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CEO Spotlight: Dr. Janet Greeson, Samaritan Pharmaceuticals
By Sterling-Hoffman Life Sciences Journal
A good samaritan with an eclectic past, she has been a US Congressional Nominee for the State of Nevada and worked with Mother Teresa in Rome. A self-described people-person, Janet gives credit to her team for Samaritan’s success and believes that it takes only one person to make a difference. Dr. Janet Greeson, CEO, Samaritan Pharmaceuticals, speaks with Sterling-Hoffman Life Sciences about her motivation to become an author, her love of movies, and new and emerging therapeutic areas.
Sterling-Hoffman Life Sciences Journal
(SHSLJ): Who were your
role models when you joined the industry? Why?
Janet Greeson (JG): Mother Teresa. I had the privilege of
working with her in Rome. In Calcutta, India, if you were able
to see what she created with so little resources, you would be
astonished. When it came to saving or making people's lives more
comfortable nearing death, nothing was impossible. As I remember
it, she had someone contribute an old tire factory to her. She
renovated this factory and used it as a place where the sisters
nurtured and cared for people who were dying; there was cot
after cot filled with people and this tiny little pharmacy with
limited medications to comfort the dying people. She also had a
special place where she kept babies that were left on her
doorstep; there were probably over a hundred babies there. She
always looked up and did whatever she could. She inspired me to
always believe one person can make a difference.
SHLSJ: What would you be doing if you weren’t working in the
life sciences industry?
JG: I am a psychologist, and I cannot imagine myself in any
industry that does not involve working with people.
SHLSJ: How do you like to spend your time when not at work?
JG: I am a weekend movie warrior. I like most movies except for
horror and ridiculous comedy. I am the type that goes to
concerts, theatre and shows on a regular basis. Luckily, I live
in Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world.
SHLSJ: Can you share one or two of your company's most exciting
successes?
JG: It is hard to choose between the HIV drug and our
Alzheimer’s medication. We believe our HIV drug holds the
promise to create a firewall around healthy cells to prevent HIV
entry and replication, with possibilities for HIV prevention and
HIV dementia, on top of having efficacy and improvement in the
quality of life.
Our Alzheimer's drug has the promise to restore memories for
this debilitating disease.
SHLSJ: Tell me about some of the significant discoveries
Samaritan Pharmaceuticals has made since you joined.
JG: When I joined Samaritan, they had one HIV drug…now Samaritan
has a rich pipeline of over three hundred drug candidates for
Alzheimer's, CNS diseases, HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C; an oral
drug considered the Holy Grail, a cardiovascular drug that
completely clears plaque from clogged arteries we think in
humans within five days and numerous cancer drugs. We also have
compelling regenerative medicine drugs that could possibly be
the answer for stroke and spinal cord injury…
SHLSJ: In your opinion, what are the most significant
developments in the bio-pharmaceutical industry in the last five
years?
JG: Without a doubt, regenerative medicine and stem cell
therapy.
SHLSJ: What are some of the key challenges that still need to be
overcome when conducting clinical trials?
JG: Patient recruitment. The best-laid plans are slowed down by
difficult patient recruitment. Clinical trials are getting
competitive in recruiting patients.
SHLSJ: What motivated you to become an author?
JG: I thought there was a possibility that other people might
benefit from my experience.
SHLSJ: What was the biggest challenge Samaritan Pharmaceuticals
faced during 2007?
JG: Funding challenges occurring at the same time as the
economic slow down.
SHLSJ: How do you want to position the company in the next five
years?
JG: Our goal is to position Samaritan as an incredible pipeline
company and a partner of choice to major pharma as well to the
pharmaceutical companies who license their approved drugs to
Samaritan to market and sell in Greece and Eastern Europe.
SHLSJ: What kind of people can make the best CEOs in this
industry?
JG: I believe true entrepreneurs are those who take risks and
can take criticism. They accept that 10% of the people will
think they walk on water, 10% will hate their guts and 80% could
care less. They know who they are, feel confident, gather strong
teams around them and give credit to their team as much as they
can. As President Harry Truman said, “You can accomplish
anything as long as you don't mind who gets the credit.”
SHLSJ: Tell me about your core initiatives right now – what are
some of the focus areas for 2008?
JG: We have ten drugs slated to advance into clinical trials, a
few of them are in clinical trial status. We have the AD drug to
start PI, a Cushing’s disease drug to start PII, and our HIV
drug is slated for PII/III clinical trials this year, pending
funding.
SHLSJ: How do you hire the best people? What are the top three
things you look for when hiring?
JG: I look for self-starters, people that make decisions quickly
and do not have to check everything out with their peers for
support and people that have expertise, but respect everyone’s
expertise on the team. Respect for self and others is mandatory;
the woman that puts the FDA INDs deserves just as much respect
as the Scientist who innovated the drug. We all play a vital
part.
SHLSJ: Is finding life sciences professionals a challenge?
JG: We have experienced some challenges finding US scientists
that want to work in a university setting so we have recruited
mostly European scientists.
SHLSJ: What do you think is the ideal style of leadership?
JG: I am a relationship person and have cultivated many
relationships within and outside of Samaritan that have grown
into not only trusted business partners, but also valued
friends. I am strong, decisive and perseverant. I am totally
committed to Samaritan and believe we are more than a team that
is trying to get drugs approved. We are all committed to making
a difference. I happen to be driving the bus, and I am extremely
fortunate to have great people with me on the bus.
Dr. Janet Greeson is Chairman, President and CEO of Samaritan Pharmaceuticals, an entrepreneurial biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and marketing of innovative therapeutics. She transformed Samaritan from a ‘one drug’ company to an innovative ‘drug development pipeline’ biopharmaceutical company. Janet is a successful healthcare professional with over 2 decades of corporate experience. She has worked with Samaritan for 9 years and as its CEO for the past 4 years. Janet is a co-inventor of 18 patent applications, and presently has 9 peer-reviewed journal publications. She is the best-selling author of "It's Not What You Are Eating, It's What's Eating You" and a renowned public speaker. Janet has developed a model Addiction Rehab Program for the US Navy, and a nationwide inpatient treatment program model. For interview feedback, contact Janet at
janetgreeson@samaritanpharma.com
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