WHo we are
Protalix is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development, production, and commercialization of innovative medicines for patients living with rare diseases. We are advancing promising candidates leveraging our expertise in protein therapeutics through our proprietary, commercial-scale ProCellEx® plant cell-based protein expression system, as well as our chemical and genetic modification capabilities, including PEGylation. With two approved drugs already making an impact, we are committed to expanding our pipeline to address the unmet needs of patients facing some of the most challenging rare diseases.
Patient-Centered Mission
At Protalix, our goal is to be at the forefront of transforming lives by developing groundbreaking solutions for rare diseases with high unmet need. Our unwavering dedication to patients living with rare diseases drives us forward, fueling our mission to deliver safe and effective solutions to individuals facing limited to no currently available therapeutic options.
Innovative Scientific Approach
Our pioneering approach to developing rare disease treatments that can improve clinical outcomes is exemplified in our ProCellEx® platform and protein PEGylation capabilities. Our platform, coupled with customized chemical modifications, has produced recombinant therapeutic proteins with potentially superior clinical profiles. We are the first company to gain regulatory approval of a protein-based therapeutic produced through plant cell-based expression in suspension. In addition to leveraging ProCellEx®, our multidisciplinary scientific experts continuously strive to identify promising candidates in high unmet need areas and to expand our pipeline.
Leadership
Management
Mr. Bashan has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and as our director since June 2019. He has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry with roles ranging from business development, marketing, sales and finance providing him with both cross regional and cross discipline experience and a deep knowledge of the global pharmaceutical and health industries. From 1998 through 2018, he served in a number of senior positions at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Most recently, he served as Teva’s Senior Vice President, Global Business Development, and was involved in strategic alliances, cross-company strategic projects and the acquisition and divestiture of assets. Mr. Bashan holds a BA in Economics and Business Management from the Tel Aviv University and an MBA from the Tel Aviv University.
Mr. Rubin has served as our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since September 2019. He brings to Protalix more than 20 years of finance and capital markets experience, an extensive background in financial planning and operations, management and strategy and a deep knowledge of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Prior to joining Protalix, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company, where he was responsible for all corporate finance, accounting and investor relations activities. Prior to his role at BrainStorm, Mr. Rubin served at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. in several roles, most recently as Vice President, Head of Corporate Treasury. In this role, Mr. Rubin was responsible for Teva’s cash operations and cash management, as well as Teva’s equity and debt capital markets transactions. Mr. Rubin holds a BA in Financing and IT Systems from the College of Management, Israel, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a specialization in Financing and IT Systems, and an MBA from Bar-Ilan University, Israel, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a specialization in Finance.
Mr. Naos joined Protalix in 2004, originally as a Senior Director for Operations and later as Vice President for Production, and became our Senior Vice President, Operations in 2018. He has a wealth of hands-on experience and knowledge in the field of pharmaceutical development. Prior to joining Protalix, he served for a decade as R&D Product Manager at Dexxon Pharmaceutical Co., one of Israel’s largest pharmaceutical companies, where he was responsible for technology transfer from R&D to production, and in charge of R&D activities that led to the commercialization of many products. Later, Mr. Naos was plant manager of Medibrands Pharmaceutical Company, as well as logistics manager of Mediline for period of four years, where he was responsible for all operational activities, from procurement to distribution. Mr. Naos holds a B.Sc. in Food Engineering and Biotechnology from the Technion-Israel Technology Institute and an MBA from Haifa University.
Dr. Ori Kalid joined Protalix as Vice President of Research and Development in June 2024, bringing over 20 years of leadership experience in multidisciplinary pharmaceutical R&D. He has extensive experience in innovative drug discovery and development from concept to IND, program management and team leadership, technology scouting and evaluation, and company financing.
Before joining Protalix, Ori co-founded and served as the CEO of SILVERSKATE BIO, an immunology startup. In this role, he secured seed funding from private and government sources, oversaw due diligence, licensing and technology transfer, and directed preclinical research and development. Prior to SILVERSKATE, he served as Head of Biology at Hotaru Innovation Partners, leading global business development for a Japanese pharmaceutical company. Earlier, he co-founded and served for six years as the CEO of Pi Therapeutics, a preclinical oncology startup, raising over $20 million USD in private and government funding and leading the company through technology transfer and preclinical R&D. Before that, Ori spearheaded technological advancements in computer-aided drug discovery at PREDIX/EPIX pharmaceuticals and Karyopharm therapeutics (NASDAQ:KPTI), designing innovative drug discovery platforms and implementing them across multiple therapeutic areas.
Ori holds a PhD in computational biology, an MSc in biotechnology and a BSc in mathematics and computer science, all from Tel-Aviv University.
Dr. Tessler joined Protalix as its Vice President, Clinical Development & Regulatory Affairs in October 2023. She brings to Protalix over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, leading a broad range of innovative drug development projects and activities, from lead-stage to phase III clinical trials and marketing applications. She most recently served as the Vice President, Research & Development of Biosight Ltd., a clinical stage biotech company. Prior to that she served as the Vice President, Research & Development of Enzymotec Ltd. (currently part of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) and as a Senior Director Project Champion at Innovative R&D of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TEVA; TASE:TEVA). Her experience and responsibilities include management of all aspects of drug development, including CMC, pharmacology, toxicology, mechanism of action, regulatory affairs, clinical development and intellectual property.
Dr. Tessler holds an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology in the area of growth factors and cancer development. She was also a post-doctoral fellow in the area of neurobiology at the Babraham Institute, Cambridge, UK.
Dr. Tanya (Tatyana) Gershanik joined Protalix in November 2011 and became our Vice President, Quality Affairs in September 2021.
Prior to this position, Dr. Gershanik held a number of managerial positions in the pharmaceutical and bio-pharmaceutical industry over 20-years, specifically in the fields of pharmaceutical technology, validation and quality.
Being a licensed pharmacist in Israel, she is Protalix’s Quality Person since 2015.
During her professional career Dr. Gershanik served as a lecturer in the Master of Science program at the School of Pharmacy, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, at the QP Qualification Program led by Hebrew University School of Pharmacy and Israeli Ministry of Health, and at the Bioforum applied knowledge center.
Dr. Gershanik is a member of the Parenteral Drug Association(PDA) and International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE). She was awarded a Certified Pharmaceutical Industry Professional (CPIP) credential from the ISPE.
Dr. Gershanik holds a B.A., M.Sc. and Ph.D. degree, each from the School of Pharmacy, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She also is a graduate of the yearly program, “Management of Pharmaceutical Companies, of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.
Ms. Yael Fellous joined Protalix as its Vice President HR in August 2022. Yael brings to Protalix over 20 years of experience in multidisciplinary environments, such as HR and Operations. She has led strategic and global cross organization processes and technological changes primarily at NICE and Teva Pharmaceuticals. Yael holds a B.SC in Industrial Engineering and Management from the Technion and a M.SC in Science of Management in Organizational Behavior from Tel Aviv University
Board of directors
Dr. Forster has served as the Chairman of our Board of Directors since September 2023. He has an established reputation for management and leadership in the life sciences field with successful experience in the United States, European Union and Asia. Dr. Forster currently serves as the Non-Executive Chairman of Avacta Group PLC (AIM:AVCT), as a Non-Executive Director of Immatics NV (NASDAQ:IMTX) and as the Non-Executive Chairman of Ochre Bio, Ltd., a UK-based private biotechnology company.
Dr. Forster served, from September 2018, as the Chief Executive Officer of F-Star Therapeutics Ltd. (NASDAQ:FSTX) until its March 2023 sale to inovoX Ltd. Prior to that, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Immunocure Ltd., Chief Executive Officer of Creabilis SA and President and Chief Executive Officer of Solace Pharmaceuticals Inc. Earlier in his career, he held positions at Pfizer Global Research & Development and Glaxo/GlaxoWellcome.
Dr. Forster holds a B.Sc. (Hons) and a Ph.D. from the University of Liverpool and an MBA from the Henley Management College. He is an Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of Liverpool and at the University of Pavia, and is a Board member of OSCHR (UK Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research).
Mr. Bashan has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and as a director since June 2019. He has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry with roles ranging from business development, marketing, sales and finance providing him with both cross regional and cross discipline experience and a deep knowledge of the global pharmaceutical and health industries. From 1998 through 2018, he served in a number of senior positions at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TEVA; TASE:TEVA). Most recently, he served as Teva’s Senior Vice President, Global Business Development, and was involved in strategic alliances, cross-company strategic projects and the acquisition and divestiture of assets.
Mr. Bashan holds a BA in Economics and Business Management and an MBA from the Tel Aviv University.
Mr. Bar Shalev joined our Board of Directors in July 2008. Previously, Mr. Bar Shalev served as a director of Protalix Ltd. from 2005 through January 2008, and as our director from 2006 through January 2008. Mr. Bar Shalev brings to us extensive experience in managing technology companies. Currently, Mr. Bar Shalev serves on the Board of Directors of the following privately-held Israeli companies: Aposense Ltd. and Sirvir Ltd. From 2004 through 2012, Mr. Bar Shalev served as a director of Technorov Holdings (1993) Ltd. and managed its portfolio. From 1997 through 2004, he was a Managing Director of TDA Capital Partners, a management company of the TGF (Templeton Tadiran) Fund. From 2004 through 2007, he was the President of Win Buyer Ltd. He has served on the Board of Directors of a number of Israeli publicly traded and privately-held Israeli companies including, among others, Steam CC Ltd., Velox Ltd., NESS Ltd. (acquired by BioNess Inc.), Idanit (acquired by Scitex Corporation Ltd.), Objet Geometrix (merged with Stratasys, Inc.) (NASDAQ:SSYS)), Verisity, Scitex Vision (acquired by Hewlett Packard (NYSE:HPE)), , Golden Wings Investment Company Ltd., the venture capital fund of the Israeli Air Force Veterans Business Club, Win Buyer Ltd. and Sun Light Ltd. Mr. Bar Shalev holds B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from the Tel Aviv University in 1981. He holds the highest award from the Israeli Air Force for technological achievements.
Dr. Ben Zvi joined our Board of Directors in June 2022. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Bank Leumi of Israel (TASE:LUMI), and serves on the credit, technology and strategy committees thereof. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLGL), where he is a member of the audit and compensation committees, and on the Board of Directors of Vascular Biogenics Ltd. (NASDAQ:VBLT), where he also serves on the audit and compensation committees. From 2004 to 2014, Dr. Ben Zvi served in a number of managerial positions at Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TEVA; TASE:TEVA), the last two being Vice President, Strategy and Vice President, Finance. From 2000 to 2004, Dr. Ben Zvi was the financial advisor to the chief of general staff of the Israel Defense Forces and head of the Defense Ministry budget department.
Dr. Ben Zvi holds a B.A. and an M.A., both Cum Laude, and a Ph.D. in economics, all from the Tel Aviv University. He also participated in the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program (AMP) and in National Security & Political Science programs at the National Security College, Israel and Haifa University, Israel. Dr. Ben Zvi performed post-doctoral studies in Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Dr. Boudes joined our Board of Directors in January 2020. He is a senior physician and chief medical officer with more than 25 years of experience in research and development, with a special emphasis on orphan drugs and translational medicine. In March 2020, Dr. Boudes was appointed Chief Medical Officer of Galectin Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:GALT). He also serves as a research and development consultant. From April 2014 through October 2019, he served as the Chief Medical Officer of CymaBay Therapeutics, Inc.(NASDAQ:CBAY). where he led the development of treatments for rare liver diseases. Dr. Boudes was also Chief Medical Officer at Amicus Therapeutics Inc.(NASDAQ:FOLD). from 2009 to 2013 where he was instrumental in the development of migalastat (Galafold®) for the treatment of Fabry disease, as well as treatments for Pompe disease and Gaucher disease. He has served in various roles at Berlex Laboratories (acquired by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals), Wyeth-Ayerst Research, Hoffmann-La Roche and Pasteur-Merieux Serums & Vaccines. Dr. Boudes holds an M.D. from the University of Aix-Marseilles, France and has specialized in Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Internal Medicine, and Geriatric diseases.
Ms. Melincoff joined our Board of Directors in January 2020. She is a seasoned business development and venture professional with over 25 years of deal-making and management experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Her experience has spanned public and private company boards, venture financing, business development, licensing, mergers and acquisitions, research operations, marketing, product management and project management. Ms. Melincoff currently serves on the Board of Directors of Gain Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:GANX), Soleno Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOLN) and Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLL). She also serves in an advisory capacity at a number of pharmaceutical companies. From April 2017 through June 2020, she served on the Board of Directors of Photocure ASA, from January 2017 through January 2019, she served on the Board of Directors of Kamada Ltd. (NASDAQ:KMDA, TASE:KMDA), and from June 2014 through November 2016, she served on the Board of Directors of Tobira Therapeutics Inc. (acquired by Allergan plc). From August 2014 through September 2016, Ms. Melincoff served as Vice President of Business Development at BTG International Inc. Prior to that, she was Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Shire Plc. Additionally, she led the Shire Strategic Investment Group, the venture capital arm of Shire Plc. Ms. Melincoff was Vice President of Business Development at Adolor Corporation and held executive positions at Eastman Kodak for over ten years in a number of their health care companies.
Ms. Melincoff holds a B.S. in Biology from The George Washington University and an M.S. in Management and Health Care Administration from Pennsylvania State University. She has also attained the designation of Certified Licensing Professional (CLP™) and was named to the “Top Women in Biotech 2013” by Fierce Biotech and to the Powerlist 100 of Corporate Venture Capital in 2012 and 2013.
Dr. Schwartz joined our Board of Directors in November 2014. He retired from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TEVA; TASE:TEVA) in 2011 where he served in a number of positions from 1975 through 2011, the most recent being Vice President, Head of Teva Innovative Ventures from 2008. Dr. Schwartz is currently chairman of the Board of Directors of BiolineRx Ltd. (NASDAQ:BLRX; TASE:BLRX) and a member of the Board of Directors of Barcode Ltd. He also serves as the Head of the Advisory Board of Oncohost Ltd. and works as an independent consultant. From May 2015 through March 2020, he served as a member of the Board of Directors of Foamix Pharmaceuticals Ltd., which was acquired by Menlo Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:MNLO), and from January 2013 through November 2017, he served as a member of the Board of Directors of Alcobra Ltd., which is now called Arcturus Therapeutics Ltd. (NASDAQ:ARCT).
Dr. Schwartz holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, an M.Sc. in organic chemistry from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology and a B.Sc. in chemistry and physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Dr. Schwartz received a second Ph.D. in 2014 from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the history and philosophy of science.
