Gary Gordon, M.B.A., M.D.
President
Kowa Research Institute
Dr. Gordon has over 18 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, holding senior management roles in finance, business development and operations. Dr. Gordon became Kowa Research Institute’s President in January 2012. He previously served as Senior Vice President, Operations from 2010 through 2011. Prior to joining Kowa, Dr. Gordon was the VP, Finance and Business Development and CFO of BioStratum. During his tenure, he established corporate partnerships for the company’s diabetes and cancer drug candidates and successfully raised several rounds of private financing. Prior to moving to RTP, he co-founded and was the CFO of Sentinel Biosciences, a Palo Alto-based company focused on new pathogen discovery and diagnostic development. At Sentinel, Dr. Gordon was responsible for all licensing and finance activities and directed the general operations of the company until its acquisition by Roche in 1999. Dr. Gordon also held business development and marketing positions at Genelabs Technologies and Warner Lambert.
Dr. Gordon received a B.A. in Genetics from the University of California at Berkeley, and an MD from Cornell University Medical Center. In 1992, he earned an MBA with a major in finance from Columbia University.
Ross Laderman, MPH
Vice President, Regulatory Affairs
Kowa Research Institute
Ross Laderman, MPH has extensive experience in regulatory affairs, both as a regulator and as an industry executive. He started his career at the Food and Drug Administration after completing his undergraduate degree at MacMurray College. During his 25 years with the FDA, Mr. Laderman served in a number of positions of increasing responsibility, first as a field investigator and, during his last 10 years, as Deputy Director, Division of Scientific Investigations in CDER. He has been involved with the full spectrum of drug regulatory programs and policies and is recognized as an expert in the application and regulatory evaluation of GMP, GLP and GCP compliance and programs. He also played an active role in ICH collaborations and served as an expert advisor to the World Health Organization. In addition, Mr. Laderman has participated in various forums sponsored by RAPS, DIA, FDLI, PhRMA and others.
After leaving the FDA, Mr. Laderman became Vice President, Regulatory Affairs at Guilford Pharmaceuticals and later, he became the lead regulatory affairs officer at Delsys Pharmaceutical Corp., PRA International and BioStratum before joining Kowa Research Institute.
Mr. Laderman received his MPH in Health Policy & Management from Johns Hopkins University and has taken post-graduate training at several other distinguished institutions. Mr. Laderman’s professional society memberships include RAPS, DIA and FDAAA.
Mr. Laderman is a member of Kowa Research Institute’s senior management team and is the principal interface with the FDA and responsible for all U.S. regulatory affairs activities.