Mr. Makar is a successful life sciences executive with both US and global experience in strategic leadership, business development and general management; as well as raising capital for both startup and established organizations. His efforts have resulted in the exceptional growth of multiple billion dollar blockbuster brands including Diovan®, Lipitor® and Voltaren® through innovative strategic leadership supported by securing hundreds of millions of dollars in resources. He also has excelled in smaller startup ventures and ran a public company as CEO.
In December 2013 he assumed his current position with Azure Biotech, a privately held women’s healthcare company. Previously he was a consultant to senior level executives and board members with various companies in the pharmaceutical and other sectors.
Mr. Makar served as president, CEO and director for Bioject Medical Technologies Inc. (BJCT) from October 2007 through November 2011. Prior to that he engaged in a number of entrepreneurial ventures providing consulting services with a focus on specialty pharmaceuticals and technology. He led business development and fund raising efforts for Keisense Inc., a technology startup, and co-founded Mesa Therapeutics, an emerging specialty pharmaceutical company, where he retains an advisor role.
Between 2000 and 2005 Mr. Makar served as vice president of marketing, then general manager, for the therapeutic business unit at Berlex Labs, the US division of Schering AG, which later became Bayer Health Care. Prior to that he held strategic and tactical marketing positions at Novartis and Parke-Davis.
Mr. Makar earned a BS in pharmacy from Rutgers College of Pharmacy in Piscataway, New Jersey and an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York. Currently he is on the board of directors of the Oregon Bioscience Association and Mesa Therapeutics. He also is a member of the Dean’s Leadership Council to the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers.
“I can provide strategic and operational guidance to life science organizations. This can involve strategic planning, corporate structuring, board development, financing, early stage R&D, marketing plans, business development, clinical strategies and raising capital in sectors including digital health, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.”