Michael Cola
Michael Cola has served as the Chairman of our board of directors since December 2006. Mr. Cola has served as President, Specialty Pharmaceuticals at Shire plc, or Shire, a global specialty pharmaceutical company, since June 2005. Prior to joining Shire, Mr. Cola served as Group President of Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., or Safeguard, a holding company for growth stage technology and life sciences companies, and in a variety of positions at AstraZeneca and AstraMerck, including Vice President, Global Clinical Operations. Mr. Cola has also served on the board of directors of Clarient, Inc., a publicly traded company. Mr. Cola holds a BA in biology and physics from Ursinus College and an MS in biomedical science from Drexel University. Mr. Cola has more than 20 years of international pharmaceutical industry experience. Mr. Cola’s extensive expertise in pharmaceutical product development, commercialization and marketing, as well as his involvement in the development of public pharmaceutical companies, have provided him with a broad perspective on operations and make him a valuable asset to our board of directors. Furthermore, Mr. Cola’s leadership abilities make him particularly well qualified to be our Chairman.
