James Sapirstein, RPh., M.B.A.
Previously, James was CEO and President of Tobira Therapeutics, a Manalapan, NJ- based biopharmaceutical company developing novel compounds for HIV/AIDS and inflammatory diseases. There he brought his 26 years of pharmaceutical experience, 20 years of management experience and 21 years of Infectious Disease specialty focus. Prior to Tobira, James’ most recent role was as the Executive Vice President of the Metabolic and Endocrinology Business Unit at Serono, Inc., where he gained his experience working with biological products. He joined Serono in 2002 with the responsibility for turning around a failing HIV/AIDS franchise while growing a struggling pediatric growth hormone business. In his role as Business Unit Head, James built and led a team of over 100 people that commercialized Serostim®, Saizen® and Zorbtive® in the United States.
Prior to joining Serono, James worked at Gilead Sciences where was responsible for the global launch of Gileads flagship product, Viread®. He joined Gilead after working at Bristol-Myers Squibb where he served as the head of the its International HIV business as well working in their Infectious Disease marketing teams. He launched several products at BMS including Videx EC®, Zerit®, Tequin®, Maxipime® and Cefzil®. In addition, he helped launch SENTRY, BMS worldwide Surveillance program for Infectious Diseases with Ron Jones of the University of Iowa. James was also instrumental in initiating BMS 100 million dollar Secure the Future program which provided funding for clinical trials and educational development throughout Southern Africa.
Prior to BMS, James spent almost 10 years with Hoffmann-LaRoche in a variety of capacities ranging from marketing and sales positions to international posts. He was involved with several product launches at Roche such as Ceftin®, Hivid®, Invirase®, Rocephin®, Tasmar® and Toradol®. James started his career at Eli Lilly in sales right after attaining his pharmacy degree. He was involved in the promotion of Lilly’s antibiotic line specifically their hospital products.
In addition to his pharmacy degree from Rutgers University and Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, he holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Farleigh Dickinson University. He has also worked in numerous other specialties outside of Infectious Diseases including Dermatology, Neurology, Anesthesia, Oncology, Cardiology, Gastroenterology and Pain Management.
