Leadership

Javier Zylberberg

Co-Founder, President and CEO of AssureImmune has over 25 years of successfully developing and managing quality international businesses. With a background in engineering and an entrepreneurial spirit, Javier has consistently proven his ability to facilitate the design, development, and implementation of successful businesses. He has managed international businesses in Argentina, Canada and United States. As the President and CEO of Sunset Duty Free, he successfully developed seven high-end duty free shops in the United States. These shops were sold to one of the largest duty free operators in the world. His next venture took him into the world of transportation and logistics as the CEO of Miami International Charters. Javier then successfully transitioned into the highly competitive durable medical equipment and services industry where he created Nation Medical Services. After several years of successful growth and operation, this company was profitably sold to PolyMedica, the parent company of Liberty Medical, the largest durable medical equipment company in the United States. Javier is also Co-Founder of Akron Biotechnology, Florida, an innovative biotechnology company focused on providing animal serum biological reagents and cell biology and Immunology.

Dr. Claudia Zylberberg

Dr. Zylberberg is Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of AssureImmune. She also serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Akron Biotech, a company that markets animal serum and biological reagent products for the R&D and stem cell industry. With a Ph.D. in biotechnology from the University of British Columbia, Claudia has collectively over 20 years experience in the international medical science industry. Dr. Zylberberg has extensive experience in the areas of recombinant protein production and plasma as well as assay and process development. She has authored and co-authored many scientific articles and a children's science book. Her vast experience in research and development as well as bioprocessing and manufacturing enable the company to provide the safest and most effective products and services to our clients.

Andrés Gigena

Co-Founder, has his MBA from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina. He began his professional career in Argentina more than 40 years ago and has since obtained extensive and successful business development experience with his many endeavors.His wide range of expertise includes development and management of various companies in cargo transport, seaport and biotech industries. He currently manages and provides financial and investment consulting to several international companies.With his extensive business development and financial background, he brings a strong solid foundation to AssureImmune.

Dr. Connie Araps, is the Vice President of Operations and Business Strategy for AssureImmune. With a Ph.D. in chemistry from Princeton, Dr. Araps has a broad background managing technology innovation, business growth and acquisition in the semiconductor, pharmaceutical/biotechnology and software industry segments. She has extensive experience as a scientist, executive team builder and CEO. She led corporate strategic technology planning for IBM and established a new business unit based on the automation of statistically based process optimization and technology transfer. She served as V.P. and CEO of the spin-off from that business - Domain Solutions. Under her leadership the company grew market share aggressively worldwide and was acquired by a Fortune 1000 company.

Dr. Pinya Cohen, is AssureImmune's Regulatory Consultant and has 40 years experience in biologic, drug and medical device research and development. He was a Pre-Doctoral National Institutes of Health Fellow and received a doctorate in microbiology at Purdue University, then spent 12 years in research and regulatory affairs in biologics at the NIH and the FDA. He served as VP, Regulatory Affairs for 16 years with Merieux Institute and Connaught Laboratories (both now Sanofi-Pasteur) and nearly 12 years as Senior V.P. and V.P. Regulatory Affairs at Nabi Biopharmaceuticals. He has overseen strategy, development, and approval of viral and bacterial vaccines, plasma derivatives and other biologicals. He has published 25 peer-reviewed papers and served on National Academy of Sciences liaison groups and forums on blood safety and vaccine evaluation.

Ronald O. Gilcher, M.D., F.A.C.P. is the "in house"Medical Director and also a Scientific Advisory Board member for AssureImmune. He is considered a visionary in the blood banking industry due largely to his pioneering and championing efforts with numerous important safety, technology and recruitment initiatives. As the former CEO of the Oklahoma Blood Institute, one of the largest U.S. regional blood centers, Dr. Gilcher is a recognized leader in the blood and transfusion medicine sector. In this position, he directed and inspired phenomenal collections growth, increasing from 22,000 units in 1979 to more than 200,000 by 2006. Over the course of his career, he led the way in blood center based public health programs, pioneered cholesterol, prostate specific antigen (PSA), and cardiac disease marker testing for U.S. donors. He was first to institute the HIV antigen test and single donor nucleic acid testing (NAT). As an expert in the field of blood banking, he has published over 200 abstracts and articles in numerous medical journals including Transfusion and Blood. He is on the Oklahoma University College of Public Health Advisory Board and serves on several professional and scientific committees for the AABB, and the Oklahoma County Medical Society. Dr. Gilcher does consulting in hematology and transfusion medicine in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He is a 1963 graduate of the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia.