Brief History

Flatley Discovery Lab LogoTo my colleagues and friends:

I'm please to announce that effective the first of March 2013 I assumed the positon of Vice President for Development for the Flatley Discovery Lab (FDL) in Charlestown, MA.  The FDL is a privately held, not for profit corporation devoted exclusively to discovering and developing novel therapeutics for cystic fibrosis.  In the capacity of VPD I coordinate the FDL team responsible for transitioning clinical candidate small molecules from the laboratory to early phase clinical trials.

Please visit FDL at http://www.flatleydiscoverylab.com

 

Prior to its acquisition in 2011 Dr. Ferkany was  Vice President for Development at Surface Logix, Inc. in Brighton, Massachusetts a position he assumed in  2007. He joined Surface Logix in 2005 as Vice President of Biology bringing over 20 years of experience from the biotechnology, biopharmaceutical and contract research management industries. Prior to joining Surface Logix, Dr. Ferkany served as Senior Vice President for Virtual Drug Development Incorporated, a privately held biotechnology company engaged in developing therapeutic strategies for biodefense. Dr. Ferkany has also served as Vice President and Chief Technical Officer of NovaScreen BioSciences Corporation, (now a division of Perkin/Elmer) an international contract research organization providing screening, profiling and assay development services for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide, and for government agencies including the National Institutes of Health. He also headed his own consulting firm focused on regulatory preclinical drug development. He started his career as head of the Central Nervous Research group at Nova Pharmaceutical Corporation, the first successful biotechnology spin-out from the Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Ferkany has a B.S. in Zoology from the University of Michigan, a doctoral degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Texas at Houston, and a Masters of Administrative Sciences awarded from the Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business in Baltimore.

Since the buyout of Surface Logix, Dr. Ferkany has devoted a significant amount of effort to eatablishing  Give-A-Buck.org, a novel internet based charity organization which he founded in 2012.

Skills & Experience

 

Management & Planning

 

  • infrastructure, operational and strategic R&D planning at the executive level;
  • demonstrated ability to successfully manage complex, highly matrixed, cross-functional projects engaging internal and external resources in a collaborative, team-oriented manner.
  • extensive experience with external relationships with CROs and partners;
  • documented success in discovery research, lead selection, preclinical safety campaigns, as well as clinical trials for multiple portfolio assets;
  • considerable understanding of the academic environment gained via industry/academic collaborations, as well as editorial, grant review, and grant administration activities;
  • a leadership history of building research groups including attracting talent to new operations as well as mentoring talented individuals in order to advance their careers; and
  • over two decades of “hands on” experience participating in the physical creation and intellectual evolution of companies from “start-up” to acquisition.

 

Technical & Scientific

  • analytical, written and verbal skills consistent with senior management requirements;
  • exposure to drug R&D in multiple therapeutic areas including oncology, anti-infectives, central nervous system disorders, CV/metabolic disease, and inflammation;
  • direct research or executive management of medicinal chemistry, in vitro drug identification, in vivo drug characterization for therapeutic and behavioral effects, PK/PD evaluations, preclinical safety, toxicology, as well as significant portions of the chemistry and manufacturing controls campaign (e.g., drug stability, drug characterization, etc.);
  • a superior understanding of regulatory drug development requirements;
  • experience with all aspects of early stage clinical trial design, protocol, IMPD and IB development, clinical data analysis and clinical report generation; and
  • successful compilation and filing of multiple IND’s and CTA’s required for clinical trials.