Oct 15, 2006
One of the many service offerings of Ashton Tweed is the unique ability to access the Ashton Tweed Executive Talent Bank to engage “just-in-time” talent to solve specific problems where hiring a permanent employee does not make sense or is not affordable. The availability of these highly skilled Interim Executives offers the advantage of the speed with which you can have a person with the right experience working as part of your management team. A case in point is the situation Lux Biosciences, Inc encountered in working with Ashton Tweed.
Lux Biosciences is a drug development organization with a focus on ophthalmologic compounds and a unique form of drug delivery. They don’t do the basic research. They license innovative drugs from research organizations and take them through the development process. They were looking for a seasoned Executive to manage the product development process and manufacturing of a specialty product they had licensed.
Jordan Warshafsky was introduced to Lux Biosciences by Prof. Joachim Kohn, a renowned research scientist from Rutgers University. Mr. Warshafsky first contacted Dr. Ulrich Grau, president and CEO of Lux. After learning about the needs of the company and the urgency of filling the position, Mr. Warshafsky went to work to find an appropriate candidate.
Using his network and the Ashton Tweed Executive Talent Bank, Mr. Warshafsky contacted a former colleague, Dr. Joseph Fix, “who was a perfect match for their criteria,” says Jordan. “Joe had many years experience in global product development in the area of drug delivery for companies such as Elan, NanoSystems and Cydex. He had started his own consulting practice out of Kansas City, KS and the model of interim employment appealed to him.”
Initially, the management team at Lux Biosciences was looking for a full time, permanent employee, someone who could work out of their offices in Jersey City, NJ. “After a review of Joe’s credentials and a telephone interview with Joe,” says Clarke Atwell, the COO of Lux Biosciences, “we were sure that Joe could fill the role, even given the fact that he would not be located in Jersey City. We were especially pleased that the entire process took less than two weeks.”
And how has the situation worked out? According to Clarke, “Joe has exceeded all of our expectations, he combines significant experience, a sense of urgency and the unique ability to look for solutions in a very demanding project and I cannot say enough good things about him!”
The task that Dr. Fix is managing is complex. His role has been to identify companies for delivery of raw materials, processing, manufacturing, packaging and sterilization. In addition to identifying these companies, Joe has put the program in place, from conducting due diligence to overseeing the logistics. In the end co-location with the Lux management team was not as critical as originally thought.
From Joe’s point of view, “The people at Lux Biosciences are a wonderful group to work with. Although this particular project will only last up to the clinical trial stage, I’d be glad to work with them on development of additional products.”
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