc., a specialty CRO, a former subcommittee member of the FDA SUI and SGE VAH Grant Review for Analgesics, and chairman of PAINWEEK and Consultant to National Pain Foundation Board of Directors. Joe is the former director of business development and financial affairs for the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Clinical Trials Unit. He also formerly served as a part-time adjunct faculty member in the department of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Frank Diana, PhD
Head of CMC/Manufacturing
Dr. Frank Diana is experienced in the areas of CMC, Pharmaceutical and Analytical Development. Frank had a 40-year career in the Pharmaceutical Industry working for Endo Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson and DuPont Pharmaceuticals mostly in Pharmaceutical Development, Technical Operations, and Quality. He obtained his PhD from St. John’s University in NY and is an adjunct professor in the RA/QA graduate program at Temple University’s School of Pharmacy teaching several courses including Global CMC Issues.
Robert B. Raffa, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Robert B. Raffa has devoted his professional career to pharmacology and understanding the balance between therapeutic utility and abuse potential of drugs. He was team co-leader for analgesics drug discovery at Johnson & Johnson, where he was involved in the elucidation of the mechanism-of- action of tramadol and the discovery of tramadol combinations. Bob has published over 300 peer-reviewed papers, is co-author or editor of several books on pharmacology and is a co-editor of the Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics. He taught at Temple University School of Pharmacy and is adjunct professor at the University of Arizona. He is a past president of the Mid-Atlantic Pharmacology Society, and he lectures and consults worldwide on analgesics and analgesic combinations.
Joseph M. Scavone, Pharm D. MS, MBA, MSc
Head of Clinical Operations and Regulatory Affairs
Dr. Joseph M. Scavone is experienced in the areas of clinical drug development, clinical pharmacology, and safety and risk management. He worked at Pfizer for 24 years and held positions as a Clinical Group Lead in the Neurosciences, Pain and Rare Diseases therapeutic areas in the Clinical Development and Operations group, as a Global Clinical Lead for pregabalin (Lyrica) and as a Therapeutic Area Head and Group Lead in the Worldwide Regulatory Affairs/Safety and Risk Management group. Joe has had many years of experience in designing, conducting, and managing Phase 1-4 clinical studies, managing drug development programs, and writing and reviewing regulatory submission documents. He has worked on several NDAs and MAAs that have resulted in global regulatory approvals. Joe has published over 100 original peer-reviewed research articles, abstracts, book chapters and a book on conducting clinical studies. He has appointments as an adjunct Associate Professor at Temple University School of Pharmacy, RA/QA Program, where he teaches courses about Clinical Trials Management and Good Clinical Practices, and as an Assistant Clinical Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine.
Joseph V. Pergolizzi, Jr., MD
Founder & Executive Chairman
Dr. Joseph V. Pergolizzi, Jr., MD is an internationally recognized thought leader in internal, perioperative and pain medicine, as well as critical and palliative care, pharmacology, drug development and regulatory affairs. An internationally recognized key opinion leader in pain medicine, Joe is a top development and regulatory consultant for blockbuster-branded analgesics, such as Nucynta, Cymbalta and Butrans. Joe is an experienced C-suite executive who brings an extensive professional network and background in global healthcare to Neumentum.
He is the co-founder of NEMA Research, Inc., a specialty CRO, a former subcommittee member of the FDA SUI and SGE VAH Grant Review for Analgesics, and chairman of PAINWEEK and Consultant to National Pain Foundation Board of Directors. Joe is the former director of business development and financial affairs for the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Clinical Trials Unit. He also formerly served as a part-time adjunct faculty member in the department of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Andrew Scott Blank
Director
Mr. Andrew Scott Blank, a third-generation Miamian, serves on the Executive Committee of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and on the Board of BioCardia which has developed an individualized stem cell therapy including a unique ability to deliver stem cells directly to the heart muscle for the treatment of congestive heart failure. He has also served as the Chairman of the Florida Public Service Commission Nominating Council, Chairman of the Miami-Dade Community College Foundation (the largest community college in the US), Chairman of the Miami-Dade Community College Presidential Search Committee and was selected by Florida Trend Magazine as an “Up and Comer” Award Winner.
Andy serves as President of: National Brands, Inc., a family office which was, under the leadership of three generations of Blank family, the largest Anheuser-Busch beer distributor in the world; President of WareITis Technologies, LLC, (wareitis.com) which has developed the foremost enterprise level content management software suite; Archive America, (archiveamerica.com) a full-service, off-site records management company. Archive America is the largest family-owned document storage firm in the U.S. with locations in Miami, Tampa, Atlanta, Boston, Worcester, Chicago and Los Angeles; Seaboard Warehouse Terminals (seaboardwarehouse.com), Seaboard Chicago Terminals, and Seaboard Tampa Terminals. Seaboard provides third party logistics, including bonded warehousing, transportation & delivery, and contract storage services to manufacturers and sales organizations that require storage and distribution services for their products throughout the US.
Andy also serves as President of the Blank Family Foundation, (blankfamily.org) a Florida-based private family foundation which provides philanthropic support to a multitude of worthy charitable organizations.
August Moretti
Director
Mr. August Moretti joined Neumentum’s Board in April 2019. He is currently the CFO of 4D Molecular Technologies, a privately held gene therapy company. Augie has extensive operating and financial executive experience in all phases of company growth and funding, from early-stage development to product approval and commercialization. From 2012 to 2018 he was CFO of Assertio Therapeutics, a publicly held specialty pharmaceuticals company focused in pain and neurology, and from 2004 to 2011 CFO of Alexza Pharmaceuticals, a publicly held pharmaceutical company developing drug device combination products for pulmonary delivery of CNS drugs. From 2001 to 2004 he was CFO and General Counsel of Surromed, a privately held biotechnology company focused on proteomics. Prior to 2001 he was a partner of Heller Ehrman, an international law firm, where his practice included representation of life science companies on issues relating to public and private financings, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, disclosure and public reporting.
As CFO of Assertio, Alexza and Surromed he has raised over $1.5 billion in funding, including public and private issuance of equity, convertible debt and secured debt and monetization of royalty interests, has overseen several product acquisitions and has been responsible for 50 consecutive quarters of public company reporting.
Augie holds a B.A. in Economics from Princeton University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School and has taught Finance at UC Berkeley School of Business Administration.
Charles Argoff, MD
Professor in Neurology. Former NIH. Recognized expert in Chronic Pain.
Bill Loskota, MD, PhD
Distinguished Professor in Anesthesiology and Pharmacology. Pharmacy and Therapeutics expert.
William Schmidt, PhD
Seasoned Analgesic Drug Developer and Global Regulatory Expert
Eugene Viscusi, MD
Professor in Anesthesiology. Recognized innovator of acute analgesics.
Giustino Varrassi, MD
Professor in Anesthesiology. Former Chairman Anesthesiology. European authority on Ketorolac.
Paul White, MD, PhD
Distinguished Professor in Anesthesiology & Pharmacology. Former Chairman, Department Anesthesiology. Father of PCA & authority on ketorolac in US.