Leadership Bios

Michael Gaffney

Michael Gaffney

Chief Executive Officer & President

Mr. Gaffney brings deep health sector insight, extensive operational experience, and proven strategy and capital markets expertise to Cellphire Therapeutics. His 30-year career includes serving in executive leadership positions, including as Executive Chairman and interim CEO for over 10 healthcare organizations. In these roles, he oversaw and contributed to strategy development and execution, talent recruitment, business development, growth, and capital raising.

Prior to joining Cellphire, Mr. Gaffney founded Bancroft Group, LLC, a strategy and operational consulting business focused on middle market companies and their investors. In addition to founding Bancroft Group, he is a co-founder of EDG Partners, LLC, a healthcare-focused private equity firm. Prior to Bancroft Group and EDG Partners, Mr. Gaffney was a partner at Allied Capital (NYSE: ALD) where he led the healthcare investment strategy. Before joining Allied, he was a consultant at McKinsey & Co., Inc. Mr. Gaffney also served in the U.S. Navy as a Submarine Officer.

Mr. Gaffney received a Master of Arts from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and a Bachelor of Science from the United States Naval Academy, where he serves on the A&S Board of Trustees.

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G. Michael Fitzpatrick, Ph.D.

Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Fitzpatrick has more than 40 years of military and civilian blood banking and biomedical experience. He joined Cellphire in 2006 and has led the development of the company’s first line of hemostatic products.

Prior to joining Cellphire, Dr. Fitzpatrick served as Chief Operating Officer of America’s Blood Centers, North America’s largest network of non-profit community blood centers. Previously, he served 29 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a Colonel in 2003.

Throughout his military career, Dr. Fitzpatrick was involved in clinical transfusion medicine, blood collection and delivery, and clinical research. He also provided oversight and planning of blood support operations to ensure delivery of blood and blood products to deployed troops. From 1999–2003, Dr. Fitzpatrick served as Director of the Armed Services Program, the sole provider of blood products to the U.S. Armed Forces. His other assignments included serving as the Korea Area Blood Program Officer; United States European Command Blood Program Officer; and Chief of Transfusion Services and Blood Donor Center for Madigan Army Medical Center, Tripler Army Medical Center, and Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He also served as the Director of the Tri-Service Blood Bank Fellowship at Walter Reed.

The Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP) awarded Dr. Fitzpatrick with the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award for his significant contributions to the ASBP and the warfighter.

Dr. Fitzpatrick received a Bachelor of Science from Colorado State University and a Master of Science and Ph.D. in Immunohematology from Bowling Green State University.

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W. Allan Alexander, M.D.

Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Alexander has worked for over 20 years in industry, with experience in all phases of product development from product conception, acquisition, preclinical preparation for regulatory submission, clinical trial design, execution, regulatory negotiation to results dissemination. His work focuses primarily on bridging the gap between the causes of severe bleeding and new, emerging hemostatic therapies. Prior to Cellphire, Dr. Alexander served as Vice President of Medical Affairs for HEMA Biologics, LLC and US WorldMeds, LLC, and served in similar roles at ZymoGenetics, Inc., Sangart, Inc., and CSL Behring, LLC.  He previously served as an Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Anesthesiology at Baylor College of Medicine. 

Dr. Alexander received his Doctor of Medicine at Texas Tech University School of Medicine and performed his residency in Cardiovascular Anesthesiology at the Texas Heart Institute at the University of Texas. He received a Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry from the University of Texas, Austin.

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Angela Howerton, CPA

Vice President of Finance, Treasurer and Controller

Ms. Howerton brings extensive accounting and finance experience to the Cellphire Therapeutics team, with over twenty-five years’ experience working in accounting/finance with progressive leadership, including significant experience in the biotech industry. She has an active CPA license.

Ms. Howerton is an experienced finance professional with a continuous improvement mindset who leverages business acumen and process knowledge to create efficiencies and constructive change. Prior to joining Cellphire, Ms. Howerton held leadership roles at ExeGi Pharma, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and MTI-GlobalStem. “We’re very pleased to have Angie join the Cellphire team,” said Mike Gaffney, Chief Executive Officer. “She joins us at an exciting time, and her strong finance background and experience with growth stage companies broadens our team at an important time in our evolution.”

Ms. Howerton received her undergraduate degree at Sullivan University, where she studied business administration/accounting.

Robert Woods, MBA

Vice President of Business Operations

Mr. Woods brings over 15 years of experience in the biotechnology industry and is a seasoned executive known for his exemplary leadership in business operations. He spent a decade spearheading and optimizing business activities at Cellphire, where he played a pivotal role in the company's growth. He has spent his whole career building small businesses while working closely with government sponsors to accelerate growth in the logistics, government scheduled accounting, and biotech industries. As a founding member of BodeVet Inc, a subsidiary of Cellphire, he demonstrated his operational leadership and entrepreneurial spirit. With a strong foundation in business management and an undergraduate in Business Management from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and an MBA from Johns Hopkins, he combines academic excellence with real-world expertise.

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Keith A. Moskowitz,
Ph.D. MPM

Vice President of Discovery

Dr. Moskowitz has 25 years of leadership experience directing research and development (R&D) and strategy in companies with revenues of more than $1 billion. He has held technical, management, and liaison positions in the areas of hemostasis and thrombosis, infectious, and genetic diseases in a variety of medical industries, including biologicals

Previously, Dr. Moskowitz served as Vice President of Technology and Development at PTS Diagnostics; Vice President of Product Development & Medical Science Liaison at TraumaCure; Vice President of Product Development at BioMarker Strategies; and Director of Corporate Product Development at SeraCare Life Sciences. He also served as Director of Hematology and R&D at Adlyfe and Accumetrics.

Dr. Moskowitz received a Bachelor of Science from Rutgers University and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Temple University School of Medicine. He is the author of more than 50 peer reviewed publications, abstracts, and patents and is a member of the American Society of Hematology; The International Society for Hemostasis and Thrombosis; and the American Association of Clinical Pathologists.

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Julie Faltum

VP, New Product Development & Business Development
CLPH-251 (TBI/ICH) Program Leader

Julie Faltum is a biopharmaceutical executive with over 25 years of global and U.S. track record and experience from the biopharmaceutical industry, as a management consultant and advisor to biotech companies. Her breath of expertise includes new product development as well as strategy & business development, commercialization, pricing, HEOR and market access across multiple therapeutic areas and life cycle stages of development.

Before joining Cellphire, Julie Faltum held VP level positions at Mallinckrodt (New Products, BD Strategy & Operations) and at Sanofi (Portfolio Strategy & Pricing, Market Access & HEOR) as well as leading her own consulting practice serving primarily biotech clients. Mrs. Faltum’s global industry experience also includes a decade working for Novo Nordisk. At Novo Nordisk she was involved of the clinical development of novel hemostatic agents including rFVIIa/NovoSeven’s indication expansion program into cardiac surgery, trauma and TBI/ICH, as well as Novo Nordisk’s endocrinology programs (GLP-1’s and insulins for diabetes, obesity) where she helped develop strategies and launch new products.  

Julie Faltum holds a Master’s degree international business from Copenhagen Business School, Denmark a Community of European Management Schools (CEMS) Master degree, as well as a post-graduate degree in Pharmaceutical Medicine & Drug Development from University of Basel, Switzerland.

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Joe Rogalewicz, MS

Vice President of Quality

Mr. Rogalewicz is a quality professional who is serving as the Quality Head at Cellphire accountable for Quality Assurance and Quality Control functions. Mr. Rogalewicz possesses 35 years of experience in quality and regulatory leadership with extensive experience in biological technologies for both clinical stage and commercial organizations. Mr. Rogalewicz possesses a B.S. degree in Biology and a M.S. degree in Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs.

Albert Fleury, MBA

VP, New Product Development & Capital Support
CLPH-511 (Cryopreserved Platelets) Program Leader

Mr. Fleury is a healthcare executive with broad operational exposure and significant Mergers & Acquisition experience on over $500M in transactions. He has worked in the healthcare industry for over 20 years including significant time at both private and publicly traded multinational companies. Most recently, Mr. Fleury served as President, COO and CFO of Cordex Systems, and prior to that he served as Director Corporate Finance and Business Development QIAGEN, a German Life Science tools and Molecular Diagnostic Company. Mr. Fleury started his career in the healthcare sector in 2001 at Digene, a US based molecular diagnostics company, which successfully developed and commercialized the first molecular test for the viral cause of cervical cancer, the Digene HPV Test. Mr. Fleury was also an instrumental participant in QIAGEN’s $1.6 billion acquisition of Digene in 2007. Mr. Fleury holds B.S. degree in Biology from Duke University, B.S. degree in Economics from Duke University and a M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

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Anya Derbij, MD

Vice President of Clinical Operations

Dr. Anya Derbij is executive leader in clinical development operations with over 25+ years of global pharma experience leading integrated programs in small molecules and biologics with emphasis on personalized healthcare. Dr. Derbij expertise includes corporate strategy, global clinical operations leadership, strategic outsourcing, GCP compliance and procedures.

Dr. Derbij is experienced in the conduct of domestic and international clinical trials in hematological oncology, solid tumors, immuno-oncology, infectious diseases, AAV gene therapy studies in ophthalmology, oncology and rare diseases.

Prior to Cellphire Therapeutics, Dr. Derbij held positions of increased responsibilities at Transgene S.A, Pharmacyclics, AbbVie Inc., REGENXBIO Inc., and Gyroscope Therapeutics (now Novartis). While at Pharmacyclics, she contributed to the execution of the IMBRUVICA (ibrutinib) pivotal studies and New Drug Application to the U.S Food and Drug Administration, along with global regulatory filings for several hematology indications. Anna holds a Doctor of Medicine Degree from Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University (RNRMU) and Master’s Degree in Health Systems Management from George Mason University, VA.

LinkedIn Bio

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