VBS Pharmaceuticals Team
David M. Mann
CEO and Chairman
As the inventor of the endoarterial biopsy catheter and founder of Vascular BioSciences, Mr. Mann has led Vascular BioSciences since its inception in 1995, and VBS Pharmaceuticals since 2004.
Mr. Mann has been awarded 16 patents both U.S. and foreign, is a co-author of 7 scientific publications and has 8 years experience developing and testing the endoarterial biopsy catheter in an animal model. Prior to founding Vascular BioSciences,
Mr. Mann was company scientist for Pearce Structures, where he developed and implemented leak detection systems to build Biosphere II, the world’s largest airtight structure. Mr. Mann holds an engineering physics degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Erkki Ruoslahti, M.D., Ph.D.
VBS Pharmaceuticals Co-Founder
Distinguished Professor and Director of the Vascular Mapping Center at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research at the University of California Santa Barbara. Dr. Ruoslahti is an internationally recognized scientist in the areas of vascular targeting peptide technology, vascular biology, cell adhesion, and tumor biology. Dr. Ruoslahti served as President and CEO of the Burnham Institute from 1989 to 2001, has published more than 400 scientific papers, and is the inventor of more than 150 patents. His inventions form the basis of two clinically used drugs as well as several that are under development. He has co-founded several biotech companies and has served as a director or advisory board member of these and other companies. His honors include: elected membership to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the European Molecular Biology Organization. He is the recipient of the G.H.A. Clowes Award, Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation Award, Jacobaeus International Prize, The Jubilee Award given by the British Biomedical Society. He was a Nobel Fellow at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm in 1995, and is an Honorary Doctor of Medicine from the University of Lund, as well as a Knight of the Order of the White Rose of Finland. Dr. Ruoslahti is the recipient of the 2005 Japan Prize in Cell Biology.
Click to read more about Dr. Ruoslahti.
Masanobu Komatsu, Ph.D.
Special Consultant for R-Ras Therapeutics
Associate Professor at The University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Medicine. Dr. Komatsu is a recognized expert in the role of R-Ras in blood vessel homeostasis. His research focuses on the regulation of vascular cells by R-Ras in regenerating blood vessels. R-Ras is a small GTPase of Ras family that activates integrins and antagonizes H-Ras-Raf signaling. Dr. Komatsu’s studies demonstrate that R-Ras signaling suppresses proliferation of mitogen-stimulated endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells and promotes their quiescence in the pathologically remodeling blood vessels. Dr. Komatsu’s research targets R-Ras signaling for therapeutic approaches to treat pathological vascular disorders such as tumor angiogenesis and arterial atherosclerosis.
Click to read more about Dr. Komatsu.
Robert D. Foster
VBS Pharmaceuticals Board of Directors
Mr. Foster has over 20 years experience in corporate management of medical device development and manufacturing companies. He is the founder of Avalon Laboratories, the world’s largest OEM manufacturer of heart cannula used in cardiac surgery. He founded the company in 1990, sold it to Medtronic in 1996 and repurchased it from Medtronic in 2002. Mr. Foster is a co-founder, president and member of the board of directors of Vascular BioSciences. Mr. Foster is also the former president and principal shareholder of Polaris Plastics, a diversified plastic molding company, currently a division of Mark IV Industries.
Jacob Reinbolt
Corporate Counsel
Mr. Reinbolt is a partner at Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP, one of San Diego’s oldest and largest law firms. Mr. Reinbolt is a member of Procopio’s intellectual property team. He was the firm's Intellectual Property Team Leader from 2001 - 2006. His practice emphasizes computer law, intellectual property (trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and patents), Internet law, securities law, franchising, corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and licensing. Mr. Reinbolt received his undergraduate degree in finance and economics (double major), magna cum laude, in 1981 from Miami University, and his law degree in 1984 from the University of Michigan Law School. Mr. Reinbolt has published over 40 articles and manuscripts on intellectual property, corporate law, computer law and Internet Law. Mr. Reinbolt is Special Legal Counsel for the City of San Diego for Intellectual Property, Internet, and E-Government matters. Mr. Reinbolt was selected as one of the Top 10 intellectual property transactional attorneys in San Diego by The San Diego Daily Transcript in 2006.
Susana Peinado
Communications Director
Ms. Peinado has 10 years experience in writing, editing, marketing and corporate communications, and holds a Bachelor’s degree from Grinnell College. Ms. Peinado is currently a Masters Candidate in Communications at Johns Hopkins University’s Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences in Washington, D.C. Ms. Peinado manages our VBS Pharmaceuticals East office.
