John Longenecker Email & Phone Number

San Diego, Ca, Us

Executive consulting for the biopharmaceutical industry

Greater San Diego Area

Pacira is a specialty pharmaceutical company which went public in Feb of 2011 (PCRX). It is the latest evolution of DepoTech/SkyePharma in the U.S. with corporate HQ in NJ and manufacturing and R&D operations in San Diego. The U.S. assets of Skye were repurchased by a VC investor group in 2007 and taken private as Pacira Pharmaceuticals, at which time I joined the BOD. Pacira (PCRX) is now a publicly traded company with a market cap of ~ $2B (Jan 2014) with a great drug, Exparel, which utilizes the DepoFoam Technology. I serve on the compensation and audit committees and as Chair of the nominating and governance committee.

Cambridge Ma

Greater San Diego Area

Hemaquest is a private, virtual bio therapeutics company developing a prophylaxis for the prevention of pain crisis and associated clinical events in patients with sickle cell disease. The company initiated a second phase 2 clinical program in Q2 of 2012. An interim analysis of this trail was conducted in November of 2013 which indicated no statistically significant benefit in clinical outcomes and the trial has been terminated. No further development of this product for sickle cell disease is planned. Other assets are being evaluated at this time, including intellectual property in the area of viral-induced lymphomas and treatment of beta thalassemia.

Greater San Diego Area

I joined in February of 2002 and closed a Series B venture round that spring. The company went through 2 additional private rounds and I took the company public (NASDAQ - FVRL) in Feb 2005. We grew from 10 to about 165 employees, built a cGMP mfg facility in 2004 and completed a phase 3 clinical trial of a personalized therapeutic vaccine for indolent non Hodgkin's lymphoma in May of 2008. Unfortunately the trial results were negative and the company was downsized and later merged with MMRIS ( a personal electronic health records company, now known as MMR Global) in Jan of 2009.

San Diego, Ca - London Uk

DepoTech was acquired by SkyePharma plc in April 1999 and I became President of the U.S. subsidiary and a member of the Management Committee of SkyePharma plc. Our first product (DepoCyte) was approved in April 1999 and launched in the U.S. and Europe.

I joined DepoTech as the first executive manager in November of 1992 when the Company had less than 10 employees and a single venture investor. Within a month we raised a Series A round and over the next 7 years grew from a concept with some lab generated product and a little clinical data to a NASDAQ listed public company (1995) with a completed phase 3 study, a NDA filed (1996) and a successful pre-approval inspection in our commercial launch facility. Unfortunately in Dec of 1997 we had a bad outcome from an FDA advisory committee meeting. The CEO left soon thereafter and I took over as president in Jan of 98. By Nov of 98 we had resubmitted the NDA and had a successful advisory committee meeting for the same product. We were then acquired by the London based SkyePharma plc in early 1999. The U.S. assets of Skye were repurchased by a VC investor group in 2007 and taken private as Pacira Pharmaceuticals, at which time I joined the BOD. Pacira (PCRX) is now a publicly traded company with a market cap of ~ $2B (Jan 2014) with a great drug, Exparel, which utilizes the DepoFoam Technology.

I joined Cal Bio (later know as Scios) as Scientist and first Ph.D. employed by the company in 1982. I was fortunate to be able to take on greater responsibility in the evolving organization and became V.P. of Development in 1986. I first established, staffed and built out the facilities to support preclinical development, pharmaceutical development, biologics manufacturing, quality and compliance, regulatory and clinical departments as the company grew. I established a separate drug delivery group to develop in-licensed technology and served as Director of two subs, Meta Bio, a venture between Scios, Pfizer and 3 Harvard faculty working on products related to diabetes and obesity, and Karo Bio a venture with the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm Sweden developing steroid receptor based therapies. This was a fascinating time to be at the birth of the industry and I was fortunate to be able to take advantage of the opportunities this rapid growth allowed.

Post Doc, Biochemistry

My post doc work focused on the effect of glucocorticoids on vascular cell biology, specifically inflammation and arteriosclerosis. We.

Ph.D, Biochemistry

Bs, Chemistry/Education