Leadership
THOMAS PICCARIELLO, PHD.
CO-FOUNDER, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF SCIENCE OFFICER
Prior to founding Synthonics, Dr. Piccariello was the lead inventor of New River Pharmaceuticals’ Carrierwave technology (attaching a peptide to an active agent to make that agent less subject to abuse), which New River incorporated into Vyvanse. Shortly after the launch of Vyvanse, Shire acquired New River for approximately $2.4 billion. Dr. Piccariello has experience in the fields of synthetic chemistry, metallurgy, electrochemistry, plant enzymology, chemical manufacturing and pharmacology. In addition to serving as the lead scientist for two pharmaceutical start-up companies (both of which became public), Dr. Piccariello founded and ran contract research and contract manufacturing companies, which he later sold. Dr. Piccariello has 23 patents and patent applications to his credit, 18 of which deal with novel drug delivery technologies. He has a B.S. in biology and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech).
JOHN TINKHAM
CEO AND CO-FOUNDER
Mr. Tinkham has spent much of his career as a transactional lawyer focusing on technology licensing, public and private mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. After practicing with Latham & Watkins and Skadden Arps in San Francisco and Seattle, he served as assistant general counsel at Integra Lifesciences, where he led their mergers and acquisitions and licensing practices. He studied economics at Northwestern University and law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, where he was the editor-in-chief of the California Law Review.
SCOTT PALMER, MD
CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER AND CO-FOUNDER
Dr. Scott Palmer, M.D., is a board-certified physician in Internal Medicine, and a graduate of University of Michigan and Rush Medical College in Chicago. Dr. Palmer has been selected in the past as a “Top Doctors: Chicago Metro Area” by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., a “Top Doctor” by U.S. News & World Report, and a “Top Doc” in Internal Medicine by Chicago Magazine. He’s currently a member of the American Academy of Private Physicians, is a member of Synthonics, Inc’ Board of Directors and is the chairman of Synthonics’ Scientific Advisory Board. In addition to having an active medical practice in Chicago, Dr. Palmer is also a medical team physician for the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls. His academic interests are pharmaceutic research, and the clinical areas of neurodegenerative diseases, infection diseases, cancer and autism spectrum disorders.