Board of Directors

Erik Iverson

Erik Iverson is Chief Executive Officer of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. He brings to his role over 20 years of executive experience leading organizations committed to entrepreneurial efforts that positively impact people worldwide. He assumed the lead of the investment and nonprofit patent and licensing organization in July 2016. For more than 90 years, WARF has invested in scientific research and education at the UW-Madison stewarding the cycle of research, discovery, commercialization and investment.

Iverson also continues to be engaged in national and multinational thought leadership efforts regarding the management and development of intellectual property and technologies, with a particular focus on global access to medicines. He serves on World Health Organization expert committees, including serving as a member of the 2017 WHO Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health Innovation and Intellectual Property.

Prior to joining WARF, Iverson was the President, Business & Operations, of the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI), a nonprofit global health organization in Seattle, WA, focused on research and product development for infectious diseases of global importance. Iverson led IDRI’s Executive Team in making critical business and strategic efforts relating to IDRI’s internal preclinical and clinical R&D programs, coordinating contract development and manufacturing services, technology/product in-licensing and acquisition, and technology out-licensing and partnering. He was also responsible for structuring international joint ventures and collaborative relationships aimed at the formulation, development and production of vaccines and vaccine technologies, including within emerging markets.

Iverson was a Founder and a Board Member of Afrigen Biologics Limited, an IDRI spinout biotechnology company located in Cape Town, South Africa, that is the first ever vaccine and biologics focused biotechnology company on the continent of Africa.

Prior to IDRI, Iverson was hired as the first attorney dedicated to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s global health and agricultural programs. He played a lead role in building the Global Health Program for seven years as Associate General Counsel. At the Foundation, Iverson worked closely with staff and grantees in the development of intellectual property management and collaboration agreements, novel financing arrangements (including a leadership role in the establishment of the Foundation’s private equity “Program Related Investments”), product development and global product access.

Previously, Iverson was an attorney at the law firm of Perkins Coie LLP where he represented life science companies in the negotiation of financing transactions, joint ventures, research collaborations, licensing agreements and manufacturing agreements.

Iverson has served as an Adjunct Professor in Biotechnology Law at University of Washington, School of Law in Seattle, WA, and is a founding member of the HIV Cure Initiative, which aims to identify global funding and build multinational public-private partnerships for the purpose of finally developing a cure for HIV. He also served as a member of the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on IP Rights to the U.S. Department of Commerce and was Chairman of the Pacific Northwest Diabetes Research Institute.

Iverson received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from The University of North Dakota School of Law in 1994 and his Master of Laws (LL.M) in Taxation from New York University School of Law in 1995. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in Business Management and Political Science from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota.

David A. Newberg began his career in 1980 as a law clerk for a U.S. District Court Judge in the Southern District of New York. He has extensive experience in corporate and commercial matters, intellectual property, real estate development and financing, mergers and acquisitions, including advice and representation in the financing and securities areas, both public and private. Mr. Newberg represents corporations and joint ventures both here and abroad in high technology and basic industry, acquisitions and divestitures and intellectual property matters, including licensing and distribution of high technology products and processes. In addition, Mr. Newberg provides legal services to individuals and family businesses and their estate and succession planning issues. Among his pro bono activities, Mr. Newberg serves on the panel of mediators for the Federal Courts in the Southern District of New York. He has also been an Adjunct Professor of Law at Pace University Law School where he taught Securities Regulation. He earned an A.B. degree from Princeton University and his J.D. degree from Columbia University

Eric Patzer

Dr. Patzer is co-founder, former President and current Chairman of the Board of Directors of Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a company focused on innovative therapies for infectious disease particularly involving antibiotic resistance. Aridis recently completed an initial public offering (IPO) in 2018 and is publicly traded on NASDAQ. He has more than 35 years of experience in biotechnology and since 1981 has been involved in developing many pioneering biotechnology products beginning at Genentech (Activase®, Protropin®, Herceptin® and Xolair®). Then in 1996, he joined Aviron (acquired by MedImmune LLC now part of AstraZeneca) as VP Development to build the development expertise needed to advance vaccines from research through product development. He was project leader of the intranasal influenza vaccine (FluMist™) during preclinical and clinical development and was instrumental in developing the improved refrigerator stable formulation of FluMist™. Dr. Patzer left Aviron and in 2003 co-founded Aridis. During his career he has had broad management responsibility in product development including analytical testing, preclinical animal testing, process and formulation development, QA/QC and project and portfolio management.

Dr. Patzer received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Penn State University, a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Virginia and was a Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University.

Paul V. Radspinner

Mr. Radspinner is co-founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of FluGen Inc. With Mr. Radspinner as President & CEO FluGen has raised over $40 million in capital and completed multiple human clinical trials with M2SR. After completing his MBA at Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management he spent over 15 years in management roles overseeing international pharmaceutical operations, marketing and business development with Eli Lilly and Company.  After his time at Lilly he managed the pharmaceuticals portfolio including Vitamin D analogs at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Mr. Radspinner entered the Madison biotech scene when he took on the role of Vice President of Business Development for Deltanoid Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and then started FluGen.  In 2008 Mr. Radspinner was elected to the Board of Directors for BioForward, the Wisconsin state biotechnology organization where he served as President. Mr. Radspinner is a member of the Boards of Directors for Plumb Pharmaceuticals and Co-D Therapeutics.

David Walsh

Mr. Walsh is a retired Partner and former managing partner in the law firm Foley & Lardner LLP.  He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1965) and his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School (1970).   In 1997, he received the Distinguished Business Alumnus Award from the University’s School of Business and in 2012 he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Mr. Walsh was Chair of the UW Hospital and Clinics Authority Board (2008 – 2015).  He served on the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents (2003-2015), where he served as President from 2005-2007.  Mr. Walsh is currently a Board member of Thompson Investment Management, LLC, Chairman of the Board at National Guardian Life Insurance Company, and is on the investment committee for the Kegonsa Seed Fund I, L.P.   Mr. Walsh was a Lieutenant in the United States Navy and served in Vietnam (1966-1967).

Paul Weiss

Dr. Weiss has been a member of the FluGen board since 2015. He joined Venture Investors in 2006 as a Managing Director and focuses on making Healthcare investments. Dr. Weiss has over 20 years of operating experience in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries.  He previously was President of the Gala Biotech business unit of Cardinal Health (now part of Catalent).  Before joining Gala, he served as the VP of Business Development for 3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company that completed its IPO during his tenure and was subsequently acquired by Johnson & Johnson.  Earlier in his career, Dr. Weiss worked as Director of Licensing for Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals, (now Pfizer).  He also served as Director of Business Development and Research for Scientific Protein Labs, then a division of American Home Products, and Director of Operations for Columbia Research Labs, which focused on women’s health, and is now part of Catalent.

In addition to FluGen, Dr. Weiss is currently a member of the Board of Directors for Invenra, and Madison Vaccines Incorporated. Dr. Weiss also serves on the Board of Directors for TamirBio (formerly Alfacell Corporation (NASDAQ:  ACEL), and on the Board of Visitors for the Waisman Center and Waisman Biomanufacturing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Dr. Weiss was previously on the boards of Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:  AKBA), Neurovance (sold to Otsuka Pharmaceuticals), and Aerpio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:  ARPO).

Dr. Weiss received a B.S. in Biochemistry with honors from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and an M.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he also worked as a postdoctoral research associate.