Michael Martino MBA Director Caravan Biologix
Michael Martino is currently Chairman and CEO of Ampio Pharmaceuticals Inc., a company focused on developing therapeutics for inflammatory indications and inflammatory conditions related to SARS-CoV-2. Prior to joining Ampio Pharmaceuticals Inc., Mr. Martino was the CEO of HemaFlo, a company focused on the development of a proprietary Drag Reducing Polymer technology (DRP) for the treatment of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI). Prior to HemaFlo, he was President, CEO and a member of the Board of Ambit Biosciences, a San Diego-based company focused on developing a drug to treat Acute Myeloid Leukemia, from November 2011 to November 2014. Under his leadership, Ambit initiated a large, multi-national Phase 3 study; secured $25 million in private financing; completed a $90 million IPO; and ultimately sold the company to a Daiichi Sankyo for $450 million in cash plus future milestone payments.
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Mr. Martino was previously President, CEO and a member of the Board of Sonus Pharmaceuticals, a publicly traded company, from September 1998 to August 2007 where he refocused the company from the development of ultrasound contrast agents to the development of a proprietary drug, Tocosol Paclitaxel, for the treatment of solid tumors of soft tissues. In alignment with the new strategy, he built a new oncology-focused team that accelerated the development of the company’s lead drug, Tocosol Paclitaxel from preclinical studies to the completion of a pivotal Phase 3 study in five years, and ultimately engineered the company’s reverse merger with Oncogenex Technologies. While at Sonus, Mr. Martino negotiated a favorable termination of a global ultrasound contrast agent development collaboration with Abbott and negotiated a global oncology drug development collaboration with Schering AG that included a $16M equity investment, a $20M up-front licensing fee and $25M in realized collaborative R&D funding. From 1998 to 2007, Mr. Martino’s and his team raised over $90M from five private placements and one registered direct offering, increased shares outstanding from 10M to 37M, and increased market capitalization from $10M to a peak of $250M.
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In 2008, Mr. Martino joined with three scientific co-founders to form Arzeda, a synthetic biology company based on technology spun-out of the University of Washington. The company was originally funded with a $250K convertible bridge financing from the Washington Research Foundation and a $1.5M collaborative R&D agreement with the Pioneer Hybrid Division of DuPont.
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Mr. Martino began his career with Mallinckrodt in 1983 where, over 15-years, he progressed through positions in planning, business development, marketing and general management. His final assignment before leaving Mallinckrodt for Sonus in 1998 was VP & General Manager of Mallinckrodt’s global nuclear medicine business. Michael has a BBA from Roanoke College, where he served as a Trustee from 2016 to 2020, and an MBA from Virginia Tech.