Healthcare >> CEO Interviews >> October 17, 2003
DAVID S. KABAKOFF currently serves as Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of Salmedix, Inc., a San Diego-based company which he co-founded
in 2001 with scientists from UCSD Medical School. From 1996 until
September, 2000, Dr. Kabakoff was employed with Dura Pharmaceuticals, a
specialty pharmaceutical company acquired by Elan Pharmaceuticals in
September 2000. He served initially as Executive Vice President and in
1998 became President, Dura Technologies. He also served as Chairman,
President and CEO of Spiros Development Corporation, II, a public
special purpose company established by Dura in 1997 and acquired by Dura
in 2000. Prior to joining Dura, Dr. Kabakoff served as Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer of Corvas International, a biopharmaceutical
firm focused in the cardiovascular field, which he led for seven years,
from post-Series A financing until four years post-IPO. At Corvas, he
negotiated and led corporate partnerships with Pfizer, Schering-Plough,
Ortho Division of J&J, and Centocor, Inc. From 1983 until 1989, he
served as Vice President, and then Senior Vice President of Diagnostics
R&D for Hybritech, Inc., a pioneer in the field of monoclonal
antibodies, which was acquired by Eli Lilly & Co in 1986. Among his
significant accomplishments at Hybritech are leading the teams which
developed the first FDA approved lab test for PSA, prostate specific
antigen, and the first five-minute, visual pregnancy test. Dr. Kabakoff
received his PhD in Chemistry from Yale University in 1974 and his BA in
Chemistry from Case Western Reserve University in 1969. Profile
Dr. Kabakoff: Salmedix is a cancer drug development company that is
focused primarily on drugs for hematologic cancers, which are cancers
