Cara Therapeutics Virtual NP Day

Mr. Posner has served as Cara’s President and Chief Executive Officer since November 2021 and has served as a member of Cara’s board since August 2018. Mr. Posner has broad experience in commercial and marketing operations and product management at both large and specialty pharmaceutical companies, where he has focused on products for autoimmune, inflammatory and pain conditions, including Xeljanz® and Enbrel®. Since July 2017, he has been the Chief Executive Officer of LEO Pharma, Inc. US, a subsidiary of LEO Pharma A/S, a global healthcare company specializing in dermatology and critical care, including such conditions as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. Prior to joining LEO, he was the Head of Worldwide Commercial Operations at R-Pharma-US, LLC, a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on oncology and chronic immune disorders, from 2014 until 2017. Previously, Mr. Posner held a variety of senior management positions in commercial and marketing operations at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Pfizer Inc., Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Endo Pharmaceuticals plc. Mr. Posner holds an M.B.A. from Fuqua School of Business, Duke University and a B.A. in Economics from Villanova University.

Mr. Vandal has served as our Sr. Vice President of Commercial since June 2014. He has more than 25 years of executive and commercial leadership experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining Cara Therapeutics, Eric was the Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Nuvo Research Inc, a specialty pharmaceutical company specializing in topical pain products. At Nuvo Research, Eric built and lead a commercial team of 25 employees in re-launching SYNERA® Patch into the interventional pain physician segment as well as pioneering its efforts to establish SYNERA® Patch in large corporate health care companies. Prior to joining Nuvo Research, Eric was Senior Director, Marketing for King Pharmaceuticals where he led the company’s hospital business unit. At King Pharmaceuticals, he oversaw the company’s hospital franchises, including their hemostasis portfolio (Thrombin-JMI®) and launched their pain franchise into the hospital segment. Prior to working at King Pharmaceuticals, Eric was at Alpharma Pharmaceuticals where he was Senior Director, Marketing as well as the Regional Business Director for the Northeast Region. At Alpharma, he was the head of the marketing department that successfully launched the first topical NSAID in the United States, FLECTOR® Patch, and significantly grew the KADIAN® Capsule business. Eric previously worked for Endo Pharmaceuticals where he took on roles of increasing responsibility within its commercial organization, including leadership over the launch of PERCOCET® line extensions, OPANA® and OPANA® ER franchise as well as FROVA® Tablets. Eric began his career working in a variety of sales and marketing roles for Schering-Plough and SmithKline Beecham. Eric holds a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University.

Dr. Goncalves brings more than 17 years of leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry to Cara. Most recently, she served as Vice President, Medical Affairs for Dermatology and Neurology at Celgene Corporation where she was instrumental in planning and executing medical support activities for a number of programs, including OTEZLA® for psoriasis. Previously, Dr. Goncalves held the position of Vice President, Medical Strategy and Scientific Affairs at LEO Pharma Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of LEO Pharma A/S. She began her pharmaceutical career at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, working on a range of products across various therapeutic areas. Dr. Goncalves received her M.D. from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Brian Kim, MD, MTR, FAAD is Vice Chair of Research, Department of Dermatology, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Director of the Mark Lebwohl Center for Neuroinflammation and Sensation. Dr. Kim is one of the top researchers worldwide in the study of patients with itch and other skin conditions. The overall goal of his research program is to understand the regulatory mechanisms that control neuroimmune interactions at the skin barrier surface. His research examines how immune responses interface with the sensory nervous system to regulate inflammation, sensation, and immunity.

Dr. Draelos is a research and clinical board-certified dermatologist and a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology. She is in solo private practice in High Point, North Carolina, and a Consulting Professor of Dermatology at Duke University. In 1988, she founded Dermatology Consulting Services, PLLC, to initiate and perform research in aging skin, acne, rosacea, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, actinic keratoses, eczema, and aesthetic procedures in the cosmetic, OTC drug, and pharmaceutical arenas. Prior to pursuing a medical career, Dr. Draelos completed an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering and was elected a Rhodes Scholar. A member of Sigma Xi research honorary and Alpha Omega Alpha medical honorary, she is author of 14 books including Cosmetics in Dermatology, Hair Cosmetics and Cosmetic Dermatology: Products and Procedures, as well as the editor of Cosmeceuticals, now in its third edition and translated into 7 languages. She has contributed chapters to 42 textbooks, written 90 posters, served as the principle investigator on 750 studies, written 574 published papers, delivered 335 oral presentations, served on or contributed to 38 journal editorial boards, functioned as the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology for 10 years, and was a past member of the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Dermatology and the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery. She was elected Vice-President of the American Academy of Dermatology. She is recognized as a pioneer in cosmetic dermatology and received a lifetime achievement award from Health Beauty America for her research and the 2008 DermArts award for her contributions to dermatology. In 2010, she received the Albert Kligman Innovation Award and in 2016 she was awarded a Presidential Citation from the American Academy of Dermatology for her research contributions to advance the specialty. She received the prestigious Maison deNavarre award from the Society of Cosmetic Chemists for her contributions to the art and science of cosmetics in 2017. In 2019, she was the inaugural recipient of the Florence Wall Award from the Society of Cosmetics Chemists honoring her as the most influential woman in cosmetic science.