The Managing Directors and Principals of Frankel Group have over 100 years of pharmaceutical and life science industry experience, and together with the team of seasoned Frankel Group Senior Consultants, Consultants, Associates and Analysts bring expertise from not only the supplier side of the healthcare industry but also in-depth experience from the academia, payer, provider and investment sectors of the industry as well.
Barry R. Frankel
Frankel Group Experience
Barry founded Frankel Group in March of 1993. Following nearly 20 years in the life science industry, Barry saw an opportunity to pull together a unique team of experienced professionals from suppliers, providers, banking and consulting to capitalize on the emerging new business models required and provide financially grounded, creative strategic solutions to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, device/diagnostic and life science service sectors.
Since the founding of Frankel Group, Barry has advised and managed a diverse range of engagements spanning most therapeutic areas, including business strategies and business model evolution; R&D portfolio planning and technology platform assessments; the identification and valuation of acquisition, licensing and alliance candidates; market entry and geographic expansion commercialization strategies; and new company formation and division spinoff creation and funding. Clients have spanned multinational and specialty pharmaceutical companies, emerging bio/pharmaceutical firms, device and diagnostic companies, industry intermediaries including CRO's and CSO's, and a range of private equity firms.
Recent assignments have included: (1) the formation of and development strategy for a recombinant biologics company, encompassing internal development, capital sourcing, partnering, organization growth and process strategy, and longer term pipeline addition initiatives; (2) a global pharmaceutical growth strategy for an emerging pharmaceutical company, encompassing generic product expansion and drug delivery enhanced development, geographic platform acquisitions, and spinoff exit initiatives; (3) a development planning strategy for an anti-sense platform pharmaceutical company, that involved program termination and redirection of funds towards more focused objectives; (4) managing the licensing and acquisition due diligence effort as an outsourced resource for a global mid-tier pharmaceutical company; (5) a transformational growth strategy for a life science outsourcing company, encompassing new service migration, acquisition/partnering strategy, and tactical implementation; and (6) investment recommendations for several private equity firms, encompassing commercial and scientific due diligence, and investment recommendations.
In addition, Barry has led Frankel Group's expansion into the transactions area. This effort initiated with an asset management advisory role in equity4life, AG, a Switzerland based life science venture capital firm. Barry and his partners are currently forming a new private equity investment vehicle, BioDevelopment Ventures Inc., designed to form development stage companies that take advantage of the capital dislocations present in pre-clinical to Phase II pharmaceutical product development, and leverage the expertise of Frankel Group in R&D planning, licensing/acquisitions and product commercialization/partnering.
Pre-Frankel Group Experience
Prior to Frankel Group, Barry was President of SJ Weinstein Associates, a health care marketing strategy and advertising firm, where he formulated marketing and communications strategies for some of the leading life science companies. His earlier experience included strategic planning for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, as well as senior marketing positions at Pfizer in the anti-infective, multisource pharmaceutical and diagnostic markets. In addition, Barry was an Investment Research Officer for life science investments at Citibank.
Education
Barry holds a Masters in Business Administration with Distinction from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelors of Science Summa Cum Laude in Engineering from Rutgers University.
Lester S. Cheng
Frankel Group Experience
Lester joined Frankel Group in 1995 and has been a Managing Director since 1998. He has had the pleasure of advising and managing on a broad range of engagements including global business strategies, global franchise development, organizational alignment initiatives, market entry/commercialization planning, clinical portfolio planning and target product profile assessments, channel/provider/managed markets strategies, pricing/distribution, disease management initiatives, market assessment/segmentation, industry supply-demand analyses, licensing and business development, investment due diligence, and trade/patient association strategies.
Over the years, he has immersed himself in the key issues and dynamics across the macro life science/healthcare landscape as well as deep dives into multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology, hematology, women's health, respiratory/allergy, infectious diseases, diabetes/metabolics, endocrinology, neurology, psychiatry, cardiovascular, dermatology, rheumatology, hematology, immunology/inflammation, and orthopedics.
Pre-Frankel Group Experience
Prior to joining Frankel Group, Lester was at Schering-Plough Corporation in their Oncology Biotech Division. His tenure at Schering included launching the Hepatitis indications for INTRON A, business development analyses and disease management opportunity assessments and program development. Prior to that, he was in field sales with Marion Laboratories.
Education
Lester holds a BS with honors in Biochemistry from Lehigh University and an MBA with honors in Marketing and International Business from Columbia Business School.
David M. Gilman
Frankel Group Experience
David joined Frankel Group in 2000 and has led project teams addressing a broad range of client challenges including global therapeutic area franchise development, licensing and acquisition strategy and execution, market entry/commercialization planning, clinical development planning and target product profile assessment, market assessment/segmentation and venture capital investment due diligence.
Over recent years, David has had the opportunity to lead teams addressing basic discovery, development and commercialization related issues across multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology, hematology, respiratory/allergy, infectious diseases, neurology, psychiatry, cardiovascular, dermatology, rheumatology, and immunology. During the past several years, David has invested considerable time in exploring the convergence of the traditional small molecule pharmaceutical business with biotechnology related advances in therapeutics, diagnostics and devices. Other healthcare clients have included the application of high-tech (hardware and software) solutions within the healthcare arena, and venture capital investing.
Examples of David's recent experience include 1) a comprehensive review of the evolving biopharmaceutical sector (the convergence of large and small molecule business models) and the requirements to achieve and maintain leadership, 2) an infectious disease franchise development engagement focused on the technical, commercial and social challenges of HIV care, 3) a clinical development strategy for a company investing in anti-psychotic care, 4) a long term franchise strategy in inflammation and immunology for a top global pharmaceutical company, 5) an analysis of the opportunities and drivers of success within the emerging generic injectable, oncology and biologic product categories.
Pre-Frankel Group Experience
Prior to joining Frankel Group, David held marketing management positions with Johnson & Johnson Medical Inc. and 3M Healthcare focused on product development, product management and quantitative analysis. David also spent 2 years exploring the high technology sector managing a global technology sales group for American Airlines / Sabre Group.
Education
David holds a BA in East Asian History from the University of Chicago and an MBA with a concentration in Marketing from the University of Texas at Austin.
Marc P. Tomassi
Frankel Group Experience
Marc joined Frankel Group as a Consultant in 1995 has managed and advised on a wide range of projects encompassing technology assessment, LM&A, clinical development planning and commercial / franchise strategy. Clients have consisted of a cross-section of life science sectors including major global pharma, specialty pharma, biotechnology, generics, drug delivery and lab/diagnostics. Disease areas of significant recent focus include psychiatry, neurology, virology, oncology, metabolics, inflammatory disease, dermatology, blood/coagulation disorders and genetic disease. He has also worked recently in HIT and life science services, including R&D enabling technologies and contract development services.
Marc has had a particular focus on transaction-based mandates, which encompass product/platform licensing, M&A, fund raising and company formation. Previously, he was fundamentally involved with equity4life, a Zurich-based private equity fund for which Frankel Group served an asset management role. Marc's role with e4l focused on due diligence and post-investment advisory to portfolio companies, primarily involving commercialization strategy.
Pre-Frankel Group Experience
Prior to joining Frankel Group, Marc held management positions in strategic marketing and planning at Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield (NY), where he had line management responsibilities and also worked across the company's business units and functional areas, including sales, product management, actuarial and operations. Prior to that he worked in financial & utilization analysis and medical informatics with Bay State Health Care HMO (merged with Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA). Upon his transition from managed care to life science consulting, much of his early work as a consultant was in formulating disease management strategies and implementation plans for Frankel Group pharmaceutical company clients.
Education
Marc holds an AB in Political Science from Syracuse University, and an MBA from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College.
Nathan J. Dowden
Frankel Group Experience
Nathan joined Frankel Group in 1997 and opened the Cambridge office in 2001. For more than a decade he has led strategically, financially and scientifically oriented engagements across an incredibly wide range client interests. His expertise includes corporate strategy development, new venture creation, disruptive innovation, product launch & market planning, portfolio management & systems development, business development advisory, and product / franchise lifecycle planning. These efforts have covered the full therapeutic area spectrum, and his technology platform experience has included stem cells, gene therapy / silencing, large and small molecules, drug delivery, medical devices, energy based therapy, and biomarkers / imaging. Nathan has spoken and written on a number of topics; ranging from the practical application of stratified medicine, to brand / lifecycle management challenges, and the strategic implications of EMR diffusion. Clients have included executive and technology teams at global life science firms, emerging mid-size specialists, banks, hedge funds, and start ups.
Pre-Frankel Group Experience
Before joining Frankel Group, Nathan was a senior consultant with Ernst & Young LLP where his engagement experience included mergers & acquisition, new business creation, operational assessment, & systems support work. Prior to that Nathan worked at Searle Pharmaceuticals in their Managed Care Strategy group, and was an analyst and programmer at CIGNA Healthcare.
Education
Nathan holds an MBA from The University of Chicago, and a BS from the University of Connecticut.