Merged into Jasper Therapeutics, ticker now JSPR
AMHC

Completed

Jasper Therapeutics

JSPR
First $98.20
Merger $81.50
17%
Merger +6mo $29.80
70%
Merger +1yr $6.14
94%
Recent $30.00
69%

Amplitude Healthcare Acquisition Corp

Raised
$100M
CIK
1788028
SPAC Ticker
AMHC
Merger
Jasper Therapeutics
Merged Ticker
JSPR
Focus
Healthcare
External link: SEC Filings

SPAC Team

Leadership

Howard Hoffen, our Chairman since inception, has served as the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Metalmark since its founding as an independent firm in 2004, and was previously Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MSCP. He joined Morgan Stanley in 1985 and MSCP in 1986. He oversaw the private equity businesses of Morgan Stanley, including MSCP, Venture Partners and Global Emerging Markets. Mr. Hoffen was also formerly a member of the Management Committee for Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Mr. Hoffen is currently a director of multiple healthcare companies including Innovetive Petcare Holdings, LLC, an operator of veterinary hospitals and clinics, since 2018, Premier Research Group Holdings, L.P., a middle-market contract research organization, since 2016, and Sebela Holdings LLC, a privately-held commercialization and development organization focused on marketed pharmaceuticals, since 2018. Mr. Hoffen has also previously served as a director of numerous companies including Aegis Sciences Corporation, a leading provider of drug monitoring and toxicology services, from 2010 to 2014, Catalytica, Inc., an outsourced manufacturing business that employed proprietary catalytic technologies to provide more efficient and cleaner production processes for the pharmaceutical and the power generation industries, from 1997 to 2000, Collagen Matrix, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of collagen and mineral-based biomaterial products, from 2014 to 2019, Healogics, Inc., a provider of wound care management services for hospitals and other healthcare providers, from 2008 to 2014, Melissa & Doug, Inc., a designer and developer of a range of educational and traditional toy products, from 2007 to 2010, Vanguard Health Systems, Inc., a hospital management company, from 2001to 2004, and WorldStrides Holdings, an educational travel provider, from 2016 to 2017. Mr. Hoffen received a BS in Engineering from Columbia University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Mr. Hoffen is currently a member of the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Board of Visitors at Columbia University. He is well qualified to serve on our Board due to his extensive investment and transactional experience in the healthcare industry.

Bala Venkataraman, our Chief Executive Officer and a Director since inception, has been a founding Partner of Avego since 2014 and prior to this was an experienced operating executive in the pharmaceutical industry. Most recently, beginning in 2011, Mr. Venkataraman was Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Vidara Therapeutics until its sale to Horizon Pharma in 2014. Prior to founding Vidara Therapeutics, Mr. Venkataraman was the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Alaven Pharmaceutical from 2003 until its sale to Meda Pharma in 2010. Mr. Venkataraman also served as Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Vice President of Business Development, Strategic Planning and Operations at First Horizon Pharmaceutical (now part of Shionogi Pharma) from 1998 to 2003. Mr. Venkataraman has authored several papers in research publications related to medicinal chemistry and holds numerous drug and formulation patents. Since 2013 he has been a director of Sebela Holdings LLC, a privately-held commercialization and development organization focused on marketed pharmaceuticals. Mr. Venkataraman holds an MS in Chemistry from Case Western University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is well qualified to serve on our Board due to his extensive operational and investment experience in the healthcare industry.

Kenneth Clifford, our Chief Financial Officer since inception, serves as a Partner and Chief Financial Officer at Metalmark, where he has held such position since Metalmark’s founding as an independent firm in 2004. He is a former Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, Venture Partners and Global Emerging Markets. He joined Morgan Stanley in 1981 and Morgan Stanley Capital Partners in 1986. He was formerly a member of the Investment Committee for the Morgan Stanley Global Emerging Markets Fund. Mr. Clifford served as a director of EnerSys and Ingenuity Systems. He is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York. Mr. Clifford received a B.S. in Business and Economics from Lehigh University and an MBA from New York University.

Fred Eshelman, a director of ours since the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, is the founder of Eshelman Ventures, LLC an investment company primarily interested in healthcare companies, since 2014. Previously, from 1986 to 2011 Dr. Eshelman founded and initially served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (and later solely as Chairman) of Pharmaceutical Product Development, a global contract research organization. After the sale of Pharmaceutical Product Development in 2011, he served as founding chairman and largest shareholder of Furiex Pharmaceuticals, a company which in-licensed and rapidly developed new medicines and which was sold to Forest Laboratories/Actavis in 2014. His career has also included positions at the former Glaxo, Inc., Beecham Laboratories and Boehringer Mannheim Pharmaceuticals. He is currently a director of Eyenovia, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYEN) a clinical stage ophthalmic biopharmaceutical company, since 2018, Cellective Biotherapy, Inc., a B-10 cell-based immunotherapy company, since 2016 and Asepticys, LLC, a development stage company researching novel disinfectants, since 2018. Previously, he was chairman of The Medicines Company (NASDAQ:MDCO), a pharmaceutical company, from 2015 to 2018 and was on the board of Bausch Health Companies, Inc. (NYSE:BHC), a pharmaceutical company, from 2015 to 2018. Dr. Eshelman has served on the executive committee of the Medical Foundation of North Carolina, and was appointed by the North Carolina General Assembly to serve on the Board of Governors for the state’s multi-campus university system, as well as the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. In addition, he chairs the board of visitors for the School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (“UNC-CH”). The School was named the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy in recognition of his many contributions to the school and the profession. Dr. Eshelman received the doctor of pharmacy from the University of Cincinnati, completed a residency at Cincinnati General Hospital, and a BS Pharm from UNC-CH. He completed the OPM program at Harvard Business School. Dr. Eshelman also received an honorary doctor of science from UNC-CH. He is well qualified to serve on our Board due to his extensive operational and investment experience in the healthcare industry.

Ernest Mario, a director of ours since the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, has since 2007 been Chairman of Soleno Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLNO), a pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutic products for the treatment of rare diseases. He has also since 2011 been a Venture Partner with Pappas Ventures, a Research Triangle Park, North Carolina life science venture capital firm and since 2007 has served as a director of Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG), a large biotechnology company, and since 2014 as a director Eyenovia, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYEN) a clinical stage ophthalmic biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Mario served in management at a number of drug companies before being named in 1989 Chief Executive Officer of Glaxo Wellcome, then the second-largest drug company in the world. During Dr. Mario’s tenure, Glaxo brought five major new products to market and saw sales and profits increase substantially. Later, Dr. Mario led pioneering drug delivery technology company Alza until selling it to Johnson & Johnson in 2001. He subsequently served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Reliant Pharmaceuticals, where he led the commercialization of Omacor/Lovaza, the first prescription omega-3 medication clinically proven to reduce very high triglycerides. Dr. Mario also serves on the advisory board to certain funds and co-investment vehicles affiliated with Metalmark. He served as a trustee of Rutgers University, where the pharmacy school he attended now bears his name; the University of Rhode Island, where he earned his PhD in physical sciences; and Duke University, where his 18 years of service was the longest tenure ever for a non-Duke University family member. Dr. Mario earned a BS in pharmacy at Rutgers University and his MS and PhD in physical sciences at the University of Rhode Island. He also holds honorary doctorates from the University of Rhode Island and Rutgers University. In 2007, he was awarded the Remington Medal by the American Pharmacists’ Association, pharmacy’s highest honor. He is well qualified to serve on our Board due to his extensive operational, investment and transactional experience in the healthcare industry.

Peter Dolan, a director of ours since the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, has decades of senior leadership experience across a broad range of businesses and has a track record of successful healthcare investments in large companies and more recently in technology driven startups. Mr. Dolan joined Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) from General Foods in 1988. After more than a decade leading its Consumer Products, Nutritionals, and Medical Device businesses, he was named Chief Executive Officer of the company in 2001. He led the acquisition of DuPont Pharmaceuticals, which brought Eliquis to the company, which has since become a very large, multi-billion dollar, annual revenue product. In 2001, the successful investment in Imclone’s Erbitux provided the oncology revenue bridge until the introductions of Sprycel and later Yervoy. In 2004, he licensed the immuno-oncology compound that became Yervoy, later named as the Biotech Discovery of the Decade for extending survival in some of the hardest to treat cancers. Following his departure from Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2006, Mr. Dolan has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gemin X, a venture capital backed startup oncology company that was sold to Cephalon Pharmaceuticals. More recently, from 2014 to 2019, he was Chairman of Allied Minds, plc (LON:ALM), an innovation company that forms, funds, manages and builds startups based on early-stage technology. Over the course of his career, Mr. Dolan has served on the boards of multiple for-profits and not-for-profits, and has been on the Board of Tufts University since 2001, serving as its Chairman since 2013. Other boards have included the American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) and the Tuck School Board of Overseers. Since 2010 he has served as Vice Chair of the Partnership for a Healthier America, which works with the private, public and non-profit sectors to develop strategies and initiatives and brokers commitments to address the obesity epidemic. Mr. Dolan graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University in 1978 with a BA. He then earned his MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He is well qualified to serve on our Board due to his extensive investment, operational and transactional experience in the healthcare industry.

Glenn Reicin, a director of ours since the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, has since June 2019 been Chief Financial Officer at Sigilon Therapeutics, Inc., a provider of novel treatments for a range of chronic diseases, and from 1993 to 2008 a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley where he headed their Healthcare Equity Research team. He is a biotechnology and medical technology executive with experience across finance, operations and investor relations. From 2013 to May 2019, Mr. Reicin served as President of Greyrock Biomedical Advisors, which provides a range of deal sourcing, valuation, due diligence and management consulting services for companies in the healthcare space. Most notably, he designed and implemented a strategy for PDL Biopharma to ensure the profitability of the company after a 2016 patent and corresponding royalty expired. Previously, in 2013, he served as an Executive-in-Resident at Covidien and from 2008 to 2012 as Managing Director at Skyline Ventures. At Skyline Ventures, he served as an active board member at a number of biotech firms, including Novasys Medical, a maker of minimally invasive treatments for female incontinence from 2009 to 2013, SI-Bone Inc. (NASDAQ: SIBN), a developer of a minimally invasive surgical treatment for sacroiliac joint disorders from 2010 to 2012, and Spinal Motion Incorporated, a developer of artificial disc implants to preserve motion at the treated spinal segment of the body from 2009 to 2014. He also served as Board Observer on Collegium Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: COLL) a pain management pharmaceutical company and AcelRx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACRX), a specialty pharmaceutical company. He started his career at Morgan Stanley where he became a Managing Director in equity research covering medical technology. His sell-side career spanned 18 years, including 15 years as a top-three ranked analyst and six consecutive years in the top spot. He holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and B.A. from Brandeis University. He is well qualified to serve on our Board due to his extensive operational, consulting and transactional experience in the healthcare industry.

Advisors

Virinder Nohria M.D., Ph.D, Dr. Nohria currently serves as a board member to Saol Therapeutics, Sebela Pharmaceuticals, and Meridien Research. He is an experienced biotechnology entrepreneur and drug developer with a track record of success in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector. Dr. Nohria is a board-certified neurologist with special qualification in child neurology. Dr. Nohria co-founded Vidara Therapeutics in 2011 and served as its President and Chief Medical Officer until the company’s sale to Horizon Therapeutics in 2014. Dr. Nohria served on the board of Horizon Pharma plc from 2014 to 2017. He also served on the board of Promentis Pharmaceuticals Inc from 2009 to 2016. Dr. Nohria has been an advisor to Avego Healthcare since its inception in 2015 to present. In the past, Dr. Nohria was part of the founding team of Alaven Pharmaceutical and Alaven Consumer Health LLC and served as its Chief Medical Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and Executive Vice President from 2008 until its sale to Meda Pharma in 2010. Additionally, Dr. Nohria worked for Eli Lilly on Zyprexa and at UCB, where he was clinical lead for submission and commercialization of Keppra in the United States. Between 2003 and 2005, Dr. Nohria was Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Xcel Pharmaceuticals where he led development of retigabine (ezogabine) for the treatment of epilepsy. Dr. Nohria’s medical training was conducted at the University of Cambridge in England. His postgraduate training was completed in the United Kingdom and the United States at Duke University. He also holds a Ph.D. in Neuropharmacology and his Masters in Pharmacology from University of Bradford in the UK. He obtained his undergraduate degree from University of Leeds in the UK. He has authored many publications and book chapters.

John Devane Ph.D. Dr. Devane currently serves as a board member to Saol Therapeutics and Sebela Pharmaceuticals. In addition, Dr. Devane has been an advisor to Avego Healthcare since its inception in 2015 to present. Previously, Dr. Devane was a scientific advisor to Horizon Pharma Ireland Ltd. from 2014 to 2017 and also served as Chief Scientific Officer to Vidara Therapeutics Research Ltd. from 2012 to 2014. In the past, Dr. Devane was part of the founding team of AGI Therapeutics plc. and served as its Chief Executive Officer from 2004 to 2012. Additionally, Dr. Devane founded and led Athpharma Ltd. as Chief Executive Officer from 2002 to 2005. Dr. Devane worked for Elan Corporation from 1981 to 2001 and held various senior leadership positions, including Executive Vice President R&D (1993-2001) and Senior Vice President Clinical & Regulatory, where he led key clinical trial programs in the U.S. and negotiated NDA approvals directly with the Food and Drug Administration. During the period 1990 to 2001, Dr. Devane and his team were responsible for 6 NDA and 3 ANDA approvals. Dr. Devane has had a long career designing and successfully delivering major product development programs spanning activities in preclinical, clinical, manufacturing, regulatory, and intellectual property. He has a deep knowledge in pharmacology, drug delivery, clinical development, regulatory affairs and intellectual property. Dr. Devane is the inventor/co-inventor on many granted and pending patent applications and has also been widely published in scientific and medical literature. His graduate and post-graduate scientific training was conducted at University College in Dublin, Ireland where he received his Bachelor of Science degree with honors and Ph.D. degree. In 2012, Dr. Devane received a diploma in Accounting & Finance (ACCA) by exam and received a certificate and diploma from the Institute of Directors (UK) by exam relating to their Chartered Director Program.