Leadership Team
James S. Burns - President & CEO
Jim Burns has over 30 years executive experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and diagnostic fields. He has served in leadership roles ranging from commercialization, financial, business development, and general management within businesses ranging from early-stage companies to large multinational corporations, venture capital, and private equity. Prior to joining AssureRx, Jim has served as President and CEO of EntreMed, a public clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing drugs for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases; as President, EVP and a founder of MedPointe Pharmaceuticals, a specialty branded pharmaceutical company; a founder and Managing Director of MedPointe Capital, a private equity firm; President, CEO and a founder of Osiris Therapeutics, a public biotech company specializing in stem cell therapy for the treatment of damaged or diseased tissues; a founding General Partner of HealthCare Ventures LP, a venture capital partnership specializing in forming new pharmaceutical and biotech companies; Group President at Becton Dickinson, a global diagnostic and medical device company; and Partner at Booz Allen Hamilton, a global strategy and technology consultant.
Donald R. Wright, Jr. - Sr. Vice President Operations & Technology
Don Wright brings more than 20 years of information technology, product development, and operations experience to AssureRx. Don has served as vice president of product development at Attachmate, leading a 450 person worldwide product development organization. Don has also served as CTO for Spotlight Solutions, a leading provider of retail pricing and revenue optimization products, as well as working on the merger with ProfitLogic, which was sold to Oracle. Don also served as vice president and CIO for Domin-8 Enterprise Solutions, overseeing web-based product offerings, which grew to over six million units under management. Most recently, Don was co-founder and CTO of SaaS Capital, a specialty finance company serving the SaaS software market.
Albert Lucas V - Vice President Sales & Marketing
Al Lucas brings over 20 years of sales and marketing experience in the pharmaceutical industry with Novartis, Pharmacia, and The Upjohn Company, including more than 16 years of selling and marketing psychotropic medications to psychiatrists and psychiatric hospitals, including leading academic centers, state hospitals and VA hospitals. Al has worked with managed health care organizations, employers and insurance companies. He has experience in professional medical marketing to physicians as well as broad Direct to Patient and Direct to Consumer marketing. Al has participated in over 15 successful product launches and played key roles in the development, hiring, and training of multiple sales forces.
Joel G. Winner, MD - Medical Director
Joel Winner is a researcher in the field of psycho-pharmacogenetics and a practicing clinical psychiatrist. Prior to joining AssureRx, Dr. Winner was part of the "Gene Team" at Mayo Clinic where he was a clinical and research fellow and conducted clinical trials with the AssureRx product, GeneSightRx. Joel received his medical degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and completed a general psychiatry residency at the University of Hawaii. He scored in the top 3% of psychiatry residents on the Psychiatric Resident In-Training Exam (PRITE). Dr. Winner's focus in both his research and clinical work has been in pharmacogenetics.
Nina King, MD, PhD - Laboratory Director
Nina King is an expert in DNA identity and biological relationship testing. She has advanced technical expertise and extensive laboratory research experience in molecular biology, drug metabolism, and regulatory compliance. Nina has authored multiple biotech patents and scientific publications. She has worked at the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine in Russia, and at the FDA National Center for Toxicological Research, where she studied drug-metabolizing enzymes. Most recently, she worked at Genetica DNA Laboratories as Assistant Laboratory Director, where she directed DNA testing and participated in obtaining multiple laboratory accreditations. Dr. King received a medical degree with specialization in Clinical Biochemistry from Tomsk Medical Institute in Russia and a PH.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Arkansas. She holds a Certificate of Qualification as a Technical Supervisor in Molecular Diagnostics from the American Board of Bioanalysis and a Certificate of Qualification as a Clinical Chemist from National Registry of Certified Chemists. She is also a holder of a Certificate of Qualification from the New York State Department of Health in Forensic Identity and Parentage/Identity Testing.