NewHavenBIZ

22 n e w h a v e n B I Z | J u n e 2 0 2 2 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m P O W E R 2 5 : H e a l t h c a r e 2 0 2 2 product. e company used artificial intelli- gence to identify dexmedetomidine as a potential treatment for agitation and brought the drug candidate from its first- in-human trials to FDA approval in just under four years . Under Mehta's leadership, the company is in the process of launching the drug commercially. BioXcel also recently announced the creation of a new wholly-owned sub- sidiary that will focus on developing medications to fight cancer. e subsidi- ary, named OnkosXcel erapeutics Inc., will concentrate on oncology, including the development of an anti-tumor drug candidate now in the clinical trial phase. Dr. Greta Boynton, Chief Medical Officer, Waterbury HEALTH Dr. Greta Boynton recently joined the Waterbury HEALTH network as chief medical officer and senior vice president. Boynton started her new role on April 1. e network includes Waterbury Hospital, Alliance Medical Group, Cardiology Associates of Greater Waterbury, VNA Health at Home and Access Rehab Centers, and Greater Waterbury Imaging Center. Boynton most recently served as a regional chief medical officer with Sound Physicians. For the past two decades, Boynton has had leadership roles, such as division chief of hospital medicine at Baystate Medical Center and chief of hospital medicine at Eastern Connecticut Health Network. Boynton replaced Dr. Justin Lundbye, who was promoted to president and CEO of Waterbury HEALTH in November 2021. Boynton has joined Waterbury HEALTH as it is being acquired by Yale New Haven Health. She served as the national medical director for the National Clinical Innovations Council for Sound Physicians. In that role, she facilitated pilot projects aimed at improving quality, finances, and the work environment. e Waterbury HEALTH system offers primary care, emergency and acute care, and home health care. It serves Waterbury and 11 surrounding communities in the western section of the state and is currently owned by Prospect Medical Holdings Inc. Vlad Coric, CEO, Biohaven Pharmaceuticals Under Vlad Coric's leadership, Biohaven Pharmaceuticals' blockbuster migraine medication Nurtec ODT has become the top-prescribed migraine medicine in its class in the United States. e New Haven-based company launched Nurtec ODT, its first commercial product, in 2020 aer winning U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. Since then, Biohaven has attracted big names for marketing the drug, from reality TV celebrity Khloé Kardashian of "Keeping up With the Kardashians" fame, to Beverly Hills 90210 star Tori Spelling and actor Whoopi Goldberg. Coric has also been involved in shepherding the company through one of the region's largest acquisitions. In May, Pfizer Inc. announced its plans to acquire Biohaven for $11.6 billion in cash. According to Coric, Pfizer will allow Biohaven to expand distribution of its migraine medicines; the deal is expected to be finalized by early 2023. Meanwhile, plans are for New Biohaven, a new publicly-traded company, to focus on the company's non- migraine pipeline. e company has also been pursuing treatments for ailments such as obsessive compulsive disorder, spinocerebellar ataxia, epilepsy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Following the closing, New Biohaven will continue to operate under the Biohaven name, and company officials say it will remain in New Haven. Coric will lead New Biohaven as chairman and CEO. Ruth Abdulmassih, CEO, Lab Logistics Ruth Abdulmassih took over in April as chief executive officer of West Haven-based Lab Logistics Management, which provides courier services of medical supplies and specimens for more than 450 hospitals, health systems, and laboratories throughout the United States. Abdulmassih came to Lab Logistics with a background at Fortune 100, corporate, venture startup and private equity companies in the life sciences and business services industries. She most recently served as CEO of Alternative Biomedical Solutions, and also had leadership roles at companies such as Stericycle Inc. and Abbott Laboratories Inc. Lab Logistics is a portfolio company of Atlantic Street Capital. Lab Logistics Management was founded a decade ago, in 2012, and it is comprised of Lab Logistics, Hospital Couriers Corp. and Path-Tec. e companies provide a range of services and products, from courier and transportation services to COVID-19 specimen collection kits to temperature- controlled packaging. Soware allows for real-time ordering, barcode scanning and tracking of courier and specimen locations. Customers range from medical labs and hospitals to university health systems and independent laboratories. John Houston, President & CEO, Arvinas It's been a year of positive develop- ments for John Houston, president and CEO of Arvinas, a New Haven-based biotech working on treatments for prostate and breast cancers. Houston, whose background is in microbiology and biochemistry, has been spearheading the company's drug pipeline, continued growth and staffing expansion. e clinical-stage company has been focused on creating a new class of drugs based on targeted protein degradation. It aims to harness the body's natural protein disposal system to remove dis- ease-causing proteins. In February, Arvinas announced its drug candidate for treating prostate cancer continues to show an impact in fighting tumors, with evidence of tumor regression. e drug candidate ARV-110 targets the androgen receptor, a factor in prostate cancer. Last summer, Arvinas announced it would get help from pharmaceutical gi- ant Pfizer to develop and commercialize its drug ARV-471 for advanced breast cancer, in a deal potentially worth $2.4 billion. Arvinas says Phase 3 clinical trials will start this year. Early results indicate the drug shows promise on its own, and may be even more effective when used in combination with Pfizer's drug Ibrance. Yale University scientist Craig Crews founded Arvinas in 2013, and it went public in 2018. Arvinas, which has been working out of Science Park, plans to lease three floors, or 160,000 square feet of lab and office space, in developer Carter Win- stanley's new 101 College St. bioscience tower, which is slated to open in 2024. e move will more than double Arvi- nas' current space. Back in January, the company indicat- ed it was on a hiring spree and anticipat- ed doubling its workforce, which stood at 275 employees early this year. Sonja LaBarbera, President & CEO, Gaylord Specialty Healthcare Sonja LaBarbera has been guiding Gaylord Specialty Healthcare into a new era. LaBarbera, president and CEO of Gaylord Specialty Health- care, has been overseeing a mul- tiyear, $10-million hospital renova- tion project. More than 100 inpatient rooms along with family and staff areas are being renovated to give the hospital a more home-like atmosphere. e project is about 50 percent com- plete. LaBarbera, who in early 2019 became the first woman to serve in the CEO role, has juggled the construction proj- ect while also leading Gaylord through the COVID-19 pandemic. e 137-bed Wallingford-based nonprofit hospital provides rehabilita- tion services for people who have been injured in traumatic accidents, suffered a stroke, or who are recovering from long- term effects due to COVID. LaBarbera oversees a staff of approxi- mately 1,000 employees at the organiza- tion, which has annual revenue of rough- ly $91 million. LaBarbera started at Gaylord in 2005, with her first role as director of inpa- tient therapy. Her background is as a speech language pathologist, and she rose through the hospital ranks, serving as chief operating officer prior to her promotion to the hospital's top spot. Gaylord last fall entered into a part- nership with the University of Con- necticut School of Medicine, Hartford Hospital, and UConn Health to launch a residency program for rehabilitation physicians. e four-year program will support 16 residents annually at full enrollment. Gaylord also recently launched a new certified nursing assistant academy, which gives students hands-on experi- ence caring for patients. In March, a new 3,200-square-foot Gaylord Physical erapy location opened in Madison for outpatient physical therapy and orthopedic rehab. In April, Gaylord Physical erapy in North Haven more than doubled its treatment space and expanded its service offerings to also include neurological therapy services. Under LaBarbera's leadership, Gay- lord has garnered recognition. In May, Gaylord was named among the "150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare" by Beck- er's Healthcare. Francisco Salva, CEO, Azitra Inc. Francisco Salva took over as president and CEO of Branford microbiome biotech Azitra Inc. in 2021. e clinical-stage medical dermatology company is working to create and develop new products to treat skin conditions and diseases, utilizing research in proteomics -- the study of proteins, genetic engineering, and the skin microbiome. Salva had previously been president and CEO of Complexa, a Pennsylvania biotech that is developing drugs for fibrotic and inflammatory diseases. Founded in 2014 by two Yale graduate students, Azitra harnesses the good bacteria living on the skin to develop drugs and consumer products to treat skin problems. e company has been developing an ointment for cancer therapy-associated rashes and another to treat Netherton Syndrome, an inherited skin disorder that causes skin peeling. In October 2020, the company closed on a $17 million Series B funding round led by the investment arm of Bayer, doubling its fundraising efforts. Azitra is collaborating with the pharma and consumer health giant on developing Continued from previous page

• Cover