our Team



The management team has over 75 years of experience. Our team consists of known industry thought leaders with in their core area of expertise: Drug Discovery and Development, Medical Affairs, Finance, Quality, Manufacturing, Regulatory Affairs.



Rick Coulon



President & CEO



Highly experienced pharmaceutical commercial and business development executive. Past experience: Managing Partnerof C.C.G. Partners, a consulting business focused on focusing primarily on dermatology and ophthalmic, pharmaceutical/device markets. Prior positions include: Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations at Auriga Laboratories Executive Director of Marketing/Trade Sales at StoneBridge Pharma (Stiefel Labs/GSK) Akorn, Inc., Executive Director of Sales, Marketing, and Business Development Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals (Covidien), Director of Marketing and Hospital Sales CIBA Vision Corporation (Novartis) where he was responsible for the marketing and sales of the Eye Care Products Group. He is a graduate of Michigan State University.



Jack Arbiser, MD, Ph.D



Chief Innovation Officer



Internationally known thought leader in dermatology and oncology. In 1998, Dr Arbiser established a laboratory at Emory, where he is Full Professor. He has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, and has served on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology and the Journal of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery. Dr Arbiser obtained MD/PhD training at Harvard Medical School, then internship at Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital, residency in Dermatology at the Harvard/MGH program, and a Howard Hughes Postdoctoral Fellowship in the laboratory of Dr Judah Folkman.





Mike shippel, cpa



Chief Financial Officer



Diverse experience in the ophthalmic field, ranging from corporate finance & accounting to strategic planning, brand management and business development. Mr. Shippel played a key financial role at Novartis in capital expenditure planning, product acquisitions. He is the Co-Founder & President and of Creative Displays, LLC, a company which designs and manufactures point of use storage systems for medical device and pharmaceutical companies.





j. Mark jackson, md



Medical Consultant



Board Certified Dermatologist, and an internationally known clinical investigator and consultant in dermatology. He is a practicing dermatologist both in private practice and a clinical professor at the University of Louisville. He completed his undergraduate education at Baylor University, his medical degree at Texas A&M University, and his residency in Dermatology at the University of Louisville. Dr. Jackson is actively involved in teaching and medical education and lectures nationally and internationally in his areas of expertise including rosacea, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, systemic therapies, and complex medical dermatology. He has served as a principal investigator in over 150 clinical trials.







Board of directors





Rick Coulon-CEO
Mike Shippel-CFO



See Above ​



Geoff Meacham Ph.D



Managing director and senior research analyst covering the biopharmaceutical industry at Barclays. Previously, Meacham was with J.P.Morgan as a senior biotechnology analyst, and was an equity analyst at UBS, following early-stage biotech and life science companies. Meacham has been ranked since 2007 in the Institutional Investor poll, including a Top 3 ranking since 2008. His research coverage spans large-cap biotech companies with a global reach as well as small, development-stage companies. He also worked in the pharmaceutical industry in a research-and-development capacity, Meacham holds a PhD in molecular cell biology from UAB and a bachelor's degree in biology/microbiology from the University of Georgia.​



Steve martin



Over 34 years experience in the ophthalmic pharmaceutical and medical device industry. He joined the board of QSpex Technologies in July 2008 and briefly served as QSpex’ Chief Business Office before taking on the CEO responsibility for QSpex in May 2009. Previously, Steve founded CIBA VISION Optics in 1980 and CIBA Vision Ophthalmics (now Novartis Ophthalmics) in 1990. He and his team grew sales of the combined companies to over $1.3 Billion with more than 6,000 employees. CIBA Vision is a world leader in research, development, manufacture and marketing of soft contact lenses, lens-care products and ophthalmic pharmaceuticals. Mr. Martin was President of CIBA Vision Corporation USA until 1998. Steve has personally successfully negotiated more than 70 licensing and acquisition deals with values ranging from $1 million to $320 million. He has assisted several start-ups in raising equity capital. He has served as a director on the boards of numerous public and private companies. Steve currently is a director of La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company (publicly traded), OcuCure Therapeutics (private), NeoVista, Inc. (private) and QSpex Technologies, Inc. (private). Steve is a graduate of Wake Forest University and attended the Woodrow Wilson College of Law. He holds 6 issued U.S. Patents for his inventions and a number of European patents. Steve was a Captain in the United States Marine Corps.



R. Jason Thomas JD



Jason currently serves as Senior Vice President of Northern Trust where he advises clients on investment, tax and strategic planning opportunities. Prior to Northern Trust, Jason served as General Counsel of Seven Software, a company he co-founded specializing in practice management technologies and advisory solutions for niche medical specialties. Jason began his career in wealth and strategic planning with Wells Fargo serving as a Senior Vice President with The Private Bank where he served a high net worth clientele with complex needs. During his tenure with Wells Fargo, he completed Wells Fargo’s Business Advisory Academy and was certified as a Business Succession Specialist. Jason began his career as a corporate attorney and was in practice for seven years with a concentration in the areas of general corporate, tax planning and litigation, as well as estate and succession planning. Immediately prior to joining Wells Fargo, Jason served as a Tax Director in the Atlanta office of PricewaterhouseCoopers serving publicly and privately held clients throughout the Southeast. Jason received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance in 1996 and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Alabama’s School of Law.

In addition to his current role at Northern Trust, Jason is actively involved in the entrepreneurial community through his participation in and involvement with start-ups across the Southeast.






Accuitis, Inc.