Matt D’ Onofrio

Co-founder, Executive VP, Chief Business Officer, Secretary and Treasurer @ Evoke

Matthew J. D’Onofrio is one of Evoke's co-founders and has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Business Officer, Secretary and Treasurer since 2010 and as our Executive Vice President, Corporate Development, Secretary and Treasurer since March 2007. Mr. D’Onofrio has over 25 years of experience in both large and small pharmaceutical firms. Prior to founding Evoke, Mr. D’Onofrio was Vice President, Business Development for Victory Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing and marketing products to treat pain and related conditions. Mr. D’Onofrio was previously Director and Head of West Coast Business Development at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company, directing partnership efforts associated with the La Jolla research facility as well as other corporate assets. Mr. D’Onofrio also held various commercial roles of increasing responsibility over a decade at Eli Lilly & Company, including significant experience in worldwide corporate business development. During his licensing career, Mr. D’Onofrio has developed and executed license and investment relationships across a wide collection of disease states and technologies. Mr. D’Onofrio earned a B.S. in Chemistry from San Diego State University and an M.B.A. (Finance) from the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California.

James Leech

Head of Strategy and Corporate Development, Palette Life Sciences

James Leech, Head of Strategy & Corporate Development, joined Palette at its inception. Prior to joining Palette, James was a Senior Associate at Back Bay Life Science Advisors, a life science focused investment banking and strategy consulting firm. James was instrumental in executing on Palette’s NASHA transaction with Nestle Skin Health and developing & implementing Palette’s business model and company formation activities.

James is an experienced financial, strategic, operational, and transactional professional who has executed on more than $1B in aggregate transaction value. James has spent nearly a decade working on behalf of companies at various stages in their life cycle from start-up and emerging growth to mature commercial-stage businesses​. He has advised on a range of traditional and complex transaction types and structures spanning M&A, licensing and partnerships, option agreements, and financings for both the buy and sell side​. James has significant cross-border experience having executed transactions on behalf of and involving companies across the EU and APAC.

Barbara Purcell

President of Diversified Medicines for Bausch Health.

Barbara Purcell was named President, Diversified Products, in August 2018. She joined the company from Bausch + Lomb in 2013, Previously, she was with Bausch + Lomb since 2011 as Vice President, Sales and Marketing for its generic business. She has been in the pharmaceutical industry for 25 years, working at Bristol Myers Squibb, Novartis/Sandoz and Zydus.

Chris Quesenberry

Chief Commercial Officer, Integrated Solutions at EVERSANA

Chris Quesenberry is Chief Commercial Officer- Integrated Solutions with EVERSANA and Commercial Lead for Gimoti™. Gimoti is Evoke Pharma’s first product that was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the relief of symptoms in adults with acute and recurrent diabetic gastroparesis to which the companies have partnered commercialization.

Chris brings over 30 years of experience in building and executing on commercial strategies for pharmaceutical companies and has held roles across the breadth of sales, marketing and operations. He previously spent 27 years between Merck & Co. and Novo Nordisk culminating in senior sales and commercial strategy positions, respectively. Recently, Chris served as the Vice President of Global Commercial Effectiveness, providing leadership for and Sales, Market Access, and Sales Operations in addition to other commercial functions at Orexigen Therapeutics and Nalpropion Pharmaceuticals.

Melissa Maney

Chief Commercial Officer, Integrated Solutions, Eversana

As a Commercial Lead for Integrated Solutions, Melissa has responsibility for serving as the liaison between the manufacturer and the service provider to ensure the vision and strategy for a brand are realized. Prior to joining EVERSANA, Melissa has led a brand and held leadership positions in Alliance Management, Market Access, Sales and Commercial Execution. She has spent the majority of her career focused on raising awareness and education within rare disease communities at Horizon, Lundbeck and UCB.

Krista Pinto

Executive Vice President, Field Solutions, EVERSANA

Krista works with pharmaceutical and biotech companies to find design-effective commercialization solutions.

With more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Krista is an experienced sales representative and district manager, with strong client management, business development, and global account experience. Her work in clinical research, trials and development, as well as product launch experience, has been employed across numerous therapeutic areas including cardiology, oncology, neurology and urology.

Krista was recognized by the Healthcare Businesswoman’s Association as a Rising Star in 2012 and by both inVentiv Health and Alamo Pharma Services for her leadership, business results, and customer service. She holds a bachelor’s degree in science, communications and business ethics from the University of Delaware.