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.

Sarah Faust

Chief Commercial Officer

Ms. Sarah Faust is a senior commercial leader in the pharmaceutical industry with U.S. and global experience. She has a proven track record of launching and growing multi-million to multi-billion dollar brands spanning the specialty, retail and institutional settings.

Sarah’s recent roles include leading all aspects of marketing at Depomed for the relaunch of Nucynta and Nucynta ER from acquisition, through repositioning, strategy development and oversight of tactical execution for launch. Prior to this, Sarah was Vice President of Sales and Marketing, for the specialty dermatology company, PharmaDerm. Here she managed the strategic refocusing of the Company’s portfolio and resource optimization to drive profitability, launched competitive action plans to defend the Company’s leading brand and led growth strategies to double revenues of another. Before PharmaDerm, Sarah held the position of Senior Vice President of Marketing for the specialty pharmaceutical company King Pharmaceuticals, where she oversaw the launch of the first abuse deterrent opioid, prepared launches for a portfolio of others and drove revenues of the Company’s existing pain and hospital based products. Sarah played a pivotal role in the transition of the PharmaDerm and King businesses following their acquisition by Sandoz and Pfizer respectively. Previously, Sarah led the global marketing team for Lovenox, the world’s leading low molecular weight heparin, where she established deep experience in the surgical and institutional settings.

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.