Be the leaders in regenerative medicine, helping people live longer and better through our innovative collagen technology
Chief Executive Officer
Yehiel is a seasoned executive in the biomedical field and brings over two decades of management experience in both high-tech and biotech companies. He joined CollPlant in 2010 and prior to this, Yehiel served as CEO and Co-founder of Regentis Biomaterials Ltd.; Vice-President of Business Development at ProChon BioTech Ltd.; Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at OrthoScan Technologies Ltd.; and Director of Business Development and Business Unit Manager at Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. Yehiel holds a BSc and an MSc degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.
Founder and Chief Scientist
Oded is a faculty member of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and has accumulated extensive experience with plant molecular biology and protein engineering. He has authored more than 300 scientific publications and is the inventor of 94 patents. He received the Outstanding Scientist Polak Award in 2002, the 1999 and 2010 Kay Award for Innovative and Applied Research and the 2012 Israel Prime Minister Citation for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. In addition to CollPlant, Oded is the scientific founder of 15 companies, among them CBD-Technologies/FuturaGene, SP Nano Ltd., Melodea Ltd., Valentis Nanotech. Ltd. and Paulee CleanTec Ltd.
Deputy CEO & Chief Financial Officer
Eran is a veteran financial executive in the biotech and industrial sectors. He joined CollPlant in 2012 and prior to this, Eran served as the Chief Financial Officer of Tefron Ltd., a global industrial company traded on both the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE:TFRN) and on the OTCBB (OTC:TFRFF) in the U.S. He also served as Chief Financial Officer of Healthcare Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:HCTL), Gamida MedEquip and Gamida For Life, a group of companies specializing in the development, manufacturing and marketing of clinical diagnostic test kits worldwide and medical equipment and services to the biotech and high tech industries. Before Gamida, Eran served as a Senior Manager at Ernst & Young. Eran holds a BA in Accounting and Business Administration from the Tel Aviv College of Management and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Vice President of Operations
Oren has more than 15 years of vast experience in leading complex operations in Life Sciences Industry. Before joining Collplant , he was the Business Unit Manager in Omrix Biopharmaceuticals, a Johnson and Johnson company, leading the Tel Hashomer plant operations end-to-end. Prior to this, he led the Ness Ziona Omrix site.
His previous experience includes more than a decade in Teva Pharmaceutical, where he held several leading positions in Teva's sterile production plant including leading sterile production and packaging of Vials and Syringes. In addition, Oren has hands-on experience as a researcher in Bio Generics R&D, developing four Biosimilar products including scale up processes and handling technical aspects of the drug development.
Oren holds a BSc in Biotechnology Engineering from the Ben Gurion University and an MBA in Business Management from the Open University of Israel.
Vice President of Research and Development
Elana brings multidisciplinary experience in CMC, analytical chemistry and formulation development from Israeli and international companies engaging both pharmaceutical products and medical devices. Before joining Collplant in 2022, Elana was the Head of Pharmaceutical Research in Neuroderm (now Mitsubishi Tanabe) leading their formulation development team. Prior to this, she worked at Waters IS as Application leader, in Foamix (now Wyne) developing their Minocycline foam and in Beckman Coulter (US) leading the prenatal markers area. She holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry from HUJI.
Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance
Philippe brings over two decades of experience in Regulatory Affairs, Quality Assurance and Clinical Affairs in the international medical device industry. He joined CollPlant in 2011 and prior to this, Philippe served for 14 years as Director of RA/QA/CA at InterVascular Datascope (now Maquet-Getinge), a manufacturer of cardiovascular long-term implants. Philippe was also with 3M Medical, as Manager of Regulatory Affairs. Philippe holds a PharmD Degree from the University of Pharmacy in Marseille, France.
Vice President of Human Resources
Hadas brings vast experience in the fields of HR, in both HR management and HR operations.Prior to joining Collplant in 2021, Hadas worked at Elbit Systems as a Senior HR Manager in the R&D and in the Operations units. Before that, she worked at Teva Pharmaceuticals. At Teva, Hadas established and led the HR Center team, which is responsible to all the Hire-to-retire aspects in Israel. She also served as an HR Manager in Teva’s Global Operations unit. Hadas holds an MA in Labor Studies from Tel Aviv University and BA in Behavioral Sciences from Ben Gurion University.
Chairman
Dr. Pomerantz was appointed CollPlant’s Chairman of the board of directors in February 2020. Dr. Pomerantz is currently the President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of ContraFect, and a board member of Intec Pharma and VerImmune. Dr. Pomerantz served as Chairman of the board of directors of Seres Therapeutics in 2019, where he served as Chairman and CEO from June 2014 until January 2019. From 2011 to 2013, he was Worldwide Head of Licensing & Acquisitions, Senior Vice President at Merck & Co., Inc. where he oversaw all licensing and acquisitions at Merck Research Laboratories. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President and Global Franchise Head of Infectious Diseases at Merck. Prior to joining Merck, Dr. Pomerantz was Global Head of Infectious Diseases for Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals. He joined Johnson & Johnson in 2005 as President of Tibotec Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Dr. Pomerantz received his B.A. in Biochemistry at the Johns Hopkins University and his M.D. at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He received post-graduate training at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and M.I.T. Dr. Pomerantz is Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. He was Professor of Medicine, Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Chief of Infectious Diseases, and the Founding Director and Chair of the Institute for Human Virology and Biodefense at the Thomas Jefferson University and Medical School. He has developed twelve small and large molecular drugs approved world-wide in important diseases, including HIV, HCV, CMV, C. Diff, and tuberculosis.
Board Member
Dr. Havron joined our board of directors in May 2016 bringing with him his extensive experience in the biotechnology sector. Since 2011, Dr. Havron has been serving as an external director at Kamada as well as being a member of their company audit and compensation committees. From 2005, Dr. Havron was the CEO and Director of PROLOR Biotech Inc. (NYSE MKT: PBTH; TASE: PROL) until it was acquired by OPKO Health Inc. in 2013. Dr. Havron also served as the Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Clal Biotechnology Industries Ltd. from 1999 to 2003. From 1987 to 1999, Dr. Havron was the Vice President Manufacturing and Process Development at BioTechnology General Ltd. which is currently a subsidiary of Ferring Pharmaceuticals. In 1980 he joined the founding team of Interpharm Laboratories Ltd. (a subsidiary of Merck Serono S.A.) and was Director of Research and Development until 1987. Dr. Havron holds a PhD in Bio-Organic Chemistry from the Weizmann Institute of Science and served as Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School between 1978-1980.
Chief Executive Officer, Board member
Yehiel Tal serves as our chief executive officer since January 2010, and joined our board of directors on May 2022.Mr. Tal possesses over 25 years of management experience in the Israeli and American high-tech and biotechnology industries. Prior to joining us, Mr. Tal was the chief executive officer and co-founder of Regentis Biomaterials Ltd. Prior to that Mr. Tal served as vice-president of business development at ProChon BioTech Ltd. He has also served as vice president of marketing and business development at OrthoScan Technologies Ltd. and director of business development and business unit manager at Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. Mr. Tal holds a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in mechanical engineering from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.
Board Member
Dr. Elan Penn joined our Board of Directors in January 2018. Dr. Penn has served as CEO and Chairman of Penn Publishing Ltd. since 2001. From 2000 to 2001, Dr. Penn served as VP of Finance and Administration of A.I. Research and Development Ltd.
During the years 1998 through 2000, Dr. Penn served as CEO of Sivan Computer Training Company Ltd. From 1992 to 2000, Dr. Penn served as VP of Finance and Administration of Mashov Computers Ltd. From 1987 to 1991 and again from 1992 to 1997, Dr. Penn served as VP of Finance and Administration of Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. (NASDAQ: MGIC) and from 2005 to 2014 served as an External Director of Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. Dr. Penn previously served as a Director of Telkoor Power Supplies Ltd. (TASE: TLCR) and Nexgen Biofuels Ltd. (Formerly Healthcare Technologies Ltd.)(NASDAQ:NXGN).
Dr. Penn holds a BA degree in Economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and PhD in Management Science from Imperial College, University of London.
Board Member
Mr. Joseph Zarzewsky joined our Board of Directors in August 2019. Joseph Zarzewsky has served as the Vice President of Business Development at the Mitrelli Group (“Mitrelli”) since 2010. Mr. Zarzewsky has served as the Chairman of “SMAD”, a joint venture between Mitrelli and the Harbin Government, China, since 2011. Mr. Zarzewsky has also served as the Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Harbin Israel Fund since 2012, and as a member of the board of directors of Wize Pharma, Inc. (OTCQB: WIZP) since 2017. He has also previously served as the Vice President of marketing at Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd. (TASE: CLIS) and as the Vice President of Marketing for the Israel Postal Authority. In addition, Mr. Zarzewsky has served as a director of Excellence Underwriter House Ltd. since 2007. In 2008, he was appointed as the Honorary Economic Advisor of the Harbin Government, China. In addition, in 2012, he was honored as an Honorary Citizen of Harbin, China. Mr. Zarzewsky holds an MA in Commercial Law from the University of Tel Aviv in collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley.
Board Member
Mr. Hugh Evans joined our board of directors in March 2021, bringing his extensive board, 3D printing technology and investment experience.
Since 2019, Mr. Evans has been serving as a board member at Factory Four. In addition, since 2020, he has been serving as a board member at ZVerse, 3DM, and as a Non-Executive Chairman of Culinary Printworks. From 2010 to 2020, Mr. Evans served as a board member of AquaVenture Holdings (NYSE: WAAS), which was acquired by Culligan International.In 2019, Mr. Evans founded Additive Manufacturing Ventures Group, and he serves as a managing member. From 2013 to 2019, Mr. Evans served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development & Digitization at 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD). Previously, from 1992 to 2013, he served as a portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price Associates (NASDAQ: TROW).
Mr. Evans holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Virginia and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Board Member
Ms. Lask is the former Vice President and General Manager of US Aesthetics at Galderma. Previously, she was a Senior Director of Global Strategic Marketing of Facial Aesthetics at Allergan. Earlier, she held strategic marketing positions at both Zimmer Biomet and Eli Lilly. Ms. Lask received an M.B.A from the University of Michigan and has a B.A. in marketing from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.
MD MCh (Orth)
Consultant Orthopaedic, Shoulder and Elbow Surgeon. Professor and Chair of the Orthopaedic Surgery Research and Learning Centre - at Brunel University, West London. Director of the Reading Shoulder Unit, an international centre of excellence for shoulder and elbow surgery, Reading, United Kingdom. The unit is recognised worldwide, as a clinical, academic and research centre. Ofer Levy studied medicine at the Hebrew University and Hadassah School of Medicine, Jerusalem and his orthopaedic surgical training at Sheba Medical Centre, Israel. He is assistant editor, Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, On the Editorial board of the International Journal of Shoulder Surgery. Special External Examiner, the national university of Ireland and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Awarded UK national bronze clinical excellence award in 2006. Awarded the Kessel best research award of the British Elbow and Shoulder Society 2010. Member of the British and Israeli Orthopaedic associations. He is a founder member of the Israeli Shoulder and Elbow Society, a member of the European Society of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery and the British Elbow and Shoulder Society (BESS) and corresponding member of the American Shoulder and Elbow Society (ASES) - for outstanding contribution in the field. Organises international courses on shoulder surgery, for arthroscopic surgery and shoulder arthroplasty. He has published over 400 scientific papers and presentations, written chapters to books on shoulder surgery and invited to lecture worldwide.
Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Prof. Soker brings over 25 years of expertise in the areas of tissue engineering, stem cells, tissue scaffolds, cell differentiation and bioengineering to CollPlant. He currently serves as Professor of Regenerative Medicine and the Scientific Officer for WFIRM. Prof. Soker is an affiliated Professor of Cancer Biology, Physiology & Pharmacology, Biomedical Engineering and Surgical Sciences at the Wake Forest School of Medicine.
Prof. Soker received his Ph.D. from the Technion-Israel Institute for Technology and was a postdoctoral trainee in the Department of Surgical Research at the Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Working with Michael Klagsbrum and the late Judah Folkman, Prof. Soker’s research focused on vascular biology, with emphasis on angiogenic growth factors and their receptors. Prof. Soker joined the Laboratory for Tissue Engineering and Cellular Therapies, under the leadership of Anthony Atala, and was promoted to Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. In 2004, Prof. Soker joined the Wake Forest School of Medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to launch WFIRM. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2004 and has been a tenured professor since 2010. Prof. Soker has developed programs in neo-vascularization of bioengineered tissues, stem cell from different sources for tissue engineering in vitro and in vivo and tissue-derived extracellular matrices as scaffolds for whole organ bioengineering. Prof. Soker had published this technology for the engineering of organs and tissues including liver, kidney, pancreas, intestine, cornea and more.
Prof. Soker has authored more than 160 scientific publications and reviews and has contributed chapters to numerous books. Over the course of his distinguished career, he has been the recipient of many academic awards, and has received research grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense, as well as numerous foundations and industry. Prof. Soker is a frequent and highly sought-after speaker at scientific meetings and conferences.