Creating health for the world,
safely and affordably.
Leadership Team
Joshua “Scotch” McClure, MBA
Founder, CEO & Chairman
Mr. McClure is an engineer with over 20 years of experience as a CEO, and 10 years of experience as a corporate board director. He is a multi-patent inventor including antiviral applications of Maxwell’s platform, and human gene expression technology. His background includes leading engineering and scientific research teams, as well as military intelligence and commercial applications such as high tech hardware and software. He designed and commercialized the world’s first dual core laptop in partnership with Advanced Micro Devices. He is a pioneer in the field of plasma proteomics Big Data computation, and biomimetic drug design. He has a wide ranging interest in physics, theory of mind and consciousness, information theory, nanobiology, and reversing disease and aging by restoring rejuvenative homeostasis. From 1992 to 2001, he served with distinction in the United States Air Force, in highly classified financial, electronic and other intelligence project management roles at the Electronic System Center and the Air Intelligence Agency. He is a graduate of the USAF Academy, with a B.S. in Management. He holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts.
Ed Rudnic, PhD
Chief Operating Officer, Head of Research & Development
Dr. Rudnic (Ed) brings more than 30 years of diverse experience in biosciences and drug discovery. He is the former head of US R&D for Shire Pharmaceuticals where he led projects that drove over $30 billion in revenue for Shire. He has successfully raised over $500M in capital at various organizations and has successfully taken a biopharma company public on the NASDAQ. He has also been either the lead inventor or a co-inventor of 56 issued U.S. patents and numerous related international patents. Ed has held executive and leadership positions at Middlebrook Pharmaceuticals, Shire Pharmaceuticals, Vivreon Biosciences, Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy, a Master of Science in Pharmaceutics and a Doctorate in Pharmaceutics, all from the University of Rhode Island.
Praveen Reddy
President, International Operations
Praveen brings over 20 years of experience in international government and corporate relations in Europe, India, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia to the Maxwell team. A sought after veteran of billion dollar deals in several fields, Praveen is an expert in equity investment, capital ventures, corporate finance & debt finance, mergers & acquisitions and business process re-engineering. His network of strategic relationships is built on the back of creating innovative solutions to help governments build infrastructure that sustains citizen happiness and satisfaction. His track record blends successful public-private partnerships and family offices with highly innovative affordable healthcare solutions at scale. With strong networks rooted deep in the international arena, Praveen looks forward to applying his passions as part of the Maxwell team.
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Beth Burnside, PhD
Senior Vice President, R&D Strategy
Over the past 30 years, Beth has led teams in the areas of drug development and delivery, enhanced drug absorption, regulatory affairs, quality and corporate compliance, and intellectual property strategy. Invented products include Adderall XR®, Intuniv®, and MOXATAG®. Previously, she held executive roles with Lowery Creek Consulting, LLC., QRxPharma, MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals (formerly Advancis Corporation), and Shire Laboratories, Inc. She is either the lead inventor or co-inventor on 34+ issued US patents and numerous related international patents. Beth holds a B.S. in Chemistry/Mathematics, an M.S. in Organic Chemistry, and a PhD in Physical-Organic Chemistry from Drexel University.
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Donald Treacy, PhD
Senior Vice President, Development Operations
Don brings 30 years of experience across the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, with diverse expertise across research, product development and manufacturing, and regulatory affairs. He most recently was the CEO of Magothy Consulting Group, LLC, and previously held the role of Senior Vice President of Development and Manufacturing Operations at MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals (formerly Advancis Corporation) and Senior Director of Analytical Sciences for Shire Pharmaceuticals. Don is a named inventor on over 30 issued US and international patents in novel drug delivery, solid dosage form development and formulation performance, and has authored numerous research publications and presentations on accelerator mass spectrometry, high performance liquid chromatography and novel drug delivery systems. He holds a PhD in Analytical and Nuclear Chemistry from the University of Maryland and a B.A. in Chemistry from Roanoke College.
Lucas Wenthe
Chief Legal Officer
Lucas is a dynamic company executive, blending expansive legal acumen with deep insights into diverse industries like synthetic biology and healthcare. His expertise spans the spectrum from IP strategy and patent management to mergers, acquisitions, and capital ventures. With a track record of fostering international biotech and healthcare collaborations, Lucas has also adeptly procured and licensed groundbreaking patents in medical device technologies.
Tony Verco, MD, MBA
Chief Medical Officer
Tony is an anesthesiologist with over 23 years experience in the Pharmaceutical industry. He has worked in both the contract clinical research sector as well as small and large pharmaceutical companies, with experience spanning research in toxicology, pharmacology, drug safety, regulatory, commercial, and product development strategy. He has consulted to industry and managed the operational development of lead candidates from Phase 1 through Phase 3, including international phase 3 trials, in multiple therapeutic areas which included interactions with both the FDA, EMEA, and Health Canada. He combines wide and detailed experience in drug development with a broad understanding of the pharmaceutical business, having obtained an MBA in 2007.
Maxie McFarland, MBA
SVP, Head of Corporate Development & Investor Relations
Maxie McFarland brings more than 20 years of diverse experience in corporate development and strategy. Maxie comes to Maxwell from Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) where he led multiple mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and capital raises. In 2021, Maxie helped lead a successful $1.4B Series A capital raise for Sierra Space - one of the largest ever in the aerospace industry. Prior to his 12 years at Sierra companies, he worked for IBM Research where he commercialized advanced technologies, was a management consultant for IBM as well as PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and was an officer in the US Air Force. He holds a BS from University of Northern Colorado and an MBA from University of Massachusetts.
Sheetal Vali, PhD
Senior Director of Drug Development
Sheetal directs Maxwell’s drug development program and facilities a sharp focus on quality control, drug platform development, FDA Investigational New Drug enabling studies, and collaboration with contract research and manufacturing organizations. She brings deep experience and expertise in pharmaceutical product development, CMC and communications skills as well as a high degree of curiosity, innovation, entrepreneurship and a keen sense of patient unmet need.
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Meagan Stone, MASF
Senior Director of Operations
Meagan facilitates the coordination of the research pipeline data and logistics of grant projects. As a molecular biologist, she gained research experience in microbiology and genetics before joining the biotech industry. She managed laboratory operations of a CLIA-certified, established biomarker testing company in a period of rapid expansion.
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Mira Sirotic, CMA
Director of Investor Relations
Mira is a Maxwell investor who, for 4 years, was the Vice President at Keiretsu Forum Canada and Chair of the Deal Screening Committee. She believes in values-based servant leadership and in sharing & developing resources, experiences, and relationships that are focused on enriching the lives of others in order to build better organizations & communities. She embodies the words of Albert Einstein: "Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value."
Mira is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and comes to Maxwell with over 20 years of experience covering investor relations, business development, marketing & communications, raising capital investment, and financial/business reporting & analysis.
Cory Blaser, M.S.
Chief of Staff
Cory is a former Navy Captain and Commanding Officer of USS NICHOLAS (FFG-47). He brings with him over 25 years experience working in dynamic environments around the globe. He has worked to coordinate the efforts of numerous staffs to include his positions as Flag Secretary for the Commander of Naval Forces, Europe and Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet; Staff Director for U.S. Africa Command; and Chief of Staff for the Joint Integrated Missile Defense Command. Cory holds a B.S. in Chemistry from The Citadel and an M.S. in National Security Strategy from the National Defense University.
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Board of Directors
Joshua “Scotch” McClure, MBA
Founder, CEO & Chairman of the Board
Mr. McClure is an engineer with over 20 years of experience as a CEO, and 10 years of experience as a board director. He is a multi-patent inventor including antiviral applications of Maxwell’s platform, and human gene expression technology. His background includes leading engineering and scientific research teams, as well as military intelligence and commercial applications such as high tech hardware and software. He designed and commercialized the world’s first dual core laptop in partnership with Advanced Micro Devices. He is a pioneer in the field of plasma proteomics Big Data computation, and biomimetic drug design. He has a wide ranging interest in physics, theory of mind and consciousness, information theory, nanobiology, and reversing aging by restoring rejuvenative homeostasis. From 1992 to 2001, he served with distinction as a commission officer in the United States Air Force, in highly classified financial, electronic and other intelligence program leadership roles at the Electronic System Center and the Air Intelligence Agency. He is a graduate of the USAF Academy, with a B.S. in Management. He holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts.
Major General (Ret.) Barbara Holcomb, RN, BSN, MSN
Board Director
Gen Holcomb is a retired US Army Major General. Her last assignment in 2020 was Commanding General, US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, and Fort Detrick, and Chief of the US Army Nurse Corps. She was commander of all of the Department of Defense biodefense efforts, is one of the world’s top national security biodefense research leaders, and emergency medicine practitioner leaders. She continues to volunteer as a Registered Nurse. She brings over 33 years of experience of battlefield hospital patient care and biodefense leadership. She leads Maxwell’s partnership efforts with US Department of Defense agencies, DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), and BARDA (the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority) as the company steps forward into leading biodefense for the US, our allies and our civilization against naturally occurring, deliberate, and accidental biological threats.
Kate McKinley, MBA
Board Director
Ms. McKinley has over 20 years of experience in leading strategic partnerships in the biopharmaceutical industry, positioning organizations for commercial success. Ms. McKinley currently serves as Chief Business Officer of Rani Therapeutics, a clinical stage oral drug delivery platform company. She is the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Elevar Therapeutics, where she played a pivotal role in fundraising and the M&A activities that led to Elevar’s acquisition by HLB, Inc. She built and led Elevar's global commercial, medical affairs, business development, manufacturing, supply chain, alliance management, and corporate communications organizations. Prior to joining Elevar, she was the Head of Marketing, Training, and the Hospital Channel at Dendreon, responsible for the first FDA approved cell-based cancer immunotherapy. Prior to Dendreon, Ms. McKinley was U.S. Head of Sales at AbbVie, overseeing new product launch planning, and market expansion strategies. Ms. McKinley is a summa cum laude graduate of The University of Tulsa. She holds an M.B.A. from the university's Collins College of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with degrees in Marketing, Management and Psychology. In addition to serving as a board director for Maxwell Biosciences, Ms. McKinley was previously a Board Director of Elevar Therapeutics and Hainan Pactil Advanced Therapeutics Company LTD.
Scientific Co-Founder
Annelise Barron, PhD
Scientific Co-founder, Former Board Director
In 1999, Dr Barron invented the first family of Maxwell’s antimicrobial peptoid compounds, now called Claromers. At the time, she was an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at Northwestern University. Dr. Barron is a former director on Maxwell’s board of directors, an Associate Professor of Bioengineering at Stanford University, and Associate Editor, Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.
Dr. Barron received her in B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Washington, and her PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
Image: Maxwell drug class co-inventor Natalia Molchanova, PhD in the lab.
Research Grants & Support
US National Institutes of Health
US Department of Energy
Northwestern University
University of California Berkeley
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Empire State Biodefense Fund
University of Texas Medical Branch
Baylor College of Medicine