Corporate Governance

Dr. Piazza was appointed as a member and the Executive Chairman of the board of the Company in November 2020. Dr. Piazza has also served since 2017 as President and CEO of IGL Pharma Inc., the licensor of CycloSam®, and a consultant to IsoTherapeutics Group, LLC, the inventors of the technology. Dr. Piazza also currently serves on the board of directors of NovaScan LLC, a privately-held cancer detection and diagnostics company. Prior to his work with IGL Pharma, from 2014 to 2016, he was CEO of SynVivo, Inc., a cancer diagnostics company. Dr. Piazza has more than 48 years of healthcare experience in both medical devices and pharmaceutical/biotech and has led several technology companies to market success including numerous FDA approvals in both sectors. Previously, he served in general management positions in both public and private international companies including Ohmeda, Smith & Nephew Pharmaceuticals, Marquest and VitaGen (world’s first bioartifical liver). Over his career, he has provided advisory services to some of world’s leading institutions including MD Anderson Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, University of California San Diego, University of Chicago and Kings College Hospital (London). In 2019, he co-founded QSAM Therapeutics, Inc. with Douglas Baum, our CEO. Dr. Piazza obtained a BS in Economics and a BS in Speech Pathology from the State University of New York and MA & PhD in Economics from the University of Buffalo and Leeds University.

Mr. Baum was appointed to the board of the Company in January 2020 and to the position of CEO in November 2020. He brings to the Company over 30 years of experience in the bioscience and biotech industries, including development, FDA/EMA approval and commercialization of multiple drugs and medical devices. Over his long senior executive tenure, he has overseen 15 product approvals through the FDA and EMA and raised over $85 million in capital to fund breakthrough technologies. Between 2017 and 2020, Mr. Baum consulted with multiple medical schools, biotech and pharmaceutical companies; and between 2012 and 2017, he served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Xeris Pharmaceuticals Inc. (currently, NASDAQ: XERS). Previously, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Macuclear Inc., and other executive level positions with clinical trial research firms including SCIREX and Premier Research Group, Inc. He holds a Masters of Science in Technology Commercialization and BBA in International Business and Marketing from the University of Texas.

Dr. Link was appointed to the Board in February 2021, and brings decades of biotech and drug development experience to the Company. He currently serves on the executive committee of the Board of Directors at NovaScan Inc., a clinical-stage company focused on cancer detection. Dr. Link also serves on the Board of Directors for Viewpoint Molecular Targeting, a clinical stage company developing alpha-particle radiopharmaceuticals; and is the founder and Executive Director of biotech startup Syncromune. He is also a founder of biotech startup ChainLink Pharma. Previously, Dr. Link was the CEO, CSO, Chairman, and founder of NewLink Genetics, a NASDAQ-listed immunotherapy company focused on developing novel immuno-oncology product candidates, from 1999 until his retirement in 2019. During his tenure at NewLink, Dr. Link led a series of collaborative transactions totaling hundreds of millions of dollars with Merck, Roche and the United States government. He also oversaw the collaboration with Merck to develop EVERBO, the first Ebola vaccine to receive FDA approval. Prior to founding NewLink Genetics, Dr. Link was an attending physician at the National Cancer Institute. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed papers. Dr. Link received an M.D. from Stanford University, and he attended the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Ms. Sax has a distinguished 30+ year career in biotech and life sciences, serving in leadership, operational and business development roles with a focus on oncology for both Fortune 100 and start-up companies. She currently serves as CEO and co-founder of Vetigenics LLC, an animal health biotech company, where she has secured partnerships with Merck, obtained federal grants, and which was named 2021 Start-up of the Year by the Penn Center for Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania. Previously she was EVP and Chief Commercial Officer at Kadmon Corp., a division of Sanofi Company, and for five years, Entrepreneur in Residence at Fortress Biotech. During the early 2000s, Ms. Sax served in various leadership capacities at large pharmaceutical companies, notably Vice President at Bristol Myers Squibb, Executive Director at Merck & Co., and Executive Vice President in charge of Business Development and Strategic Planning at King Pharmaceuticals, leading to its $6.5 Billion acquisition by Pfizer. Ms. Sax holds an MBA from the Keller Graduate School and a BS in Animal Science from the University of Delaware. She is an active advisor and board member for many industry associations, academic institutions, and nonpublic company boards.