William J. Garner, M.D.
Martin E. Shmagin
Tracy Taylor, a director of Urigen and chairman of the board of directors, serves as president and chief executive officer of Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation, or KTEC, a private-public partnership dedicated to stimulating technology-based economic development in the State of Kansas. Mr. Taylor’s extensive corporate and entrepreneurial experience has been integral to the success of KTEC. After his initial position in corporate finance at Ford Motor Company, Mr. Taylor jointed United Telecom in 1982 to work on the company’s mergers and acquisitions. Less than two years later, Mr. Taylor was selected to a 12-person team that developed a business plan for what eventually became the Sprint Corporation. As Sprint grew into a Fortune 100 company, Mr. Taylor played a leadership role in the management side, serving as the treasurer of US Sprint. Mr. Taylor led the regional site selection for Sprint’s World Headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas, which covers over 300 acres and holds more than 16,000 employees. Mr. Taylor graduated from Bethany College and received his M.B.A. degree from the University of Kansas. Mr. Taylor’s experience in business, entrepreneurial endeavors and technology-oriented business growth place him in a position to contribute to a wide variety of boards and organizations. While Mr. Taylor has served on several boards across the state and country, his most recent contributions have been on the Enterprise Center of Johnson County, a working incubator focused on the commercialization of technology; Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center (MAMTC); KansasBio; and Catalyst Lighting, a publicly-traded company. Mr. Taylor has served on Urigen’s board of directors since December 2005.
C. Lowell Parsons, M.D., a director of Urigen, is a leader in medical research into the causes and treatment of interstitial cystitis, which is a painful bladder syndrome with typical cystoscopic and/or histological features in the absence of infection or other pathology, and has published over 200 scientific articles and book chapters in this area describing his work. Dr. Parsons received his M.D. degree from the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, CT, in 1970. After completing his medical internship at Yale in 1971, Dr. Parsons spent two years as a staff associate in the Laboratory of Microbiology at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He then completed his urology residency training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1977. Dr. Parsons joined the Division of Urology faculty at the University of California, San Diego, or UCSD, in 1977 as assistant professor. He served as Chief of Urology at the UCSD-affiliated Veterans Affairs Medical Center in La Jolla from 1977 to 1985. Since 1988, he has been Professor of Surgery/Urology.
Benjamin F. McGraw, III, Pharm.D., the former president and chief executive officer of Valentis, and the chairman of Valentis' board since 1993, was elected to serve as a director of Valentis. Dr. McGraw has served as president and chief executive officer of Valentis since September 1994, when he joined Megabios Corp., and as chairman of the board since May 1997. In March 1999, Megabios merged with GeneMedicine, Inc. to form Valentis. Prior to Megabios, Dr. McGraw gained experience in R&D as vice president, development for Marion and Marion, Merrell Dow; in business development as corporate vice president, corporate development at Allergan, Inc.; and in finance as president of Carerra Capital Management. Dr. McGraw currently serves on the board of directors of ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. McGraw received his Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences, where he also completed a clinical practice residency.
George M. Lasezkay, Pharm.D., J.D., a current member of Valentis' board, will continue to serve on the board of Valentis. Since September 2003, Dr. Lasezkay has provided business development and strategic advisory services to biotechnology and emerging pharmaceutical companies through his consulting firm, Turning Point Consultants. From 1989 to 2002, Dr. Lasezkay served in various positions at Allegan, Inc., including assistant general counsel from 1994 to 1996, vice president, corporate development from 1996 to 1998, and corporate vice president corporate development from 1998 to 2002. Dr. Lasezkay currently serves on the board of directors of Collagenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and a number of privately-held companies. Dr. Lasezkay received his J.D. from the University of Southern California Law Center and his Doctor of Pharmacy and Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Cynthia Sullivan currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Immunomedics, Inc. (NasdaqGM: IMMU), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of products for cancer, autoimmune, and other serious diseases. She has been employed by Immunomedics since 1985 and has held various positions of increasing responsibility, including Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and President. Prior to Immunomedics, Ms. Sullivan was employed by Ortho Diagnostic Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. She earned a BS from Merrimack College, North Andover, Massachusetts, followed by a year of clinical internship with the school of Medical Technology at Muhlenberg Hospital, Plainfield, New Jersey, resulting in a M.T. (ASCP) certification. She completed an MS degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University where she also received her MBA.
Robert J. Watkins established R.J. Watkins & Company, Ltd., an executive recruiting and consulting firm, and currently serves as President and Chairman. Mr. Watkins' experience includes President and Chief Executive Officer of a $200 million entertainment company and Managing Director for the San Diego office of the international consulting firm of Russell Reynolds Associates. He has held executive positions with American Hospital Supply Corporation, serving on the corporation's acquisition and divestiture team. He also served as Management Consultant for the national accounting firm Deloitte & Touche. Mr. Watkins holds a BA degree from San Diego State University.
