TAMPA, Fla., May 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Teewinot Life Sciences Corporation, a global leader in the biosynthetic development and production of cannabinoids and their derivatives for health and wellness needs, today announced recent changes to the executive leadership team:
- Michael Luther, Ph.D., MBA has joined Teewinot as president and chief executive officer
- Steve Orndorff, Ph.D. has joined the company as chief operating officer
- Jeff Mathiesen, CPA has joined the company as chief financial officer
Collectively, the new management team brings decades of experience in successfully building and leading biopharmaceutical life sciences companies, as well as significant expertise in drug development.
“We are privileged to have such an esteemed group of biotech industry veterans join and lead Teewinot as the company embarks on the next stage of growth, specifically the advancement of our impressive proprietary platform for the development and manufacturing of an unprecedented range of cannabinoids,” said Charles Brink, J.D., chairman of the board of Teewinot. “With the addition of Michael, Steve and Jeff to the senior management team, we are confident that Teewinot will continue to lead the industry in the generation and production of biosynthetic cannabinoids for both therapeutics and consumer health products.”
Dr. Luther added, “I am excited and honored to join Teewinot as President and CEO. I look forward to guiding the company as we advance our revolutionary cannabinoid platform. Teewinot’s approach uniquely addresses the urgent need for the generation and development of cannabinoid products of high purity and consistency, including use in FDA regulated products, while enabling us to build on the current state of knowledge in the space through rigorous R&D. We are already putting in place strategic partnerships from platform to production to rapidly advance projects for both the pharmaceutical and consumer markets.”
The new management team joins Teewinot as the company is advancing its focus on its biosynthetic platform to produce a wide range of rare cannabinoids as well as analogs for both pharmaceutical and consumer use.
Michael Luther, Ph.D., MBA – President and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Luther has 30+ years of extensive expertise in building, implementing and successfully leading biopharmaceutical companies and operations. His experiences include leadership roles ranging from virtual start-ups to leading major divisions for global pharmaceutical companies with roles in drug development, manufacturing, and business development. Dr. Luther served as president and CEO of Bantam Pharmaceutical, senior VP of discovery and development at AMRI, Inc., VP and head of R&D at Merck-Canada and VP of discovery at GSK. Dr. Luther holds a B.S. in Biology and Chemistry from North Carolina State, an MBA from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the St. Louis University School of Medicine.
Steve Orndorff, Ph.D. – Chief Operating Officer
Dr. Orndorff is a seasoned business executive, scientist and serial entrepreneur with 30 years of experience in the biotechnology industry in various roles of management, business development, R&D, commercialization and manufacturing. Prior to Teewinot, Dr. Orndorff served as president and CEO of IM Therapeutics, president and CEO of MicroBiome Therapeutics LLC and founder and CEO of Accera, Inc. He is past chairman of Colorado Institute for Drug, Device and Diagnostic Development. Dr. Orndorff holds a B.S. in Biology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Maryland.
Jeff Mathiesen, CPA – Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Mathiesen has three decades of financial leadership experience as CFO of several publicly traded life sciences and technology-based companies with global operations. He has led companies through three IPOs, multiple public and private financings and several M&A transactions along with infrastructure development. Prior to Teewinot, Mr. Mathiesen served as CFO of Gemphire Therapeutics, Inc., Sunshine Heart, Inc., and Recovery Engineering, Inc. He also serves as director and audit committee chair of both public and private life sciences companies. He holds a B.S. in Accounting from the University of South Dakota.
About Teewinot Life Sciences
Teewinot Life Sciences is a global leader in the biosynthetic development and production of cannabinoids and their derivatives for health and wellness needs. The company is leveraging a unique proprietary biocatalytic and chemical synthesis platform that allows for the production of an unprecedented range of core cannabinoids and novel chemical entities, while assuring the high purity and consistency of their products required for FDA approval. Teewinot is revolutionizing the synthetic cannabinoid space by implementing a cost-effective, commercial scale approach to meet the global growing demand of cannabinoid-based products, with the potential to serve a large number of unmet and underserved medical needs.
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