Sandra Silver is the Chief Scientific Officer for Whistler Associates, Inc. Dr. Silver received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Blackburn College in Illinois and her Ph.D. Virology from the University of Chicago, where her research focused on Herpes simplex virus gene regulation. She continued her research in the area of virology and molecular biology as a NIH Postdoctoral Fellow at the State University of New York, Stony Brook.
After her Postdoctoral training, Dr. Silver moved to Boston in 1988 where she began her professional career in the Biotechnology industry. During her eight years at Repligen Corporation, she worked on HIV vaccine and immunotherapy development, implemented antibody engineering and mammalian expression technologies and became head of Repligen’s Inflammation program, managing both clinical and product development with a major pharmaceutical company corporate partner. As head of this project team, Dr. Silver coordinated the writing of an IND for the product in the U.S. In addition to her research and program management responsibilities, while at Repligen, Dr. Silver co-led a technology assessment team evaluating gene therapy technologies that the company needed to support an expansion of their immune modulation program.
In 1996, Dr. Silver moved on to Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc. (TKT) as the head of one of the company’s “Niche Protein” projects. In this role, she and her research team developed the therapeutic protein for a rare genetic disorder. Also, as the head of a multidisciplinary project team, she coordinated the filing of a successful IND. This product, which Dr. Silver led from the research bench, through product development and into clinical trials, is the second product she has successfully brought into clinical trials. The product, called Elaprase® (idursulfase) was approved for marketing in the US in 2006 and is currently marketed by Shire.
After leaving TKT, Dr. Silver joined GTC Biotherapeutics, a company focused on developing therapeutic proteins using transgenic animal production techniques. For three years she served as the company's Senior Director of Program Management and Commercial Development. In this capacity she managed drug development programs for client biotechnology companies to ensure that GTC provided high quality process development and manufacturing support to its clients, that projects were completed on time and on budget and to meet client goals. Dr. Silver was responsible for establishing program objectives, project timelines, resource allocations and budgets. One client's product for which she assisted in the IND planning and preparation continues to move forward in clinical trials.
In 2005, Dr. Silver became the first employee of a new biotechnology company called Elagen Inc. Elagen is focused on the development of herpes papillomavirus (HPV) therapies. In her role as Vice President of Corporate Development, Dr. Silver managed the operations of the start-up company and directed the work on their two research programs. One of the research programs was focused on developing a small molecule inhibitor against HPV and the other on recombinant protein antiviral therapeutic. She had responsibility for budget planning, financial management and contract negotiations with suppliers. She also managed the company's intellectual property portfolio.
Since leaving Elagen, Dr. Sliver has worked as a consultant working with emerging biotechnology companies to develop strategies and detailed plans to move research stage products into clinical trials. Dr. Silver’s over 20 years of experience in the biotechnology industry has spanned a broad range of responsibilities from researcher, to research manager, to multidisciplinary project team leader. Dr. Silver has been using her skills and experience to assist other small company’s move their research ideas and projects forward in a logical and efficient manner.
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