Dr. Charles Bisgaier

Biography

 Dr. Bisgaier serves as  a Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer. From 1990 to 1998, Dr. Bisgaier was an Associate Research Fellow in the Department of Vascular and Cardiac Disease at Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis. There he participated in the discovery and/or development of gemfibrozil (LOPID®), atorvastatin (LIPITOR®) and gemcabene (AKA CI-1027 and PD 72953). Subsequently, Dr. Bisgaier co-founded the first Esperion Therapeutics (1998- 2004), which was then acquired by Pfizer. At Pfizer he then served as the Senior Director of Pharmacology at the Esperion Division of Pfizer Global Research and Development. Notably, he was a major influence in the discovery, research and/or development of many small molecules with potential utility for metabolic syndrome including ETC-1002 (AKA ESP 55016) which was licensed by the new Esperion (NASDAQ: ESPR) from Pfizer, as well as HDL-therapy product candidates, such as ApoA-I Milano (ETC-216) which was also licensed by The Medicines Company (NASDAQ: MDCO) from Pfizer. After Pfizer, he served as a Company Director, Board Member and President of Pipex Pharmaceuticals (2006-2008, currently known as Synthetic Biologics, NYSE: SYN), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing fibrotic and neurological disease therapies, that included a treatment for Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis. Both Pipex Pharmaceuticals and the first Esperion Therapeutics became public companies through a reverse-merger and an initial public offering (IPO), respectively during Dr. Bisgaier's tenure. He is also a co-founder of Michigan Life Therapeutics (predecessor to Gemphire) and Michigan Life Ventures. In addition, he is currently a Board member at Hygieia, Inc., a company that has developed a novel handheld medical device to assist diabetics to determine appropriate dosage when self-administering insulin, and a Board member at BioSavita Inc., a company that has developed a novel platform technology for protein expression in yeast. He also has served as a Board member (2009-2014) and President and CEO (2010-2011) of ProNAi Therapeutics (NASDAQ: DNAI). Currently, Dr. Bisgaier is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Michigan. He received a B.A. in Biology from the State University College at Oneonta, NY (1974), and a M.S.(1977) and Ph.D. (1981) in biochemistry from George Washington University, Washington, D.C. After receiving his doctorate, he studied lipoprotein metabolism within the Specialized Center of Research (SCOR) for atherosclerosis at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, NY.

Research Interest

 Drug Metabolism, New Drug Molecule Development,Clinical Studies