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About DARA > Executive
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Biographies
President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board
Mr. Franco has been a leader in the pharmaceutical and medical industry for more than 35 years. Before joining DARA, Mr. Franco co-founded LipoScience, Inc., a private medical technology and diagnostics company, and served as president, CEO, chairman and director of that company. Prior to founding LipoScience, he was president, CEO and director of Trimeris, Inc., Biopharmaceutical Company (TRMS-Nasdaq). Mr. Franco counts more than a decade of experience with Glaxo Inc. (now GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK)), where he, served as a member of the Executive Committee, vice president and general manager of Glaxo Dermatology and the Cerenex Division, and vice president of Commercial Development and Marketing. He began his career with Eli Lilly and Company where he spent sixteen years.
Mr. Franco currently is the Chapter President and Director of the Research Triangle Chapter of the NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors); director of Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., (SLXP-Nasdaq) a specialty pharmaceutical company; and NeoMatrix,LLC, a private medical technology company commercializing screening systems for breast cancer detection. He has previously served on the boards of Tranzyme, Inc.; TriPath Imaging, Inc. (TPTH-Nasdaq); EntreMed, Inc. (ENMD-Nasdaq); and The United Way of Wake County and as a three time Distinguished Judge for The Entrepreneur of the Year for the Carolinas’.
Mr. Franco earned a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy from St. John's University and did his graduate work in pharmaceutical marketing and management at Long Island University.
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Board Director
Dr. Drutz's career spans 36 years in clinical medicine and patient care, basic and clinical research, pharmaceutical and biotechnology operational and research management and venture capital.
Dr. Drutz is a General Partner with Pacific Rim Ventures Co., Ltd., an international venture capital investment firm focused on life sciences with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. In addition, he is Chairman of the Board of Tranzyme, Inc. located in Research Triangle Park, NC and Tranzyme Pharma Inc., Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. He also serves as a director of MethylGene Inc. (TSX: MYG), a biopharmaceutical company.
Dr. Drutz's past experiences include Professor of Medicine and Microbiology and Chief Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas; Vice President, Biological Sciences and Vice President, Clinical Investigation for Smith Kline & French Laboratories, Ltd.; and Vice President and Director, Daiichi Pharmaceutical Corporation.
He has also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of two drug discovery and drug development companies, Sennes Drug Innovations Inc., Houston, Texas; and Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISPH), Durham, North Carolina.
Dr. Drutz holds a B.A. and M.D. from the University of Louisville.
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Board Director
Mr. Cochrane has over 20 years of healthcare experience in executive and senior management positions, including Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Roche Biomedical Laboratories, President and Chief Executive Officer of Allied Clinical Laboratories and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Laboratory Corporation of America.
Additionally, Mr. Cochrane served as Vice Chairman and a Director of I-Trax, Inc. (AMEX: DMX), a publicly traded, total population health management and productivity company. Mr. Cochrane joined I-trax when I-trax acquired CHD Meridian Healthcare where he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Cochrane earned an A.B. degree in Political Science from The University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill where he was a Morehead Scholar.
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Board Director
Ms. Lieberman is the founder and Managing Partner of Rudder Capital, LLC, which provides financial and strategic advisory services for middle-market companies including M&A advisory and strategic consulting. She has been a Chief Financial Officer for Fortune 500 companies: Thomson Corporation’s Financial & Professional Publishing division, Moody’s Investor Service (D&B) and Scali, McCabe, Sloves (Ogilvy Group).
Ms. Lieberman has recently served as a Director for three public companies in the healthcare and aerospace sectors: I-Trax Inc. (Amex: DMX; TriPath Imaging Inc. (NASDQ: TPTH); Breeze-Eastern Corporation (Amex: BZC). In addition, she sits on several advisory boards and non-profit boards including NY Report and Urban Glass.
Ms. Lieberman holds a BA in Mathematics and Physics and an MBA in Finance from Temple University.
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Chief Accounting Officer
Ann A. Rosar joined DARA in 2007 as Controller and in January 2008, was named Chief Accounting Officer. Ms. Rosar has over twenty years experience in finance with publicly held companies and more than ten years experience regarding regulatory reporting requirements. Prior to joining DARA, Ms. Rosar was the Manager of Financial Reporting and Accounting with Cicero, Inc. (formerly Level 8 Systems) where she was responsible for Security Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting, audits, and budget analysis. Preceding that position, she served as Senior Financial Analyst-Business Operations for Nextel Communications. Before moving to Raleigh, North Carolina Ms. Rosar worked as a Business Manager and Senior Finance Analyst for Raytheon Systems, Inc. (formerly Hughes Training, Inc.) a contractor to the Department of Defense (DOD). Ms. Rosar also worked as a finance analyst for various contractors to the National Aeronautic and Space Agency (NASA) Shuttle Program in Houston, Texas.
Ms. Rosar has a MBA in Finance from the University of Houston where she was a Sigma Iota Epsilon, Beta Gamma Sigma, Phi Kappa Phi, and Financial Management Honor Society member. Her undergraduate degree is from North Carolina State University. Ms. Rosar is active as a volunteer and serves as a partner in StepUP, a program that teaches budgeting and goal-setting, as well as other life skills to people who want to become self-sufficient.
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