Board of Directors

David E. Lazar

Interim Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer

David E. Lazar has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Custodian Ventures LLC, a company which specializes in assisting distressed public companies through custodianship, since February 2018, and Activist Investing LLC, an actively managed investment fund, since March 2018. Previously, Mr. Lazar served as Managing Partner at Zenith Partners International Inc., a boutique consulting firm, from July 2012 to April 2018. In his role as Chief Executive Officer of Custodian Ventures LLC, Mr. Lazar has successfully served as a custodian to numerous public companies across a wide range of industries. Mr. Lazar currently serves as an Advisor to PROMAX Investments LLC, a position he has held since July 2022, and as an Ambassador at Large for the Arab African Council for Integration and Development, since March 2022.

Kate Beebe DeVarney, Ph.D.

Kate Beebe DeVarney, Ph.D.

President and Chief Operating Officer

Dr. DeVarney has served as a Director of Titan’s Board of Directors since 2019 and in October 2020, she became Titan’s President and Chief Operating Officer.  She previously served as Chief Scientific Officer and has been with the Company since 2007.  Before joining Titan, Dr. DeVarney was a Senior Director with Corcept Therapeutics in Menlo Park, CA. Prior to joining Corcept, Dr. DeVarney was the Senior Medical Director for Neurosciences within World Wide Human Health at Merck. Dr. DeVarney also worked at SmithKline Beecham and GlaxoSmithKline, where she held positions of increasing responsibility, primarily within the Neurosciences research and development and medical affairs organizations. Throughout her academic and industry careers, Dr. DeVarney's research has focused primarily on addiction, neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease, mood and anxiety disorders, metabolic disorders and obesity. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed medical journals such as The American Journal of Psychiatry, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and Addiction. She has also presented extensively at the American Psychiatric Association, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the American Society of Addiction Medicine, and the International Society of Addiction Medicine. Dr. DeVarney holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Neuropsychology from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

Joseph A. Akers

Joseph A. Akers

Mr. Akers has served as president of Bayer's hematology/cardiology business, where he oversaw the core of Bayer's specialty pharmaceuticals development, with significant products in hematology and specialty cardiology. Mr. Akers also served as president and CEO of Bayer Business and Corporate Services and held numerous other financial and executive positions during his 37-year career with the company. He has served on the boards of Haemacure Corp., POINT Biomedical Corp. and Schein Pharmaceuticals.

M. David MacFarlane, PhD

M. David MacFarlane, PhD

Dr. MacFarlane has been a Director of Titan Pharmaceuticals since May 2002. Dr. MacFarlane served as Vice President and Responsible Head of Regulatory Affairs of Genentech, Inc. from 1989 until his retirement in August 1999. Prior to joining Genentech, Inc., he served in various positions with Glaxo, Inc., last as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.

James R. McNab, Jr.

James R. McNab, Jr.

Mr. McNab, an entrepreneur experienced in building and growing companies, is co-founder and chairman of Curis, a publicly traded oncology company that partnered with Roche to develop and commercialize a first-in-class hedgehog inhibitor for the treatment of advanced basal cell carcinoma. Mr. McNab serves as CEO and chairman of Palmetto Pharmaceuticals, executive chairman of FirstString Research Inc., and chairman of JT Pharmaceuticals. Previously Mr. McNab was founder of Vidus Ocular, a glaucoma device company that was sold to OPKO Health, and co-founder of Sontra Medical, which developed a medical low frequency ultrasound device from Massachusetts Institute of Technology that was sold to Echo Therapeutics.

Marc Rubin, MD

Marc Rubin, MD

Dr. Rubin served as Titan's Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors from 2009 to 2022, after previously holding the position of CEO. Prior to joining Titan, Dr. Rubin was Head of Global Research and Development for Bayer Schering Pharma, as well as a member of the Executive Committee of Bayer Healthcare and the Board of Management of Bayer Schering Pharma. Before Bayer Pharmaceuticals and Schering AG merged in June 2006, Dr. Rubin was a member of the Board of Executive Directors of Schering AG, as well as Chairman of Schering Berlin Inc. and President of Berlex Pharmaceuticals, a division of Schering AG. Previously, Dr. Rubin held the position of Senior Vice President of Global Clinical Pharmacology & Discovery Medicine at GlaxoSmithKline. At GlaxoSmithKline, Dr. Rubin was responsible for programs in United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Prior to joining GlaxoSmithKline, he served on the Senior Staff of the Infectious Diseases Section of the National Cancer Institute, NIH. Dr. Rubin was trained in Internal Medicine at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, and held fellowships in both Oncology and Infectious Diseases at the NIH. Dr. Rubin holds an M.D. from Cornell University Medical College, and has board certification in Internal Medicine, Oncology, and Infectious Diseases. He currently serves on the board of directors of Curis Inc. and Galectin Therapeutics, as well as several private companies and an academic institution.

Avraham Ben-Tzvi

Mr. Ben-Tzvi is the Founder of ABZ Law Office, a boutique Israeli law firm specializing in outsourced general counsel services for publicly traded as well as private companies and corporations, Investments & Securities Laws, Commercial Law & Contracts and various civil law matters, which he established in January 2017. Mr. Ben-Tzvi served as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of Purple Biotech Ltd. (formerly Kitov Pharma Ltd.), a clinical-stage company advancing first-in-class therapies to overcome tumor immune evasion and drug resistance, from November 2015 until April 2020. Prior to that, Mr. Ben-Tzvi served as General Counsel and secretary at Medigus Ltd., a minimally invasive endosurgical tools medical device and miniaturized imaging equipment company, from April 2014 until November 2015. Mr. Ben-Tzvi is a member of the Israel Bar Association, and is also licensed as a Notary by the Israeli Ministry of Justice. Prior to that he served as an attorney at one of Israel’s leading international law firms where, amongst other corporate and commercial work, he advised companies and underwriters on various offerings by Israeli companies listing in US and on various SEC related filings. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Mr. Ben-Tzvi worked in a number of business development, corporate finance and banking roles at companies in the financial services, lithium battery manufacturing and software development industries. Mr. Ben-Tzvi holds a B.A., magna cum laude, in Economics from Yeshiva University in New York and an LLB, magna cum laude with Honors, in from Sha'arei Mishpat College of Law in Hod HaSharon, Israel.

Eric Greenberg

Mr. Greenberg has over 40 years of capital markets experience. As a trader and portfolio manager at hedge funds, his areas of expertise included the development of trading strategies, portfolio management and deal structuring. Mr. Greenberg was Co-Founder of Blink Charging Co., a leader in the EV charging infrastructure industry. In addition, Mr. Greenberg provides investor relation and digital marketing services for companies across a variety of industries, such as life sciences, fintech, internet platforms and others. Mr. Greenberg holds a B.B.A in Finance from Baruch College and an M.B.A. in Finance from Baruch College Zicklin School of Business.

David Natan

Mr. Natan currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Natan & Associates, LLC, a consulting firm offering chief financial officer services to public and private companies in a variety of industries, since 2007. In addition, Mr. Natan currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Airborne Motorworks, Inc., a privately-held aerospace transportation company, since April 2020. From February 2010 to May 2020, Mr. Natan served as Chief Executive Officer of ForceField Energy, Inc., a company focused on the solar industry and LED lighting products. From February 2002 to November 2007, Mr. Natan served as Executive Vice President of Reporting and Chief Financial Officer of PharmaNet Development Group, Inc., a drug development services company, and, from June 1995 to February 2002, as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Global Technovations, Inc., a manufacturer and marketer of oil analysis instruments and speakers and speaker components. Prior to that, Mr. Natan served in various roles of increasing responsibility with Deloitte & Touche LLP, a global consulting firm. Mr. Natan currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Audit Committee of Global Diversified Marketing Group, Inc., a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of food and snack products, since February 2021 and serves as a member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Audit Committee of Sunshine Biopharma, Inc., a pharmaceutical and nutritional supplement company, since February 2022. Previously, Mr. Natan served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of ForceField Energy, Inc., from April 2015 to May 2020, and as a member of the Board of Directors of Global Technovations, Inc., from December 1999 to December 2001. Mr. Natan holds a B.A. in Economics from Boston University.

Matthew C. McMurdo

Mr. McMurdo currently serves as Managing Member of McMurdo Law Group, LLC, a corporate and securities law practice, since 2010. Previously, Mr. McMurdo was a Partner at Nannarone & McMurdo, LLP, a boutique law firm, from 2008 to 2010. In addition, Mr. McMurdo served as General Counsel of Berkley Asset Management LLC, the general partner of a real estate fund focused on opportunistic and distressed real estate assets, from 2011 to 2013. Mr. McMurdo holds a B.S. in Finance from Lehigh University and a J.D., cum laude, from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

Peter L. Chasey

Mr. Chasey serves as the Owner of Chasey Law Offices, a law practice specializing in personal litigation, business litigation and commercial law, since founding the practice in 2005. Earlier in his career, Mr. Chasey served as staff counsel for one of the largest insurance companies in the world defending general claims against insured businesses and also served as a land surveyor. Mr. Chasey holds a B.S. in Political Science and Government from the University of San Diego and a J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law.