We address certain technical matters by engaging advisors who are paid consultants who have demonstrated expertise in liver disease, enzymology and other fields of expertise related to our proposed products. We expect to formalize our Scientific Advisory Board in the future. The consultants currently working with us are as follows:

Scott Friedman, M.D., Professor of medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, has performed pioneering research into the underlying causes of scarring, or fibrosis associated with chronic liver disease. Dr. Friedman was the first to isolate and characterize the hepatic stellate cell, which is the key cell type responsible for scar production in liver. Dr. Friedman is also the President-Elect of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

Gregory Gores, M.D., is a Ruben R. Eisenberg Endowed Professor in Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Professor of Medicine, and Medical Director of the Liver Transplant Program at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Gores has published over 300 original articles, chapters, reviews, and editorials in liver disease. Dr. Gores’ research is focused on the fundamental mechanisms underpinning cell death of liver cells employing models relevant to human disease. Dr. Gores has been elected into the honorific societies of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the American Association of Physicians, and is also the past President of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

Paul Pockros, M.D., a gastroenterologist, is Director of the Liver Disease Center at Scripps Clinic, San Diego, CA, one of the largest tertiary referral centers for chronic viral hepatitis in the United States. Dr. Pockros is a principal or co-investigator in a large number of clinical trials for treatments of chronic liver disease, especially for chronic viral hepatitis B and C. Dr. Pockros has published over 100 abstracts and journal articles in the area of liver disease and, particularly, new treatments for chronic viral hepatitis.