Robert Jacks

President & Chief Executive Officer

Robert has 23 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. He has founded or co-founded multiple companies and raised more than $185 million. Previously, Robert was the President & CEO of Indalo Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapeutics for serious fibrotic diseases, and President, CFO, and Co-Founder of Symbiomix Therapeutics, which was sold after achieving NDA approval for Solosec®. Robert also previously held the positions of Head of Corporate Development for Tobira Therapeutics, Head of Business Development for ACT Biotech, and Entrepreneur-in-Residence for OrbiMed Advisors.

Robert began his pharmaceutical industry career in finance and product development at Pfizer, where he last worked as the Director of Business Development for Oncology and Infectious Diseases. Robert earned an MBA from Columbia Business School, an MSE in Civil Engineering from Stanford University, and a BSE in Civil Engineering from Duke University. When not solving intractable healthcare problems, Robert spends as much time as possible with his wife and two daughters.

David Katz

Chief Scientific Officer

Prior to founding Sparrow, David was a pharmaceutical R&D leader at Abbott and AbbVie, where he led clinical development and drug discovery teams, and was a personalized medicine pioneer. David is dedicated to mentorship of the next generation of life sciences entrepreneurs, currently as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Oregon Health & Science University. He held post-doctoral fellowships in immunology at Universities of Chicago and Michigan, earned MPhil and PhD degrees in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University, and is an alumnus of Pomona College (BA, Chemistry).

David has published over 50 peer-reviewed scientific papers. In his copious spare time, he is actively involved in new play development and is a glass artist.

Frank Czerwiec

Chief Medical Officer

Frank has been a medical researcher for over 30 years; motivated to find solutions for patients with unmet medical needs. Working in industry for the past 24 years, as Chief Medical Officer of Goldfinch Bio he recently helped build the Clinical Development, Regulatory and Medical Affairs groups supporting the launch of several early phase clinical programs. With progressively increasing responsibilities, culminating as VP of Clinical Development at Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Frank’s team was instrumental in securing tolvaptan’s global approvals for the treatment of hyponatremia (Samsca®) and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (Jinarc/Jynarque®).

Frank graduated from the University of Miami School of Medicine’s Combined Clinician Scientist program with both a PhD in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and an MD followed by an American Board of Internal Medicine Research Pathway residency. He completed NIH-NICHD/NIDDK Adult Endocrinology Fellowship where he was first exposed to formal clinical investigation serving patients having rare medical conditions like congenital adrenal hyperplasia, hypercalcuric hypoparathyroidism, Cushing disease/syndrome and McCune-Albright syndrome. There he also opened an investigator-initiated IND for dihydrotestosterone treatment of male pseudohermaphroiditism (5-alpha reductase deficiency). After the NIH, Frank’s focus shifted to endocrine and cardio-renal conditions, where he sought innovative solutions to clinical problems involving patients and families wherever possible.

 In his spare, spare time, Frank enjoys sailing, scuba diving, and hiking in the nearest National parks with his family and two dogs.

Jeff Drajesk

Vice President of Program Management

Jeff joined Sparrow after a 26-year career at Abbott and AbbVie. Prior to that, Jeff spent three years in biotech clinical and regulatory at XOMA Corporation. Jeff has a broad foundation of knowledge in drug development ranging from Ph 1-4 clinical development across multiple therapeutic areas, cross-functional team management, and project planning, monitoring and reporting. He had direct involvement in the creation of two entirely new departments (Pharmacogenetics and Marketed Product Development), and the establishment of the US Medical Affairs Program and Portfolio Management function. Jeff holds BS and MS degrees in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and worked in direct patient care and clinical research at the University Hospital.

Jeff enjoys spending time with his family and friends, is a private pilot, loves all things outdoors including fishing, hunting, camping, and loves fixing things!

Jamie MacPherson

Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs & Quality Assurance

Jamie has 20 years of experience as a Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance professional in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry across a wide variety of therapeutic areas, including Neurology, Cardiology, Endocrinology, Reproductive Health, and Nephrology. She specializes in bringing innovative treatments to patients with serious and rare diseases to address unmet medical needs. Throughout her career, she has provided strategic advice in the development or commercialization 20 products at Akcea Therapeutics, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Genzyme Corporation, EMD Serono, Inc, and Repligen Corporation.

Jamie earned a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Bouvé College of Health Sciences at Northeastern University. In her spare time, Jamie enjoys spending time with her family, skiing and mountain biking, and community service.