Management
Frederic Chereau
Helen Marie Nugent, Ph.D.
Josh Hamermesh
Jack Harvey, M.S.
Margaret E. O'Toole
Frederic Chereau
President & Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Chereau assumed the role of President and Chief Executive Officer at Pervasis Therapeutics in September 2008. Prior to Pervasis, Mr. Chereau was the Vice President and General Manager of Genzyme Cardiovascular, a business unit of Genzyme Corporation. As VP and General Manager, Mr. Chereau led teams focusing on commercialization of a hypercholesterolemia product (Cholestagel®), development of a late clinical stage gene therapy program in peripheral arterial disease, and a broad range of business development activities. In addition, Mr. Chereau served as the Chief Operating Officer of MG Biotherapeutics LLC, a Genzyme and Medtronic joint-venture formed to develop cellular therapies for cardiac repair.
From 1999 to 2005, Mr. Chereau held various marketing and business development positions within Genzyme, with growing responsibilities in France and Europe. During this time, he was appointed as CEO of Myosix SA, a cell therapy company based in France with an ongoing close relationship with Genzyme Cardiovascular’s cell therapy programs. He relocated to the United States in 2005 and was promoted to Vice President and General Manager of Cardiovascular Business Unit in November 2006.
Prior to Genzyme, Mr. Chereau started his career in sales and product management for a French medical device retail company in the hemodialysis and blood transfusion field.
Mr. Chereau holds a B.S. in Physics from Paris University, completed graduate studies at the La Rochelle Business School and received an M.B.A. from INSEAD.
Helen Marie Nugent, Ph.D.
Co-Founder and Vice President, Research and Development
Dr. Nugent is a Founder and Vice President, Research and Development, at Pervasis Therapeutics and also holds a Research Affiliate position in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. Dr. Nugent received a B.S. degree in chemistry from Merrimack College and both M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Organic Chemistry from Brandeis University. Her doctoral thesis concentrated on the synthesis of novel organometallic polymers. She continued her work in material science by completing a one-year fellowship at the Institute for Polymers and Organic Solids at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Nugent joined MIT as a postdoctoral fellow and performed research on tissue engineered endothelial cells, which resulted in numerous peer-reviewed publications and abstract presentations.
Dr. Nugent has more than eight years experience in the biotechnology industry directing and performing critical research and developmental work and over 10 years experience in vascular and endothelial biology. She previously held positions at Reprogenesis, Inc. and its successor; Curis, Inc. Dr. Nugent has been the recipient of a National Science Foundation Research Fellowship and served as the Principal Investigator on a National Institutes of Standards and Technology Advanced Technology Program Award.
Josh Hamermesh
Senior Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development
Mr. Hamermesh joined Pervasis on a full-time basis in October 2009 after previously working with the company as an independent business development consultant. Prior to his involvement with Pervasis, Mr. Hamermesh was VP, Business and Commercial Development at Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals. While at Molecular Insight, Mr. Hamermesh led multiple licensing transactions with Big Pharma companies, including Bayer-Schering and Novartis. Additionally, Mr. Hamermesh was a member of the senior management team that helped Molecular Insight go public through an Initial Public Offering in February 2007.
From 1999 to 2005, Mr. Hamermesh worked at Genzyme Corporation in a variety of marketing and business development roles within Genzyme Surgical Products, Genzyme BioSurgery and Genzyme Cardiovascular. While at Genzyme, Mr. Hamermesh led the formation of MG Biotherapeutics LLC, a Genzyme and Medtronic joint-venture set up to develop cellular therapies for cardiac repair. Mr. Hamermesh served as Chief Operating Officer of MG Biotherapeutics once the joint venture was established. Prior to Genzyme, Mr. Hamermesh worked as a strategy consultant for Monitor Company and in New Product Planning for Guidant Corporation’s Cardiac Rhythm Management division.
Mr. Hamermesh holds a B.A. from Amherst College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Jack Harvey, M.S.
Director, Manufacturing
Mr. Harvey joined Pervasis Therapeutics in December 2005 and serves as Director, Manufacturing. Mr. Harvey oversees the manufacturing of Vascugel® for clinical evaluation and the development and optimization of the manufacturing process. Mr. Harvey has over 20 years of experience in the development and manufacturing of cell therapy/tissue engineering products. He has held positions with technical and organizational leadership responsibilities, supporting multiple investigational new drugs covering therapies in Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials. Mr. Harvey participated in the development of numerous products from bench scale processes through manufacturing for Phase 2 clinical trials at BioHybrid Technologies, CytoTherapeutics, and Bioheart. During his career, he has developed a broad range of expertise in process and product development, and manufacturing for cell and tissue-based products. Mr. Harvey is a graduate from Harvard University and earned a Master’s degree in Public Health from Boston University.
Margaret E. O’Toole
Director, Business Administration
Ms. O’Toole joined Pervasis Therapeutics in March 2005 and serves as Director, Business Administration. She was initially brought on board to establish the company infrastructure and is now responsible for business management and daily operations. Her responsibilities include human resources, finance, public relations, and website development. Ms. O’Toole has over 14 years of experience in business start-ups ranging from hi-tech engineering to magazine publishing. Prior to Pervasis, she was the Operations Manager for Reputation Technologies; a Massachusetts based hi-tech start-up acquired by Security Source, Inc. Ms. O’Toole previously held management positions in corporate communications, marketing, and proposal management with Synetics, Inc.; acquired by ACS, Inc., and Elephant Engineering; acquired by Syntronics, LLC. Ms. O’Toole was the Editorial Director of Shaadi Style Magazine and a marketing consultant for The Wonder Factory, a Virginia based children’s museum. Ms. O’Toole received her B.A. in Literature from Carnegie Mellon University.