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MANAGEMENT TEAM
Dr. David Aviezer, Ph.D., MBA - President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Aviezer has served as Chief Executive Officer of Protalix Ltd. since 2002 and its director since 2005 and as our director since December 31, 2006. On December 31, 2006, he became our President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Aviezer has over a decade of experience in biotechnology management, advancing products from early-stage research up to their regulatory approval and commercialization. Prior to joining Protalix Ltd., from 1996 to 2002, he served as General Manager of ProChon Biotech Ltd., an Israeli company focused on orthopedic disorders. Previously, Dr. Aviezer was a visiting scientist at the Medical Research Division of American Cyanamid, a subsidiary of Wyeth (NYSE:WEY), in New York. Dr. Aviezer is the recipient of the Clore Foundation Award and the J.F. Kennedy Scientific Award. He holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from the Weizmann Institute of Science and an M.B.A. from the Bar Ilan University Business School. Dr. Yoseph Shaaltiel, Ph.D. - Executive Vice President, Research and Development Dr. Shaaltiel founded Protalix Ltd. in 1993 and has served as a member of our Board of Directors and as our Vice President, Research and Development since December 31, 2006. Prior to establishing Protalix Ltd., from 1988 to 1993, Dr. Shaaltiel was a Research Associate at the MIGAL Technological Center. He also served as Deputy Head of the Biology Department of the Biological and Chemical Center of the Israeli Defense Forces and as a Biochemist at Makor Chemicals Ltd. Dr. Shaaltiel was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California at Berkeley and at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He has co-authored over 40 articles and abstracts on plant biochemistry and holds seven patents. Dr. Shaaltiel received his Ph.D. in Plant Biochemistry from the Weizmann Institute of Science, an M.Sc. in Biochemistry from the Hebrew University, and a B.Sc. in Biology from the Ben Gurion University. Dr. Einat Brill Almon, Ph.D. - Vice President, Product Development Dr. Almon joined Protalix Ltd. in December 2004 as its Vice President, Product Development and became our Vice President, Product Development on December 31, 2006. Dr. Almon has many years of experience in the management of life science projects and companies, including biotechnology and agrobiotech, with direct experience in clinical, device and scientific software development, as well as a strong background and work experience in Intellectual Property. Prior to joining Protalix Ltd., from 2001 to 2004, she served as Director of R&D and IP of Biogenics Ltd., a company that developed an autologous platform for tissue based protein drug delivery. Biogenics, based in Israel, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Medgenics Inc. Dr. Almon has trained as a biotechnology patent agent at leading IP firms in Israel. Dr. Almon holds a Ph.D. and an M.Sc. in molecular biology of cancer research from the Weizmann Institute of Science, a B.Sc. from the Hebrew University and has carried out Post-Doctoral research at the Hebrew University in the area of plant molecular biology. Mr. Yossi Maimon, CPA - Chief Financial Officer Mr. Maimon joined Protalix Ltd. on October 15, 2006 as its Chief Financial Officer and became our Vice President and Chief Financial Officer on December 31, 2006. Prior to joining Protalix, from 2002 to 2006, he served as the Chief Financial Officer of Colbar LifeScience Ltd., a biomaterial company focusing on aesthetics, where he led all of the corporate finance activities, fund raisings, and legal aspects of Colbar including the sale of Colbar to Johnson and Johnson. Prior to that, from 2000 to 2002, he served as the Chief Financial Officer of Way2Call Communications, Ltd., an Israeli start up company in the telecommunications field, where he led the fund raising efforts, accounting issues and business development activities. Prior to that, from 1998 to 2000, he served as the controller of PEC, a United States company publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, where he was responsible for reporting and compliance with the Commission and led the process of delisting and merging PEC into Discount Investment Bank. Mr. Maimon has a B.A. in accounting from the City University of New York and an M.B.A. from Tel Aviv University, and he is a Certified Public Accountant in the United States (New York State) and Israel. Mr. Yaron Naos, B.Sc., MBA, Vice President Production Mr. Naos has a wealth of hands-on knowledge as well as managerial experience in the field of pharmaceutical development. Prior to joining Protalix, he served for a decade as R&D Product Manager at Dexxon Pharmaceutical Co., one of Israel's largest pharmaceutical companies, where he was responsible for technology transfer from R&D to production, and in charge of R&D activities that led to many products that were commercialized. Prior to Dexxon, Mr. Naos was plant manager of Medibrands Pharmaceutical Company, as well as logistic manager of Mediline, responsible for all operational activities from procurement to distribution. Mr. Naos holds a B.Sc. in Food Engineering and Biotechnology from the Technion-Israel technology Institute and an M.B.A. degree from Haifa University. Dr. Raul Chertkoff, MD, MBA, Medical Director Dr. Chertkoff has more than 13 years of executive medical management experience in one of the largest Health Care Services Organization in the world. He has served for a decade as Chairman of the Israeli Gaucher Association and was a co-founder and executive member of the European Gaucher Alliance. Additionally, Dr. Chertkoff has vast experience in Quality of Services in the Public Health and Clinical Sectors, and profound interactions with medical doctors and patients in clinical research studies, especially in the field of Gaucher Disease. Dr. Chertkoff received his MD degree from the Faculty of Medicine at the Technion, Haifa and his business degree from the School of Business Administration at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Dr. Michal Kahana, DVM, Director of Quality Assurance Dr. Kahana has more than 14 years experience in QA management in the pharmaceuticals industry, with a broad knowledge of GMP, GLP, and GCP requirements. Prior to joining Protalix she managed the 85-employee quality department at Dexxon, one of Israel’s largest Pharmaceutical companies, where she guided the company through several FDA, European and Israeli health authorities inspections. Dr. Daniel Bartfeld - Director of Protein Chemistry Dr. Bartfeld is a senior Biochemist/Immunochemist with extensive experience in the Biotechnology field. He has over 19 years’ experience in directing purification process development as well as the biochemical, immunochemical and physicochemical characterization of drug substances for biotechnology companies, with specialization in upstream and downstream process development of proteins and peptides obtained mainly from recombinant technology. During his career, Dr. Bartfield has passed through all stages of drug development and commercialization of biotechnological products, as well guidance and leadership of senior and junior scientists. Dr. Bartfeld is credited with nine U.S. and international patents, and twenty nine scientific publications. Dr. Sigal Aviel - Director of Research Dr. Sigal Aviel has vast experience in both the research and industrial aspects of cell biology and immunology, with an emphasis on antibody research. Prior to joining Protalix, she served as a research manager at XTL Biophrmaceuticals, a company that specializes in drug development for the treatment of HCV. Dr. Aviel holds a PhD. in Microbiology and Immunology from Duke University Medical Center and did her post-doctoral research in the laboratory of Prof. A. Ciechanover at the Technion Medical School. Dr. Slomzion Shen - Ph.D. M.B.A, Director of Business Development Dr. Shlomzion joined Protalix Ltd. in November 2007 as its Director of Business Development. Prior to joining Protalix she has served as the R&D director of Quantomix, a device company which developed imaging solutions for drug discovery research and clinical diagnosis applications. She has also served as the Head of Metabolic Disease Unit at Quark Pharmaceuticals Inc., a company that develops new therapeutics based on proprietary technology of gene discovery which enables the identification and targeting of genes involved in a variety of diseases. Dr. Shlomzion has a strong background in the drug discovery and drug development market. She holds an M.B.A from the Recanati Executive MBA program at Tel-Aviv University and a Ph.D in Cellular Biology and Biochemistry from Bar-Ilan University. |