Chair of the Board

Mr. Kavuru, 54, has served as a director of the Corporation since August 2021. He has created and led several pharmaceutical companies. Mr. Kavuru brings, in his vision and management, a broad-based understanding of the global pharmaceutical industry with expertise in strategic planning, product and business development, and operations. In addition to previously serving as the Chairman of the Grace Therapeutics Inc. (“Grace Therapeutics”) board of directors, Mr. Kavuru is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Rising Pharma Holdings, Inc., a U.S. generic pharmaceutical company, and Acetris Pharma Holdings, LLC, a generic pharmaceutical company serving U.S. government agencies, positions Mr. Kavuru has held since January 2013 and January 2016, respectively. Previously, Mr. Kavuru founded Citron Pharma and Lucid Pharma, each of which were sold to Aceto Corporation in 2016, Casper Pharma LLC, an emerging specialty brand pharmaceutical company, and Gen-Source RX, a national distributor of generic pharmaceuticals that was acquired by Cardinal Health in 2014. In 2007, Mr. Kavuru also co-founded Celon Labs, a specialty oncology and critical care pharmaceutical company that was acquired by Zanzibar Pharma Limited, a portfolio company of CDC Group. Mr. Kavuru was initially elected to the Board as a nominee of former shareholders of Grace Therapeutics in connection with the Corporation’s acquisition of Grace Therapeutics. He is a registered pharmacist in the state of New York, holds a B.S. in Pharmacy from HKE College of Pharmacy, Bulgarga, India, and attended Long Island University, Brooklyn, New York with specialization in industrial pharmacy. The Board believes that Mr. Kavuru’s management experience in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as his operational expertise, qualify him to serve on the Board.

Chief Executive Officer and Director

Prashant Kohli, 51, has served as the Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer since April 2023. He has over 20 years of commercialization experience leading strategy, sales, marketing, and product management. Prior to joining Acasti in August 2021, Mr. Kohli was VP, Commercial Operations of Grace Therapeutics since December 2017. He has expertise crafting go-to-market plans for products with unique value proposition that address critical unmet needs. He has built, deployed, and led sales and marketing from the ground-up with significant experience in organization design, recruiting, performance management, incentive compensation, and P&L accountability. He has successfully implemented evidence-based, consultative-selling model that is rooted in deep understanding of the health ecosystem including patients, providers, health systems, government, and payers. He has also designed strategic marketing plans that generate leads and increase share-of-voice, augmenting the salesforce with digital tactics that increase reach and frequency. He has extensive commercial experience with specialty and small molecule drugs including in rare and orphan diseases. Mr. Kohli has worked at Archi-Tech Systems, Cardinal Health, IMS Health, Rosenbluth, and Dun & Bradstreet. He has a BA in Computer Science and Math from Augustana College and an MBA from The Wharton School. The Board believes that Mr. Kohli’s extensive industry and management experience, including his experience as Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation, qualify him to serve on the Board.

Director

Mr. Davis, 56, has nearly three decades of experience as a Chief Financial Officer and other executive financial positions in commercial and development-stage publicly traded life science companies.  Mr. Davis has extensive knowledge and background related to public company accounting and financial reporting rules and regulations as well as the evaluation of financial results, internal controls and business processes. Since December 2021, Mr. Davis has been the Chief Financial Officer of XyloCor Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage gene therapy company developing potential therapies for patients with cardiovascular disease.  Mr. Davis was the Chief Financial Officer of Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc., a publicly traded, NDA-stage dermatology therapeutics company, from October 2019 to July 2021. Prior to joining Verrica, Mr. Davis was the Chief Financial Officer of Strongbridge Biopharma plc, a public commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, from March 2015 to September 2019. Mr. Davis was previously the Chief Financial Officer at Tengion, Inc., a publicly traded regenerative medicine company until Tengion, Inc. filed for bankruptcy in December 2014, and Neose Technologies, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company. Mr. Davis is licensed as a certified public accountant, and received a B.S. in accounting from Trenton State College and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.  The Board believes Mr. Davis’ experience serving as the chief financial officer at several other publicly traded biopharmaceutical companies as well as his knowledge and keen understanding of the issues facing biopharmaceutical companies position qualify him to serve on the Board.

Director

Dr. Kottayil, 60, has over two decades of experience in the pharmaceutical industry with specific expertise in product development and drug delivery. He has several approved patents to his credit and is an inventor on multiple US FDA approved drug products, a few that have achieved significant success. He co-founded two pharmaceutical drug development and drug delivery technology companies and was CEO and a member of its board of directors. Most recently, from October 2014, he co-founded and was CEO and Director of Grace Therapeutics Inc., a drug delivery company with a focus on rare and orphan disease which was acquired by Acasti Pharma Inc. in August 2021. Dr. Kottayil served as the Corporation’s Chief Operating Officer from September 2021 to May 2023. Dr. Kottayil has held senior positions in product development, business operations and general management at small to medium life science companies, successfully advancing drug products from bench to FDA approval and launch.  He is the principal inventor of SUBSYS® – sublingual fentanyl spray that was approved by the FDA in 2012 for the treatment of breakthrough cancer pain. SUBSYS achieved peak annual sales of about US$200M and is the only product in its space that has shown statistically significant pain relief at 5 minutes (SPID 5). He directed business operations at Unimed Pharmaceuticals Inc., a division of Solvay Pharmaceuticals, now Abbvie.  He played a key role in product development and obtaining FDA approval for the company’s NDA products most notably ANDROGEL®. ANDROGEL was the market leader in male hormone replacement therapy for well over a decade with peak annual revenues exceeding US$1 billion. ANDROGEL when launched in 2000 redefined the male hormone replacement therapy market which until then was well below US$50 million and was primarily served by ANDRODERM® patch and deep intra-muscular injections. He was instrumental in formulating and executing the strategy that resulted in the down-scheduling (CII to CIII – a first in the prescription drug industry) of the controlled prescription drug MARINOL® by the US DEA. MARINOL® was approved by the FDA for antiemesis in cancer chemotherapy and AIDS related wasting. It achieved peak annual sales of over US$200M post re-scheduling by the FDA and DEA. Dr. Kottayil graduated with a Ph.D. in Organic and Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Kentucky. The Board believes that Dr. Kottayil’s extensive industry and management experience, including his in-depth knowledge and leadership in successfully executing multiple pharmaceutical and clinical drug development programs that resulted in securing US FDA approval, qualify him to serve on the Board.

Director

Mr. Neugeboren, 54, has over three decades of healthcare experience in pharmaceutical operations, business development, corporate management, investment banking, asset management and institutional equity research. Since January of 2016, Mr. Neugeboren has served as the Chief Strategy Officer of Cronus Pharma, LLC, a fully integrated R&D, manufacturing and sales & marketing pharmaceutical company and at which Mr. Kavuru is a principal. Mr. Neugebroren leads Cronus Pharma’s commercial operations, strategic planning and acquisitions and is also responsible for developing and executing overall corporate strategy as well as corporate and portfolio acquisitions and licensing. Previously, Mr. Neugeboren was the Chief Strategy Officer for the parent pharmaceutical group comprised of Rising Pharma Holdings, Inc., a generic pharmaceutical company and Casper Pharma, LLC, a specialty pharmaceutical company. Additionally, Mr. Neugeboren is Founder and Managing Partner of QuadView Healthcare Advisors, previously named ArcLight Advisors, LLC, a healthcare investment banking and business development firm. Mr. Neugeboren was previously a Managing Director of Ledgemont Capital Group, LLC, an investment banking firm providing strategic and financial advisory services to emerging healthcare and technology companies. Mr. Neugeboren was also a Managing Partner of Third Ridge Capital Management, LLC, a long/short U.S. equity hedge fund. Mr. Neugeboren was a managing member of Ledgemont Capital Group, LLC when it filed for voluntary bankruptcy in May 2013. Mr. Neugeboren holds Series 24, 7 and 63 Finra security licenses and has graduated with a BA in Economics from Union College. The Board believes that Mr. Neugeboren’s extensive healthcare experience in pharmaceutical operations, including his experience as Chief Strategy Officer of Cronus Pharma, LLC, qualify him to serve on the Board.

Barrow Neuroscience

Andrew Ducruet, MD, is an endovascular neurosurgeon at Barrow Neurological Institute at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. He is board certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery.

Dr. Ducruet’s practice is focused on the use of minimally invasive endovascular techniques to treat patients with vascular disease of the brain and spinal cord. He is an active member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, and the Society of Neurointerventional Surgery.

Dr. Ducruet attended Princeton University and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in chemistry. He received his medical degree from Columbia University’s College of Physicians & Surgeons in New York City and also completed his residency in neurosurgery at Columbia University Medical Center. He then completed a two-year postgraduate fellowship in endovascular neurosurgery at Barrow. Dr. Ducruet practiced for three years as an assistant professor of neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh before returning to Barrow in 2016, where he has continued his highly-specialized practice of neuroendovascular surgery.  He currently serves as the surgical director of the BNI Intensive Care Unit, and the Associate Program Director for the Neuroendovascular Surgery fellowship at the BNI.

Dr. Ducruet’s research focuses on ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. His laboratory performs basic and translational research using experimental models of cerebral ischemia, with the ultimate goal of developing novel therapeutic strategies for patients with stroke. Dr. Ducruet also performs clinical research and has served as a principal investigator of multiple clinical trials investigating new strategies for stroke treatment.

Community Health Partners

Dr. R. Loch Macdonald is a scientist, researcher and neurosurgeon and a recognized expert on brain hemorrhage, including subarachnoid hemorrhage and delayed cerebral ischemia. For the past 25 years, his research interest has focused on improving patient outcome after brain hemorrhage, with a specific focus on developing a cure for cerebral vasospasm and DCI. Dr. Macdonald was the former Head, Division of Neurosurgery, St. Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto and Chief Scientific Officer of Edge Therapeutics, Inc. Dr. Macdonald has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles and authored multiple textbooks, including one of the definitive textbooks on cerebral vasospasm. His publications have been cited thousands of times and he has spoken at many national and international conferences on the topic of subarachnoid hemorrhage, cerebral vasospasm and delayed cerebral ischemia. Prior to St. Michael’s Hospital, he was Professor of Surgery and Radiation & Cellular Oncology at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Dr. Macdonald completed medical school at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and completed his Ph.D. in Experimental Surgery at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He completed his Neurosurgery residency at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is currently a neurosurgeon, medical director of neurovascular surgery and of research at Community Neurosciences Institute, Community Health Partners in Fresno, California.

Memorial Hermann Hospital

Dr. Alex Choi is an Associate Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery at UTHealth Houston/ McGovern Medical School. He is Director of Neurocritical Care at Memorial Hermann Hospital. The neurocritical care program at Memorial Hermann is one of largest and busiest in the country with 77 dedicated neurocritical care beds across 3 hospitals in the city of Houston.

Dr. Choi attended Cornell University, Ithaca, NY and graduated with a degree in Neurobiology. He received his medical degree from Columbia University’s College of Physicians & Surgeons in New York City and completed his residency in neurology at Columbia University Medical Center at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He then completed a three-year neurocritical care fellowship in Columbia University Medical Center where he was on a T32 training grant to study cardiopulmonary consequences of SAH.

Dr. Choi’s primary research focus has been the study of pathophysiological processes after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and the development of interventional treatments to improve patient lives after this devastating disease. To that end, he has conducted several clinical trials to examine the potential for therapeutic interventions after SAH. Most of his research is in the realm of clinical translational research. He focuses on using translational and bioinformatics tools to study the clinical pathophysiologic processes seen at the bedside.

W. Taylor Kimberly, MD PhD is Chief of the Division of Neurocritical Care, and a stroke and critical care neurologist in the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Clinically, he primarily cares for patients in the Neuroscience ICU as part of an integrated and multi-disciplinary team, coordinating care with Neurosurgery and Neuroendovascular specialists. He sees Neuro ICU patients in follow-up in outpatient clinic as part of the NeuroRecovery clinical team. He serves on several hospital-based and national committees that focus on clinical guideline development and care improvement.

Dr. Kimberly's research group is located in the Center for Genomic Medicine (Kimberly Lab), and studies metabolomic and neuroimaging biomarkers of subarachnoid hemorrhage, stroke and cerebral edema. The goal of his research is to identify novel pathways and candidate therapeutic targets for the treatment of acute brain injury. Dr. Kimberly has co-led multi-site, randomized, placebo-controlled trials in the prevention of brain edema, and currently co-leads an international phase 3 trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of intravenous glibenclamide for the prevention of brain edema after large hemispheric stroke.

Dr. Alejandro A. Rabinstein is Professor of Neurology at Mayo Clinic and a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN). Hs is also boarded in Vascular Neurology and Neurocritical Care. He currently serves as Chair of the Division of Neurocritical Care and Hospital Neurology at Mayo Clinic, Rochester. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology (FAAN), the American Neurological Association (FANA), the American Heart Association (FAHA) and the Neurocritical Care Society (FNCS). He has authored over 700 papers, 12 books and multiple chapters on various topics related to Neurocritical Care and Stroke. He is currently Associate Editor of the journals JAMA Open and Neurocritical Care, Assistant Editor of Stroke, and section editor for UpToDate.

Dr. Sherry H-Y Chou, MD MSc. is Chief of Neurocritical Care Division in the Department of Neurology and Associate Professor of Neurology (Neurocritical Care) at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and Medical Director of the Neuro/Spine ICU at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Dr. Chou is a fellow of the Neurocritical Care Society (FNCS) and a fellow of critical care medicine (FCCM), and serves on the board of directors for the Neurocritical Care Society (NCS).

Dr. Chou is a physician-scientist with expertise in clinical neurology, neurocritical care and vascular neurology. Dr. Chou's research program focuses on the role of inflammation and immune response in vascular brain injuries and biomarker discovery, particularly in subarachnoid hemorrhage. Dr. Chou is an expert in clinical biomarker discovery and multicenter clinical trials in critically ill patient with SAH. Dr. Chou has led the biomarker section in large international collaboratives such as the National Institute of Neurological Disorders SAH common data element (CDE) in biospecimens and biomarkers.