Dignify Therapeutics

Senior Management

Anthony DiTonno

CEO
Mr. DiTonno is a highly accomplished chief executive with 25+ years of senior leadership experience spanning the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. He was most recently CEO and Director of Tenax Therapeutics (TENX), as well as CEO of Avantis Medical Systems. Prior to that, Mr. DiTonno was President and CEO and Director of NeurogesX Inc. (NGSX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on treatments for neuropathic pain. Previously, he was Executive VP of Marketing and Sales at Enteric Medical Technologies, Inc., President and CEO of Lifesleep Systems, Inc., and VP and General Manager of Olcassen Pharmaceuticals. He has held a variety of positions at Rorer Group, Inc. (Rhône Poulenc Rorer) and Wyeth Laboratories. Mr. DiTonno received an MBA from Drexel University and a BS in Business Administration from St. Joseph’s University.

Karl Thor, Ph.D.

Chief Scientific Officer
Karl Thor, PhD  is Chief Scientific Officer of Dignify Therapeutics.  He was most recently Co-founder and VP of Research of Urogenix Inc., a subsidiary of Astellas Pharma.  Prior to that, he was Founder and CSO of Dynogen Pharmaceuticals, Founder and CSO of PPD GenuPro, Co-Director of the Laboratory of NeuroUrology at Duke University Medical Center, and Research Scientist at Eli Lilly. Dr. Thor has served as a member of the FDA-PhRMA Industry Guidelines for Urinary Incontinence Trials, the NIH Urology Special Emphasis Study Section, and serves on the WHO’s International Consultation on Incontinence.

Ed Burgard, Ph.D.

President
Ed Burgard, PhD  is President.  He was Co-founder and Director of Cellular Pharmacology at Urogenix Inc.  Prior to that he held positions of Director of In vitro Pharmacology at Dynogen Pharmaceuticals, and Research Investigator at Abbott Laboratories.  Dr. Burgard received his PhD in Pharmacology from the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Alabama, Birmingham and the University of Michigan.

Dan Ricca, Ph.D.

VP of Chemistry
Dan Ricca, PhD  is VP of Chemistry. He began his professional career in medicinal chemistry at Glaxo.  He subsequently co-founded SARCO, a combinatorial chemistry company, where he served as VP of Chemistry.  Following a successful acquisition and exit, Dan assumed the role of VP of Chemistry for two small venture-backed drug discovery companies, Cogent Neuroscience and Dynogen Pharmaceuticals.  Dan holds a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Michigan and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California, Irvine.

Lesley Marson, Ph.D.

VP of Preclinical Research
Lesley Marson, PhD is VP of Preclinical Research of Dignify Therapeutics. Lesley was most recently Director of Sexual Health Research at Urogenix Inc. Prior to that she held the position of Professor in the Urology Division of the Department of Surgery, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Here she directed a successful NIH­funded a preclinical research program and served as Study Coordinator for several clinical trials. Prior to that Dr Marson was Assistant Professor at Northwestern University, Chicago and completed postdoctoral training at Washington University St Louis and University of Kentucky, Lexington. She is an internationally­ recognized expert in pelvic and sexual function.