Management Team

Azaya’s management team is led by Michael T. Dwyer, President & CEO, David Holmes, CFO, and Jeffrey Kahl, Ph.D., Vice President of Research & Development.

The team shares several decades of biomedical R&D and biotechnology company management experience, including founding, growing and financing early stage biopharmaceutical ventures and successfully managing the clinical development and obtaining FDA approval of cancer therapeutics.

The Company is intentionally being managed with a small number of full time employees and it supplements its founders and internal management team by leveraging the expertise of various advisors and topic area experts on a recurring basis. As additional funding is obtained by the Company it will expand its internal workforce, as needed, to manage all of its development programs.

Michael T. Dwyer, President, CEO and Director
Mr. Dwyer joined Azaya from Ingenix Pharmaceutical Services (i3 Research), a global contract research subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, where he served as senior vice president and chief administrative officer. I3 Research has more than 1,200 employees in 20 countries with clinical trials being conducted in more than 45 countries. Prior to i3 Research, Mr. Dwyer held a number of executive management positions with ILEX Oncology, Inc. in San Antonio. Throughout his tenure, he served as the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Business Officer and as the President and COO of ILEX’s global oncology contract research business. Mr. Dwyer was instrumental in the development and approval of Campath® (alemtuzumab).

David Holmes, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Holmes joined Azaya in January 2009 as the chief financial officer. Prior to that time, he served as director of investor relations at Kinetic Conceptsm Inc. (KCI), a global medical technology company with leadership positions in advanced wound care, surgical biologics, and therapeutic support systems. Prior to KCI, Mr. Holmes was a senior vice president at USAA, a global financial services company based in San Antonio, Texas. While at USAA, he served as chief financial officer for their investment management, life insurance, and mutual fund divisions. Mr. Holmes is a graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio and is a certified public accountant.

Jeffrey D. Kahl, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Development
Dr. Kahl joined Azaya as Vice President, Research and Development from BioNumerik Pharmaceuticals, where he served as R&D Project Director and Chemistry Group Leader. Prior to BioNumerik, Dr. Kahl spent several years in the biopharmaceutical industry in San Diego, California, contributing as a medicinal chemist to the discovery of small molecule drug entities for the treatment of various diseases. In addition to key scientific discoveries, Dr. Kahl has successfully managed early discovery efforts, initiating enabling studies for IND submissions. Dr. Kahl received his Ph.D. from Texas Tech University, where he trained as a synthetic organic chemist. After completing his graduate degree, Dr. Kahl was a post-doctoral fellow at Colorado State University under the tutelage of Professor Albert I. Meyers, a world renowned synthetic chemist.