Executive Team

Dr. McKeever has over 40 years of industrial experience with a record of significant achievement in both senior technical and business management positions. He served as Senior Vice President of Research and Development for the Chemicals and Plastics Departments of The Dow Chemical Company overseeing a 5000 employee organization and managing a budget exceeding $500 million per year. During his 29-year tenure at Dow, Dr. McKeever also held the positions of Vice President of Research and Development, Dow North America and was a member of the North American Operating Board; Vice President of Polyolefins and Elastomers Business Unit (Dow Plastics, U.S.); Director of Technical Service and Development and R&D Director for two large business units; Chemicals Department Manager (Dow Chemical Latin America) and also held diverse bench level R&D assignments (Central Research).

From 2000-2006, he served as Chairman of the Board of SYM Financial Corporation, which then had $600,000,000 in assets under management. He has served on numerous boards and is currently President of McKeever Ventures, providing broad-based strategic advisory services to a diverse client base.

Dr. McKeever is member of the Board of Directors at Ariel Savannah Angel Partners, LLC, and was a founding director of Dexco Polymers and the American Plastics Council. He previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Executive Service Corps of Indianapolis and the Indiana Medical History Museum. He is currently the Treasurer and a board member of the Rotary Club of Savannah South.

Dr. McKeever received his B. S. in Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, in 1962 followed by a Ph. D. in Physical Chemistry at the University of California, Irvine in 1966.

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Mr. Sima has 20 years experience in science based companies and is currently chief operating and financial officer of Semafore. In 2006-2007, Mr. Sima became interim CEO of Semafore, raising capital and overseeing the company’s operations and strategic direction, as well as the initiation of its first clinical trial. He has been an executive at Semafore since 2003, when he became chief operating officer and vice president of contract services, while also joining Semafore’s Board of Directors. As Semafore’s COO, Mr. Sima has led the operational, human resources and financial activities for the company.

Previously, Mr. Sima was founder and president of SIMALABS International, an environmental contract analytical services company, which he started in 1991 and which provided start-up Semafore with its initial offices and infrastructure when the company was first established. Mr. Sima grew SIMALABS to over 70 employees and had four operations in three states when he sold the company in 2003. Mr. Sima holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Iowa.

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Dr. Schwertschlag has almost 2 decades of experience in drug development. Most recently, Dr. Schwertschlag was vice president of clinical research and development at Mersana Therapeutics, where he was responsible for pharmacology, toxicology and clinical development. Previously, he was head of translational medicine and clinical pharmacology at TAP Pharmaceuticals. At Wyeth/Genetics Institute, Dr. Schwertschlag served as head of clinical immunology and clinical pharmacology, contributing to the successful registration of Neumega (IL-11) and Factor IX. Formerly, Dr. Schwertschlag was a research physician and clinical pharmacologist at Eli Lilly & Company.

Dr. Schwertschlag received his M.D. from the University of Heidelberg, Germany and his Ph.D. in biophysics and radiation biology from the University of Freiburg, Germany. He was a post-doctoral fellow and instructor at Heidelberg University and was a fellow of the Merck, Sharp and Dohme Foundation in Clinical Pharmacology, University of Colorado, Denver. He has been a faculty member and attending physician in the department of medicine at Duke University, Indiana University and Tufts University.

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Dr. Garlich has over 20 years experience as a scientist, successful inventor and director of drug discovery and development. He co-founded Semafore Pharmaceuticals (then called ComChem Technologies) in 2000 and has since directed all of the company’s scientific research activities, including scientific strategy, drug discovery and preclinical drug development efforts. Dr. Garlich has served as the principal investigator for six peer-reviewed grants awarded to Semafore totaling over $4.5 million. Until 2007, Dr. Garlich also served as president of the company. Previously, Dr. Garlich worked for 11 years in the pharmaceutical division of Dow Chemical, where he invented and developed multiple drug candidates, including the bone cancer drug Quadramet®, approved by the FDA for hematological and other bone-related disorders.

Dr. Garlich is an inventor on 23 United States patents and author of numerous publications and presentations. In addition to multiple industry memberships and organizational affiliations, he has been a reviewer for the National Cancer Institute’s SBIR Grant program on multiple occasions, and is adjunct professor at Purdue University School of Pharmacy. Dr. Garlich received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at the University of Missouri and was a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Florida's School of Pharmacy.

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