Management Team

Edwin J. Thomas – CEO

A biotechnology executive and entrepreneur, Mr. Thomas has been principal and founder of several successful life science companies, creating value for investors, and achieving timely and profitable exits.  He has occupied leadership positions (CEO, COO, CFO) at Precision Pharmaceuticals (Gainesville, FL – anti-inflammatories), CMI (Princeton, NJ – antivirals), and Avid Therapeutics (Philadelphia, PA – antivirals).  Before Eleison, Mr. Thomas was COO of Provid Pharmaceuticals (North Brunswick, NJ), a hybrid company engaged in the discovery and development of autoimmune disease therapeutics, and a fee-for-service medicinal chemistry provider to the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, where he continues to serve on the Board of Directors.  Prior to his tenure in the biotech field, Mr. Thomas was CFO of Nobel Learning Communities, Inc. (Nasdaq: NLCI), an early education services provider. Mr. Thomas studied biochemistry and economics at the University of Pennsylvania (Bachelor of Science), and received his Masters in Business Administration from The Wharton School.

Forrest Anthony, MD, PhD – President and Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Anthony is a biopharmaceutical industry executive and entrepreneur, specializing in clinical development of new cancer drugs.  He has recently served as the senior medical executive at venture-financed small companies (Onconova Therapeutics, and Protarga).  He was CEO of Avid Corporation which he cofounded in 1991 with Nobel Laureate Baruch Blumberg, and sold to Triangle Pharmaceuticals in 1997. Dr. Anthony’s first successful venture was a biosafety testing laboratory he started in Camden, NJ (1987) with affiliated labs in Scotland and Belgium. He started his career at Johnson & Johnson, and Sanofi Aventis.  Dr. Anthony has a B.A. and Masters of Medical Science from Dartmouth, an M.D. from the University of Oregon, and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Virginia.  Dr. Anthony served as President of the Association of Biotechnology Companies, then as a founding board member of BIO, the premier trade association for the biotechnology industry.  He has served on the President’s Circle of the United States Naval Academy, and the Board of the Noah Fund.

Matthew Parris – Vice President of Clinical Research

Mr. Parris is a biopharmaceutical industry professional with experience in both contract research and small specialty pharma.  He has managed development activities in multiple oncology indications and with a variety of traditional and novel product types.  He recently served as Director of Clinical Operations at Aegerion Pharmaceuticals. Previously, he held multiple positions with Orion Clinical Services initially in Europe and then in the US where he transferred (2003) as Director of Clinical Operations to establish a US office for the company. He started his career with Pharm-Olam International, a CEE contract research specialist.  Mr. Parris studied biology at Imperial College, London, England (Bachelor of Science).

Board of Directors

Bryan Wood

Mr. Wood is the founder and principal of Alta Berkeley (London, Geneva), a premier European venture capital firm investing in early stage communications, information technology, media and health care companies in Western Europe, USA and Israel.  He has invested in 40 companies, resulting in nine IPOs (six on NASDAQ) and fourteen trade sales (mostly cross-border). He served as non executive director of 50 companies, public and private in ten European countries, USA and Israel.  Previously, Mr. Wood was European Finance Vice President of Gould Inc and held several other European and US finance and operating positions in various companies.  Mr. Wood obtained his Bachelor in Science in Industrial Engineering from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and his MBA from the Harvard Business School in Boston.

Robert  B. Royds, MB, BS, MRCP

Dr. Royds is founder and CEO of Theradex, a leading oncology-focused CRO, conducting clinical trials worldwide.  At Theradex, Dr. Royds directs the scientific affairs of the company, drawing over 30 years of domestic and international experience both as an investigator and administrator in clinical research and development.  A member of the Royal College of Physicians, he earned his medical degree in 1967 at the University of London.  He trained in clinical pharmacology at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital where he then served as Chief Assistant to the Professor of Medicine and Senior Registrar of the Medical Professorial Unit.  After entering industry, Dr.  Royds expanded his expertise in clinical study design, management, monitoring, regulatory affairs, and product development as an executive with Merck, Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories and Hoffman-LaRoche, Inc.  Since 1979, Dr. Royds has served as a consultant in clinical research and development to both government and industry.  Since 1982, he has been Principal Investigator for the Clinical Trials Monitoring Service (CTMS) for the National Cancer Institute. 

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