OUR LEADERSHIP
David A. Gonyer, R.Ph.
David A. Gonyer, R.Ph., is one of our co-founders and has served as our Chief Executive Officer and as a member of our board of directors since March 2007. From January 2004 to March 2007, Mr. Gonyer served as Vice President, Strategic and Product Development of Medgenex, Inc., a subsidiary of Victory Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing, and marketing products to treat pain and related conditions. From April 2000 to December 2004, Mr. Gonyer was a founder and Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Xcel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on neurological disorders. From December 1996 to April 2000, Mr. Gonyer served as Director of Marketing at Elan/Dura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. From 1987 to 1996, Mr. Gonyer held a broad range of management positions in commercial operations, alliance/partnership management, and regional sales at Eli Lilly & Company. Mr. Gonyer served as a member of the board of directors of Signal Genetics, Inc., a publicly traded, commercial stage, molecular diagnostic company focused on providing innovative diagnostic services, and Neurelis, Inc., a privately held neurological specialty pharmaceutical company. Mr. Gonyer is a registered pharmacist and holds a B.Sc. in Pharmacy from Ferris State University School of Pharmacy.
Matthew J. D’Onofrio
Matthew J. D’Onofrio is one of our co-founders and serves as President and Chief Operations Officer (COO).He previously served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Business Officer, Secretary and Treasurer since 2010 and as our Executive Vice President, Corporate Development, Secretary and Treasurer since March 2007. Mr. D’Onofrio has over 25 years of experience in both large and small pharmaceutical firms. Prior to founding Evoke, Mr. D’Onofrio was Vice President, Business Development for Victory Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing, and marketing products to treat pain and related conditions. Mr. D’Onofrio was previously Director and Head of West Coast Business Development at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company, directing partnership efforts associated with the La Jolla research facility as well as other corporate assets. Mr. D’Onofrio also held various commercial roles of increasing responsibility over a decade at Eli Lilly & Company, including significant experience in worldwide corporate business development. Mr. D’Onofrio has developed and executed license and investment relationships across a wide collection of disease states and technologies. Mr. D’Onofrio earned a B.S. in Chemistry from San Diego State University and an M.B.A. (Finance) from the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California.
Marilyn R. Carlson, D.M.D., M.D.
Marilyn R. Carlson, D.M.D., M.D. has been the key clinical and regulatory expert for Evoke through the entire development of Gimoti™ (metoclopramide) nasal spray, including all clinical trials conducted in support of the drug. Dr. Carlson joined Evoke at its founding in 2007 as an outside consultant. She joined the company full time in December 2013 as our Chief Medical Officer. Prior to joining Evoke, in 2012 Dr. Carlson helped found Agility Clinical, Inc., a contract research organization focused on supporting virtual companies, start-ups, and companies with orphan drugs. From 2004 to 2012, she served as Vice President, Medical and Regulatory Affairs at Synteract, Inc., a clinical research organization, where she was responsible for safety surveillance, medical monitoring, and regulatory submissions, among other duties. Prior to this, Dr. Carlson served in various leadership roles across a range of pharmaceutical companies as well as holding academic and clinical positions throughout her career. She received a B.A. from Hunter College of the City University of New York, a D.M.D. from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and an M.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Dr. Carlson completed an internal medicine residency at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation and holds a certification in regulatory affairs.
Chris Quesenberry
Chris Quesenberry is Chief Commercial Officer for GIMOTI and a Commercial Lead – Integrated Solutions with our commercialization partner EVERSANA. Mr. Quesenberry brings over 30 years of experience in building and executing commercial strategies for pharmaceutical companies and has held roles across the breadth of sales, marketing, and operations. He previously spent 27 years with Merck & Co. and Novo Nordisk, culminating in senior sales and commercial strategy positions, respectively. Recently, Mr. Quesenberry served as the Vice President of Global Commercial Effectiveness at Orexigen Therapeutics and Nalpropion Pharmaceuticals, providing leadership for sales, market access, and sales operations in addition to commercial functions.