Management Team
Peter C. Gonze, President
Abdallah Ennaji, Msc, Global Head, Data Management & Biostatistics and Executive Vice President
Lawrence R. Hoffman, CPA, JD, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President
Philip T. Lavin, PhD, Founder and Vice Chairman
Janet E. Moy, SPHR, Vice President, Global Human Resources
Gene Resnick, MD, President, Averion Oncology Business Unit.
Founder and Executive Vice President
Mary Riggs, RN, MS, Global Head, Clinical Operations and Executive Vice President
John Shillingford, PhD, Vice President, Operational Excellence
Markus H. Weissbach, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer and Executive Chairman
Peter C. Gonze
President, Averion International Corp.
Mr. Gonze oversees Averion's global operations and business development activities. He has over thirty years of healthcare industry experience. Mr. Gonze has extensive leadership experience developing and commercializing products at biotech, pharmaceutical, device and consumer healthcare companies. He has broad experience in all aspects of commercial operations having held senior level positions in general management, commercial operations and business development with pharmaceutical and biotech companies including: GlaxoSmithKline, SanofiAventis, Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Diagnostics, Medisense, AltaRex and most recently at United Therapeutics.
Abdallah Ennaji, MSc
Global Head, Data Management & Statistics and Executive Vice President, Averion International Corp.
Mr. Ennaji joined Averion through the acquisition of Hesperion, where he served as Hesperion's Chief Operating Officer and previously as the Head of Data Management and Statistics.
He brings to Averion 7 years of managerial experience in biometrics, over 13 years of experience as a Statistician in Clinical Research, and 6 years of academic experience in teaching and research positions.
Mr. Ennaji has an MSc in Statistics and an MSc in Informatics and Data Processing.
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Lawrence R. Hoffman, CPA, JD
Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Averion International Corp.
Mr. Hoffman has more than 30 years of corporate finance, accounting, legal and operational experience. For the past four years, he has served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary and Chief Financial Officer at Encorium Group (formerly Covalent Group, Inc.), a publicly traded contract research organization. There he added shareholder value through many accomplishments, including leading the company’s growth through acquisition initiatives and spearheading a return to profitability. Prior to that, Mr. Hoffman was an independent consultant for a number of biopharmaceutical and public utility companies, providing financial and corporate governance expertise. He previously served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of publicly traded biopharmaceutical companies Cytogen Corporation and The Liposome Company, Inc.
Mr. Hoffman holds a bachelor of science in business administration from LaSalle University, a Juris Doctorate from Temple University School of Law and a master of laws in taxation from Villanova University School of Law. He is a Certified Public Accountant and member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Philip T. Lavin, PhD
Founder and Vice Chairman of the Board, Averion International Corp.
Dr. Lavin provides expertise and leadership in client relationships, biostatistics, regulatory strategy and support for medical device programs, one of Averion's core therapeutic focus areas. Dr. Lavin co-founded Boston Biostatistics, Inc. in 1983 while a Biostatistics faculty member at the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Lavin has led the company from a group of Boston-based biostatistics consultants into a full-service contract research organization, which in 2001 changed its name to Averion Inc.
Dr. Lavin has participated in the design, analysis, presentation and publication of clinical studies since 1974. He authored or co-authored over 150 publications and is internationally recognized for his contributions to developing biomarkers (CA-125 and PSA), assessing prognostic factors for oncology studies, treating cardioplegia, designing Phase II cancer studies, measuring tumor response, optimizing liver and kidney transplants, characterizing infertility, defining composite endpoints, and identifying the value of limited weight loss. He has successfully supported many IDEs and INDs and has personally represented clients, leading to over 60 FDA product approvals to date. Dr Lavin has been the senior biostatistician for 42 FDA approvals including 31 PMA/HDE approvals, more than any biostatistician. Over the past twenty years, Dr. Lavin has served on three different FDA Advisory panels. He has also served as the Principal Investigator for Data Coordinating Centers for many government sponsored clinical studies. He is an active speaker at industry and professional society meetings. Dr. Lavin received his PhD in Applied Mathematics at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island in 1972.
Dr. Lavin is a member of Who’s Who in the World as well as multiple professional societies. He is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and of the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society. He has won awards from multiple professional societies. He remains hands on and available to our medical device clients.
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Janet E. Moy, SPHR
Vice President, Global Human Resources, Averion International Corp.
Ms. Moy oversees Global Human Resources and is responsible for providing strategic HR leadership to align the company's talent, organizational capability and cultural initiatives with the organizational goals.
Ms. Moy brings 20 years of human resources experience to Averion. She holds a B.S. degree in business/human resources from Capella University. Ms. Moy received her professional certification in HR in 2005 and is a graduate of Leadership Rhode Island, a nationally recognized community leadership development organization.
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Gene Resnick, MD
President, Averion Oncology Business Unit
Founder and Executive Vice President, Averion International Corp.
Dr. Resnick oversees Averion’s oncology business unit which offer our clients dedicated oncology clinical teams who are experts in running trials in support of regulatory approvals for solid tumors, hematologic malignancies and supportive care.
He provides oversight in all of Averion's oncology programs. He is experienced in working with the FDA and international regulatory agencies, and has established clinical research centers in Asia and Europe.
Dr. Resnick was the founder and owner of Millennix Inc., an Oncology-focused CRO that was acquired by Averion's predecessor company in 2005.
Dr. Resnick was previously Vice President, Clinical Research – Oncology , at the Schering-Plough Research Institute ( 1992-1997) where he was responsible for all domestic and international Phase I - III clinical research projects in oncology, including development of 12 small molecules, biologics, cytokines and gene therapy products. He participated in multiple IND/NDA filings, and led the multi-disciplinary oncology product licensing and collaboration development.
Prior to that, he was Vice President, Medical Affairs at In Vivo, Inc. (1989-1992) , where he was instrumental in expanding Company activities from Phase IV into pivotal Phase I-III clinical trials. He acted as liaison to pharmaceutical/biotech sponsors’ clinical, scientific, and medical-marketing staff, and provided expert, FDA-compliant medical monitor function.
Dr. Resnick is Board-Certified in Medical Oncology and Internal Medicine, and is a member of ASCO, DIA, AACR and ACP. He received his BS (1970) from Cornell University , and his MD (1974) from Cornell University Medical College.
Mary Riggs, RN, MS
Global Head, Clinical Operations and Executive Vice President, Averion International Corp.
Ms. Riggs oversees Global Operations, concentrating on strategy, training and enhanced quality procedures within Averion's Clinical Operations Management team.
Ms. Riggs brings over 20 years of clinical research experience in the Pharmaceutical/Device sectors, focusing on the management of clinical trials (phase I-IV) with specialization in the cardiovascular therapeutic area. Ms. Riggs has over 15 years of clinical operation management experience. Her clinical trial history includes extensive experience in CRF development, database design and testing, development of the Operations Manual, monitoring guidelines and any study-specific SOPs are written and finalized prior to site initiation. Prior to Averion, Ms. Riggs served as Vice President, Clinical Operations at TouchStone Research, Inc. and held senior management positions at Otsuka America Pharmaceuticals for over 8 years.
Ms. Riggs is a registered nurse and is a Captain in the U.S. Navy. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from The Catholic University of America and a Master of Science degree from Georgetown University.
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John Shillingford, PhD
Vice President, Operational Excellence, Averion International Corp.
Dr. Shillingford has had extensive experience across the whole of Europe and has successfully commenced and managed Operations in the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
Dr. Shillingford joined Averion with over 25 years of Pharmaceutical and Contract Research industry experience. He has worked in all phases of drug development and has managed clinical research projects in Eastern and Western Europe, and in North America on behalf of clients from Japan, the USA and Europe. Most recently, he has held senior positions in Management, Clinical Operations and Project Management for PRA International and Imform GmbH.
Markus H. Weissbach, MD, PhD
Chief Medical Officer and Executive Chairman, Averion International Corp.
In his role of Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Weissbach oversees Averion's Medical Affairs activities, inclusive of pharmacovigilance reporting and medical monitoring and also works with clients in strategic planning, clinical study development, and regulatory representation. He also provides client suppport in our cardiovascular business, one of Averion's core therapeutic focus areas. In his role of Executive Chairman, he focuses on strategy, planning and improving company-wide processes. After the Hesperion acquisition, he served as Averion's CEO and previously held the positions of CEO and Chief Operating Officer at Hesperion.
Dr. Weissbach brings to Averion, over 18 years of clinical research management experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He is a fully qualified MD (Bern, Freiburg) with internships in Surgery, Intensive Care Medicine, Cardiology and Oncology.
Dr. Weissbach's previous positions include International Medical Director for Cardiology & Nephrology at Knoll AG, Director of Clinical Research at Takeda Euro R&D Center and Managing Director and President of Icon Europe.