Thomas J. Errico, MD / Founder and Principal Investor
Dr. Errico is a graduate of the New Jersey College of Medicine. After completing a residency in orthopedic surgery, he completed a yearlong fellowship in spinal surgery in Toronto with Dr. John Kostuik.
After his fellowship, Dr. Errico accepted a joint position in the faculties of both Orthopedic Surgery and Neurosurgery at the New York University Medical School. Now a tenured professor in both departments, Dr. Errico is serving as the Chief of Spine Service for both New York University and the Hospital for Joint Diseases.
He is an original member of the North American Spine Society, and served as that society’s President for 2004-5. Along with J.P. Errico, he founded several medical device companies, and according to the MedicineLodge 2001 Spinal Implant Intellectual Property Report, is the most prolific surgeon inventor in the field of spine orthopedics.
Dr. Errico served on the Board of Directors of SpineCore from its inception to sale. It is expected that Dr. Errico will serve as a primary contributor and advisor to ElectroCore for the development of the company’s products and their indications.
J.P. Errico / Founder, Principal Investor and CEO of ElectroCore
Mr. Errico received his undergraduate degree in aeronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and worked at the Air Force National Laboratory, Lincoln Laboratories. He holds both law and mechanical/materials engineering graduate degrees from Duke University.
Mr. Errico trained as a patent attorney in New York, and is the author of a treatise on international intellectual property law. Along with fellow investor and Board Member, Dr. Thomas Errico, Mr. Errico has founded a number of medical device companies, including Fastenetix, K2 Medical, AD-4 Pharma, E2, and SpineCore. Products conceived by these companies have generated more than $8 billion in sales to date.
He served as the CEO of SpineCore from the inception of the company through to its sale to Stryker in July 2004.
Mr. Errico is a named inventor on more than 125 issued US patents, and is a named inventor on more than 100 pending US applications. Additional patents and patent applications outside the US on which he is a named inventor number greater than 200. In addition to his current role as CEO, he continues also to make significant inventive contributions in all aspects of the company’s key patent portfolios, along with the clinical and market validations of the company’s products and their indications.
Peter S. Staats, MD
Dr. Peter S. Staats is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine and the Department of Oncology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. He was the founder of the Division of Pain Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, where he was the director for ten years.
Dr. Staats is internationally known for developing and implementing minimally invasive procedures for chronic pain. Dr. Staats received his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor and completed his residency and fellowship training at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is certified by the National Board of Medical Examiners, the American Board of Pain Medicine, and the American Board of Anesthesiology, and is a fellow of the World Institute of Pain and the North American Neuromodulation Society.
Dr. Staats has written or co-edited five books, and close to two hundred articles, abstracts, monographs and book chapters on pain medicine in publications that include the Journal of the American Medicine Association, Pain, Anesthesiology, and the Journal of Clinical Oncology. His work has been highlighted on Good Morning America, CBS Evening News and CNN. He has lectured extensively nationally and internationally for over 10 years. In addition to his numerous editorial board appointments including the Clinical Journal of Pain and Pain Medicine, Dr. Staats is an active member in many professional societies and is past president of the North American Neuromodulation Society and the Southern Pain Society.
Gordon D. Donald, MD
After completing his residency in orthopaedic surgery with additional specialty training in sports medicine, Dr. Donald completed his spinal surgical fellowship at the St. Luke’s New Jersey Spine Group in Cleveland and is board certified in both orthopaedic surgery and spinal surgery. He is a member of multiple spinal and orthopaedic societies and has particular interests in reconstructive spinal surgery including scoliosis, spinal deformity, and spinal tumors as well as degenerative disorders and herniated discs. Dr. Donald is especially skilled in minimally invasive spinal surgery including laparoscopic and thorascopic assisted approaches.
In addition to his clinical responsibilities of providing expert spinal care to patients, Dr. Donald is very involved in spinal surgical research and the development of new instruments, devices, and techniques to advance the field of spinal surgery. He has authored multiple papers and has lectured globally teaching others new techniques in spinal surgery.
Dr. Donald serves as the Medical Director and Director of Spinal Surgery for NJ Spine Group, LLC at New Jersey Spine Group, LLC.
Brent Saunders
Mr. Saunders is chief executive officer, president and member of the Board of Directors of Bausch + Lomb, a leading global eye health company. He was appointed to this position in March 2010.
Mr. Saunders brings significant expertise in the pharmaceutical industry, having recently served as a senior executive with Schering-Plough. Most recently he held the position of president of Global Consumer Health Care and was named head of integration for Schering-Plough’s merger with Merck & Co. and for ScheringPlough’s acquisition of Organon BioSciences.
Before joining Schering-Plough, Mr. Saunders was a partner and head of Compliance Business Advisory at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Prior to that, he was chief risk officer at Coventry Health Care and senior vice president, Compliance, Legal and Regulatory at Home Care Corporation of America. Mr. Saunders began his career as chief compliance officer for the Thomas Jefferson University Health System.
Mr. Saunders serves on the Board of Directors of ElectroCore LLC, the Overlook Hospital Foundation and the American Heart Association. He was recently named to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Upstate Regional Advisory Board.
Mr. Saunders earned his MBA from Temple University School of Business, his J.D. from Temple University School of Law and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
Kathryn K. Theofilos, Esquire
Mr. Theofilos is president of Theo Development, Inc., a real estate development and management company and vice president of SNJ Properties, Inc., General Partners of Theo Realty Investors.
Ms. Theofilos has a B.A. in Economics and Business from the University of California at Los Angeles and graduated from Memphis State University with highest honors from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Ms. Theofilos was admitted into the practice of law in Tennessee and practiced as a Litigation Associate at Heiskell, Donelson, Bearman, Adams, Williams & Kirsch, the largest firm in Tennessee. In 1994, she was admitted into the practice of law in Florida where she became a member of the Florida Bar Association and the Palm Beach County Bar Association, North County Chapter.
In 1998, Theo Development, Inc. was established and acquired as managing partner, Theo Realty Investments, a property investment company with over 150,000 square feet of commercial office/flex, warehouses and 20 acres of prime development land located in Tampa, Florida in 2001.
Robert J. Bertolini
Mr. Bertolini was executive vice president and chief financial officer at Schering-Plough Corp. until its 2009 merger with Merck & Co. Mr. Bertolini had been with Schering-Plough since 2003, where he worked hand-in-hand with the chief executive officer in all aspects of transforming the company’s operations. Prior to joining Schering-Plough, Mr. Bertolini spent 20 years at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, where he held positions of increasing responsibility, ultimately leading the global pharmaceutical industry practice.
He brings to the ElectroCore board strong industry and financial expertise. Having joined Schering-Plough at a time when it was facing challenges across several areas, he was part of the team that turned the company around and drove strategic decisions. He has experience in building world-class finance and information technology functions and in leading business development and strategy. He has had responsibility for key financial areas including tax, accounting and financial asset management, and has obtained extensive experience in audit, financial controls and corporate governance. He has served as a senior advisor to management on issues including merger and acquisition transactions, and is an expert in working with small and large health care clients on IPOs, licensing, and other strategic issues.
In addition to ElectroCore, Mr. Bertolini currently serves on the Board of Directors for Genzyme, Actelion Pharmaceuticals and Charles River Labs.
Mr. Bertolini earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Rutgers University and is a certified public accountant.