Leadership

Jonathan Kil, MD – CEO & CMO

Dr. Kil has led the R&D strategy and financings for SPI. He has served as the principal investigator on several NIH and Dept. of Defense (DoD) awards, and serves as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Kil studied auditory neuroscience at UC Irvine where he graduated with honors and received the Ralph W Gerard Award for outstanding research. He began his MD/PhD studies at Georgetown University where he was an ARCS Scholar and received a Clinical Prize for his work on traumatic injury to the cochlea. He continued his graduate studies in Neuroscience and Medicine at UVA, where he received the Winn Scholarship in Otolaryngology.

Dr. Kil completed his NIH funded post-doctoral research on ototoxicity at the University of Washington, and in 1998, he co-founded Otogene, the first inner ear biotechnology company. As President and CEO, he transitioned its basic research involving p27Kip1 technology into a pre-clinical regeneration platform. In 2002, he co-founded SPI to translate some of his discoveries in to investigational products for the treatment of inner ear disease. He is a recognized leader in inner ear drug development and has served as an advisor to the DoD’s Hearing Center of Excellence since 2012.

John Sullivan – CFO

Mr. Sullivan is responsible for Sound’s overall financial and strategic management, including financial reporting, business planning, operations, HR and other corporate functions.  He brings nearly three decades of financial management experience in the private, public and nonprofit sectors, with a focus on developing policies and procedures to improve performance and productivity.  Before joining Sound, Mr. Sullivan has been the CFO of Vesiflo, a Redmond WA based catheter maker.  In addition, he was Vice President and Director of Research at Healthios, a Chicago based healthcare investment bank, and also CFO of a healthcare IT company with focus on chronic disease management.  In those roles, he led business plan development, forecasting, analysis, and capital commitment planning.  Mr. Sullivan also worked as an equity analyst in food and beverage at Lehman Brothers with coverage over 15 largely capitalized entities in the space.  Mr. Sullivan earned a BS from Georgetown University and an MBA from University of Michigan.  He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

G. Michael Wall, PhD – Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development

Dr. Wall is an accomplished leader in specialty pharmaceuticals, best exemplified by his successes while at Alcon Laboratories where he launched their Otolaryngology R&D efforts. Dr. Wall led the development and commercialization of Ciprodex® Otic Suspension for the treatment of acute otitis externa and acute otitis media in patients with tympanostomy tubes which remains the #1 eardrop prescribed by otolaryngologists and pediatricians in the U.S. He also led the development and commercialization of Patanase® Nasal Spray for the treatment of allergic rhinitis in children (including pediatric exclusivity) and adults (#1 intranasal antihistamine prescribed by U.S. pediatricians). Further, he led development for other otic products such as XTORO® and formulation improvements for CIPRO® HC, and significantly contributed to development of ophthalmic products such as AZOPT®, BETOPTIC® S, CILOXAN®, IOPIDINE®, PATADAY®, PATANOL®, TRAVATAN®, VEXOL® and VIGAMOX®. He has directed the conduct of over 40 clinical trials, phase 1-4. Dr. Wall earned his Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy and has completed Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. (Trademarks are property of their owners.)

Board of Directors

Joseph Ashley

Mr. Ashley has held key management positions in several biotechnology and medical device companies. He was the President of Beckman Instruments’ Clinical Division, which was acquired by Smith Kline in 1983. From 1983-1985, he was the President of Genetic Systems, one of Seattle’s first biotechnology companies, that was acquired by Bristol-Myers in 1984. He is currently the Chairman of Copernicus Therapeutics, a DNA-based drug delivery company in Cleveland, Ohio.

Glenn H. Kawasaki, PhD, MBA, JD

Dr. Kawasaki is the Founder, President and CEO of Accium Biosciences, a Seattle company focused on atomic mass spectroscopy. From 1981-1985, he was the first scientist and the Chair of the Science Board at ZymoGenetics, Inc. From 1989-1998, he was the Founder, President, and CEO of Aptein, Inc., which was acquired by Cambridge Antibody Technology. He was previously the Founder, President and CEO at Catch, Inc., which sold its homocysteine assay to Axis-Shield.

Jonathan Kil, MD

Dr. Kil was appointed by King County Executive Dow Constantine to serve on the Board of Trustees at Harborview Medical Center/UW. He currently serves as the Board President for the Academy for Precision Learning, an independent K-12 autism inclusion school in Seattle. Dr. Kil is an advisor to the FHCRC and other non-profits.

David Guyer, MD

Dr. Guyer is the Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Ophthotech (NASDAQ:OPHT) and has lead its financing strategy since its inception in 2007. In addition to taking OPHT public, Dr. Guyer co-founded and served as CEO and Director at Eyetech Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:EYET), where he led the company through private and public financings totaling over $400 million. David oversaw the development of Macugen, the first FDA-approved anti-VEGF treatment for wet AMD. EYET reached a peak market capitalization of approximately $2 billion as was later sold to OSI Pharmaceuticals in 2005. Prior Opthotech, David was a Venture Partner at SV Life Sciences and Professor and Chairman of Ophthalmology at New York University School of Medicine.

James Towne

Jim is an accomplished entrepreneur, executive and director who has worked for some of the most successful private and public technology companies in the Pacific Northwest including Tektronix and Microsoft. He is the former CEO, Board Chair or Board member of two biotech spinouts (Presage Biosciences and Blaze Biosciences) from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC). He and his wife Bonnie Towne have contributed significantly to the FHCRC and the CFF of Washington State and are actively involved in other non-profit charities. Jim received his BA and MBA from Stanford Univeristy.

Advisors

Bruce A. Beutler, MD

Dr. Beutler, a recipient of several major honors including the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine in 2011, discovered some of the key molecules and pathways involved in Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) mediated inflammation. This work led to development of several TNF-alpha inhibitors, including Enbrel, the leading biologic drug for the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Dr. Beutler is currently a Regental Professor and Director of the Center for Genetics of Host Defense at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and is member of the US National Academy of Sciences.

James M. Roberts, MD, PhD

Dr. Roberts is the former Director of the Basic Sciences Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He is an expert in cell growth and division, and a past collaborator on SPI’s regenerative technology involving p27Kip1. Dr. Roberts is currently the Founder and CSO for MatrixGenetics, a Seattle biotechnology company focused on biofuels.

Chad Robins

Mr. Robins is the Co-Founder, President and CEO of Adaptive Biotechnologies in Seattle, WA. He has lead Adaptive’s development and finance strategy since its inception in 2008. Mr. Robins has held executive-level positions in real estate, investing, and medical technology, and has been recognized as one of the most successful biotechnology executives. In 2012, he was a “40 Under 40” Seattle Leaders honoree. In 2015, he was honored as one of Goldman Sachs 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of the Year. In 2016, Mr. Robins was also a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award in the Pacific Northwest.

Philip S. Schein, MD

Dr. Schein founded U.S. Bioscience, a pharmaceutical company focused on cancer and AIDS. While serving as Chairman and CEO he brought three products, Ethyol, Hexalen and Neutrexin, through regulatory approval in the US and Europe. Dr. Schein has served as President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and Chaired the Food and Drug Administration’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee. He is a recipient of numerous scientific and medical awards including the Harvey W. Wiley Medal from the FDA and the Wainwright Award for Excellence in Medical Education.

Albrecht Wendel, PhD

Dr. Wendel has made significant contributions to the understanding of selenoproteins such as glutathione peroxidase and novel selenoorganic compounds such as ebselen. He co-founded the Interfaculty Center for Pharmacogenomics and Pharma Research at the University of Tübingen. From 2009 to 2014, he lead collaborative research teams involving patients, clinicians, and scientists to advance basic discoveries to translational medicine. Dr. Wendel is a member of the SAB for the Berlin-Brandenburger Center for Regenerative Therapies and was Chair of Biochemical Pharmacology at the University of Konstanz from 1988 to 2008.