Mr. Finley is an experienced financial executive, having played instrumental roles in raising nearly $1 billion in capital for companies as both an internal Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and an independent investment banker. Prior to joining Palisade Bio (formerly Leading BioSciences) as the company’s CFO, Mr. Finley was the Chief Executive Officer, President and CFO for PointAcross, Inc., a software company providing business messaging and communications services. Mr. Finley previously co-founded Proteus Capital Partners, Inc., a firm specializing in providing financing for a variety of businesses, and was a Principal and CFO at Phillips Capital, a broker/dealer firm specializing in private debt and equity capital raises. During his career, he also served as Executive Vice President and CFO of MetroGolf, Inc., where he successfully completed MetroGolf’s initial public offering and was instrumental in growing the start-up company to over 125 employees. Mr. Finley began his business career as a tax specialist with Deloitte & Haskins and Sells (now Deloitte LLP), and later was co-owner of Mitchell Finley & Company, a full-service accounting firm.

Mr. Finley earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Boise State University and a Master’s degree in Taxation from the University of Denver.

Dr. Mitch Jones is an accomplished physician and executive with extensive experience in the development of innovative therapeutics for inflammatory and fibrotic diseases. As Chief Medical Officer at Palisade Bio, Dr. Jones oversees all clinical development programs, regulatory strategies, and medical affairs, ensuring the advancement of the company’s pipeline in inflammatory, autoimmune and fibrotic disease.

Dr. Jones has a distinguished track record of advancing innovative therapies from translational research through clinical development and achieving regulatory approvals. He most recently served as Vice President of Corporate Development & Strategy at Chemomab Therapeutics, where he directed corporate strategy, program development, and strategic partnerships. His efforts were instrumental in advancing Chemomab’s clinical-stage programs and supporting the company’s financing and M&A activities.

Prior to Chemomab, Dr. Jones held key leadership roles at Finch Therapeutics and Biora Therapeutics (formerly Progenity). At Finch Therapeutics, he was Vice President of Clinical Discovery and Development, contributing to the company’s IPO and the early clinical development of novel therapeutics for IBD, chronic hepatitis B, and solid tumor immunotherapy. At Biora Therapeutics, he served as Vice President of Innovation and Clinical Translational Development, where he lead the development of the company’s technology platforms including Navicap™ and Biojet™, executed early clinical development and proof of efficacy studies, created strategic roadmaps and played a pivotal role in securing $125 million in venture financing and leading the company through its IPO. His early role within the company was building the GI therapeutics division as Vice President of Translational and Clinical Development.

Dr. Jones founded Interface Therapeutics, where he developed a novel sampling platform for multi-omics analysis of GI tract samples, leading to the discovery of locally acting therapeutics for IBD. Interface Therapeutics was later acquired by Biora Therapeutics. Earlier in his career, he founded Micropharma, where he developed the FDA-approved product LRC™, now sold globally by Chr. Hansen, and achieved regulatory approvals for microbiome-based therapeutics for metabolic and inflammatory diseases.

Dr. Jones is an inventor on nearly 200 patents and has authored numerous scientific publications. He holds MD and PhD degrees.

Mr. Willie has served as Senior Vice President, Finance and Corporate Controller of Palisade Bio since February of 2023 and previously served as Vice President, Finance and Corporate Controller. Prior to joining Palisade Bio, Mr. Willie held various senior roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP where he provided key assurance services to clinical-stage biotechnology companies as they navigated the complexities of international collaborations, clinical trials, and follow-on offerings.

Mr. Willie earned a Master’s degree in Accountancy and Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Brigham Young University and is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) in the state of California.

Dr. Joerg Heyer is an accomplished leader in Translational Science, Translational Medicine, and Clinical Research with over two decades of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. As the Head of Translational Science and Medicine, Dr. Heyer has demonstrated exceptional expertise in guiding drug development from preclinical stages through to clinical trials. Dr. Heyer has played a pivotal role in the successful development and strategic management of multiple drug programs, including the oncology drug tivozanib and an infectious disease treatment, CP101. Dr. Heyer’s career is distinguished by his contributions to biomarker strategy and assay development, where he has developed and validated numerous clinical biomarker assays and led innovative strategies for integrating standardized assays into clinical trials. His preclinical research achievements include pioneering chimeric mouse models and devising novel dosing strategies, which have been instrumental in advancing targeted therapies and securing major pharmaceutical partnerships. Dr. Heyer has held senior leadership positions at Dynamicure, Finch Therapeutics, and AVEO Pharmaceuticals, among others, where he has successfully managed multi-million-dollar collaborations and built high-performing teams across international sites.

Dr. Heyer’s academic credentials include a Ph.D. from the University of Wuerzburg and postdoctoral research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Heyer’s extensive publication record and his role as a sought-after speaker at prestigious international conferences underscore his influential contributions to the field.

Mr. Williams has more than 40 years of experience in the accounting and finance sector, including 36 years in the public accounting industry and over four years serving on the board of various public and private companies. His public accounting experience includes 18 years as a partner with Ernst & Young, and seven years as a partner with Grant Thornton. With a primary industry focus in the life sciences/healthcare and technology sectors, he served companies involved in the extended care market, acute care market, and roll-up transactions involving physicians, dentists and ambulatory surgery centers while at Ernst & Young. During his time at Grant Thornton, he served as national leader of the life sciences industry sector and managing partner of the San Diego Office. From 2001 to 2014, Mr. Williams served on the board of directors of the San Diego Venture Group, during which time he also served as the group’s President and Chairman. He was also a founding member of the Young VCs of Southern California.

Mr. Williams currently serves on the board of directors of Adhera Therapeutics, Akari Therapeutics, Alphatec Spine, and ImpediMed. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Accountancy from Southern Illinois University and completed the director education and certification program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Anderson School of Business.

Ms. Fischbein is a highly experienced healthcare investment banker and accomplished biotechnology industry executive. Ms. Fischbein currently serves as Managing Director, Healthcare, for Cassel Salpeter & Co., an independent investment banking firm. Previously, Ms. Fischbein was Head of Healthcare Investment Banking for Seaport Global and for FBR & Co. and Head of East Coast Biotechnology Investment Banking for JMP Securities. Prior to rejoining the banking industry, Ms. Fischbein held senior corporate positions at ImClone Systems and Human Genome Sciences. Early in her career, Ms. Fischbein was senior vice president at Lehman Brothers, and then was a Managing Director of investment banking at the Chase Manhattan Corporation and at Citigroup. Ms. Fischbein earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Harvard University.

Mr. Binxian (Phil) Wei has served on our board of directors since February 2019. He has been the V.P. of Darsheng Trade & Tech. Development Co, Ltd. (a subsidiary to Tianjin Tiayo Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) since 2015. He is responsible for API and finished dosage marketing for Chinese pharmaceutical companies. From 2008 through 2010, he worked as a business development manager for Sakai Trading.

He holds a Master’s degree in Mathematical & Computer Sciences from Colorado School of Mines, a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Tianjin University in China.

Dr. Burrill B. Crohn Professor of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and System Chief, Division of Gastroenterology, Mount Sinai Health System

Dr. Sands is an expert in the management of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and has earned an international reputation for his care of patients with complex and refractory diseases. He joined Mount Sinai in 2010 as Chief of the Dr. Henry D. Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology. Prior to joining Mount Sinai, Dr. Sands was Medical Co-Director of the Crohn’s & Colitis Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he also served as the hospital’s Acting Chief of the Gastrointestinal Unit as well as Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

A longtime advocate for the continued translational research in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, Dr. Sands is widely recognized for his innovative treatment of IBD and for his clinical investigations of new therapeutics. He was among the first to report the efficacy of infliximab-a drug used to treat autoimmune diseases-in ulcerative colitis, a result later confirmed in large, multi-center randomized controlled trials. Dr. Sands was also principal investigator for the landmark ACCENT II study, an international project that demonstrated the efficacy of the anti-tumor necrosis factor antibody infliximab as a long-term treatment for fistulizing Crohn’s disease.

Dr. Sands’ research also explores IBD epidemiology and includes the creation of a population-based cohort of IBD in Rhode Island, a project that is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A leader in several major professional organizations, Dr. Sands has served as the chair of the Clinical Research Alliance of the Crohn’s Foundation of America, Chair of the Immunology, Microbiology and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Section of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), and chair of the International Organization for the Study of IBD. He is an AGA Fellow (AGAF) and a fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology (FACG). In 2006 he was named Humanitarian of the Year by the New England Chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundations Henry D. Janowitz Lifetime Achievement Award and Mount Sinai’s Jacobi Medallion. Dr. Bruce Sands is a paid advisory board member for Palisades Bio.

Associate Staff in the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, as well as an Investigator in the Department of Pathobiology at the Cleveland Clinic

Dr. Rieder is Vice Chair, Co-Director of the IBD section, and Director of the Program for Global Translational IBD at the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland. His clinical focus is patients with IBD with a special emphasis on the field of pathogenesis, prediction and therapy of intestinal fibrosis. Dr. Rieder has published more than 150 articles (h-index 52) and book chapters and has been recognized for his expertise as indicated through invitations to clinical guideline steering committees of the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organization (ECCO). He is lead author of the ECCO guidelines on Ulcerative colitis and lead author of the first ECCO clinical consensus on ‘Diagnosis and Management of Intestinal Fibrosis’. He received multiple international invitations as a speaker, session chair or conference faculty. Dr. Rieder serves as an abstract reviewer for all major GI conferences, he is past associate editor (Clinical and Translational Gastroenterology) and on several editorial boards of medical journals. He is proud of his significant ties to the ECCO, which he served as the chair of Y-ECCO, member of the ECCO operational board, prior Y-ECCO committee member and member of the scientific committee. He is past chair of REACH-IBD and Co-Chair of the Professional Education Committee of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. Dr. Rieder is the leading PI on the international Stenosis Therapy and Research (STAR) Consortium with the goal to build a pathway to test anti-fibrotic medications in stricturing Crohn’s disease.