Management

Jack DeFranco

Jack Defranco is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of Targeson Inc., San Diego, CA. Prior to joining Targeson he was President and Chief Operating Officer of Alliance Pharmaceutical Corp., a publically traded company developing an oxygen therapeutic to be used as a temporary oxygen carrier in major surgeries. He started at the position of Vice President, Business Development and Marketing with Alliance in 1990 up to the acquisition of Alliance’s imaging assets by IMCOR in 2003. Mr. DeFranco was the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of IMCOR Pharmaceutical Co., a specialty diagnostic imaging pharmaceutical company with one approved product for use in ultrasound imaging.  In 1986 he was instrumental in the start-up of Orthoconcept, a medical device company, that was eventually sold to a major, international orthopedic company. He has held various management positions in business development, marketing and sales with Smith & Nephew Ltd. and Johnson and Johnson Inc.

Mr. Defranco is or has been a member and held officer positions in the Medical Marketing Association, the Licensing Executive Society, The Wellness Community, BioCom, and is an Entrepreneur in Residence at CONNECT. He serves as a Member on the Board of Directors of Aubrey Inc., a wound care company. Mr. DeFranco holds a BS in Biology from Stephen F. Austin University and an MBA in marketing and a Masters in Finance from Fairleigh Dickenson University. He was a Captain in the Marine Corps.

Joshua J. Rychak

Joshua J. Rychak, PhD, Cofounder and Vice President of Research and Development, received a BS in engineering from UVa with a minor of philosophy in 2000. He continued his graduate studies at UVA, receiving a PhD in biomedical engineering in 2005. Dr. Rychak completed postdoctoral research at the Cardiovascular Research Center in the field of molecular imaging of atherosclerosis and ischemic disease.

In 2005, Dr. Rychak founded a consulting company and served as an industry expert and researcher in the field of ultrasound molecular imaging. He has a wide network of industry contacts, and experience working with major ultrasound manufacturers. Dr. Rychak is an entrepreneurial engineer-scientist, and pioneered many of the biophysical strategies that form the core of Targeson’s proprietary technology. He has extensive experience in testing targeted contrast agent adhesion in vitro and in animal models of tumor angiogenesis and inflammation. Dr. Rychak is the primary investigator on several NIH research grants awarded to Targeson.