Management Team

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Chairman and Managing Director

Dr. Diwan is the Director of Spine Service at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, St George Hospital Campus, where he leads a research program on biology of the spine in the context of its ageing and repair. He has a strong record in identifying gaps in clinical care, conducting the necessary research to fill the gap, working with investors and industry to get such treatments to first-in-man clinical trials. 

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Chief Operating Officer   

As Chief Operating Officer of Cartago Biotech, Tobias is responsible for all operational R&D activities. In his 30+ years in life sciences, his mantra has always been "Improving Performance" - whether it is as a strategy consultant and executive for top and specialist advisory companies, as head of R&D project and resource management, or as service line leader for a technology company.  It drives what he does, whether it is an operating strategy, process optimization program, project / development team management, or using technologies and data as disruptors. As SVP of Advarra Consulting, Tobias ran a highly profitable, multi-million-dollar consulting organization with four verticals (Clinical, Quality, Regulatory, Institutional Research). As Head of R&D Project and Resource Management for Altana Pharma, he facilitated executive level decision-making to drive the R&D project portfolio. He also ran Accenture’s Life Science R&D Service Line for Austria, Switzerland and Germany.Tobias has a BS in Mechanical Engineering (magna cum laude) and minor in economics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.  

Chief Animal Health

Erika has more than 30 years of experience in business development and research. She is proficient in management, operations, business development and strategic planning coupled with extensive technical knowledge in life sciences. As President of  Artek Biosciences, LLC, Dr. Geimonen is engaged helping companies to develop and execute the strategies to develop and commercialize products through assessment, market research  and competitive intelligence analysis. Her recommendations support valuations, proposing value via new or existing product positioning, target audiences and geographical areas, while identifying commercial risk.In her previous role as Head of Business Development for AgBiome she lead the Business Development team responsible to bring the technologies including, but not limited to human health, animal health, crop protection, traits, biomining, biosurfactants, and other natural solutions, to the market. Prior to AgBiome, Dr. Geimonen was a Vice President, Business Development for Amring Pharmaceuticals , where she led all M&A, diligence and negotiation activities. Before joining Amring Pharmaceuticals, Erika was Chief Operating Officer for Dynamis Therapeutics. In that position, she was responsible for all corporate development activities, managing operations, and raising capital for the company. Previously, Dr. Geimonen held business development positions at XBiotech, Luitpold Pharmaceuticals/Daiichi-Sankyo and Schering-Plough. Earlier in her career Dr. Geimonen held a series of research roles and had published in many peer-review scientific journals. She also serves on the boards of startup companies, assisting them with their corporate, business and financing activities.Erika holds her M.S. in biology and Ph.D. in biology and biochemistry from Moscow State University in Russia and an M.S. in management and policy from the College of Business at the State University of New York in Stony Brook, USA.  

 Chair of the Advisory Board 

As the Chair of the Advisory Board of Cartago Biotech, Dr Eckart W Schwarz brings to bear his rich experience in drug development in order to optimize the various strands  of Cartago Biotech’s lead compound development, US licensure and market introduction. A physician by training, Dr Schwarz has a stellar track record as a senior executive in the biopharmaceutical R&D arena. In his over 30 years at GSK he held global senior leadership roles covering a wide range of specialties, including Clinical, Regulatory, Medical Affairs, Quality and Compliance. He worked and lived in the UK, Singapore, India, Belgium and the US, where he is now based just outside of Philadelphia.Dr. Schwarz has degrees from the University of Bonn (Germany), Cambridge University (UK), and University of Bristol (UK). He also is an Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, London, England.