Management

George W. Holland, PhD, Cofounder, President and CEO
Prior to co-founding Aviara, George served 9 years at Encysive Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly Texas Biotechnology Corp.) where he was Vice President of Chemical Sciences.  Previous to Encysive, Dr. Holland was for 26 years with Hoffmann-La Roche (Nutley) where he served both as senior therapeutic area management and leader of medicinal/synthetic chemistry groups working on a broad range of synthetic and therapeutic targets.  At Encysive he was involved in all phases of the drug discovery and development effort that resulted in the regulatory approval and commercialization of the endothelin antagonist Thelin™ in North America, Europe and Australia.  Dr. Holland has more than 36 publications and 50 patents.  He earned a PhD in organic chemistry from the Iowa State University and conducted postdoctoral studies at Purdue University with Nobel Laureate Herbert C. Brown.

Richard A.F. Dixon, PhD, Cofounder, and Chairman of BOD
Richard is a cofounder of Aviara and is Director of Molecular Cardiology Research, Texas Heart Institute, Houston, Texas. Formerly he was a Founder, Director, Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of Encysive Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Prior to that, he held various management positions, including head of the molecular biology department at Merck and Co. where his basic research efforts focused on the molecular biology and pharmacology of intracellular signaling and cell trafficking, leading to become the first group to clone and characterize a G-protein coupled receptor, the beta2 adrenergic receptor (resulting in 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Kobilka and Lefkowitz).  He conducted postdoctoral research Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with the Nobel Laureate Daniel Nathans. He and his research groups have produced 10 NCEs which have entered into human testing, one of which has led to the approved drug Thelin™. He has also been directly involved with 4 other NDA programs that have resulted in the approved drugs Argatroban™, Crixivan™, Singular™, and Zocor™. While at Encysive, Dr. Dixon was involved in an IPO, several public stock offerings, and PIPEs which raised more than $340M over the 18 year history of Encysive.  He is currently Director of the Wafic Said Molecular Cardiology Research Laboratories at the Texas Heart Institute (THI) in Houston, Texas, where he is involved in discovery and development of small molecule, gene and cell therapies for heart, lung and vascular diseases.  At THI, he directs a large medicinal chemistry group which is actively involved in the discovery of small molecule therapeutic and diagnostic agents for application in regenerative medicine.

Patrick Ward, Cofounder and Director
Patrick is the former President and COO of Ocusoft, Inc., a specialty ophthalmic pharmaceutical distributor.  At Ocusoft, he was responsible for management of the organization with over 120 employees and a $30 million operating budget.  He was also responsible for product development, manufacturing and regulatory affairs for a variety of pharmaceutical, cosmetic and nutritional supplement products. 

Prior to joining Ocusoft, he was Executive Director of Business development at Encysive Pharmaceuticals where he spent 13 years in business development, finance and marketing, with responsibility for strategic financial planning, new business deal activities, licensing transactions and alliance management.  He was also involved in the development and commercialization of two approved drugs – Argatroban™ and Thelin™ – in the U.S. and Europe.  Prior to joining Encysive, he was with Owen Healthcare (now Cardinal Health) where he served in multiple roles in hospital pharmacy management.  He received a B.S. in Pharmacy from The University of Houston and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of St. Thomas.

Board of Directors

Our research focuses on modulating the activity of integrins.   Integrins are a large family of adhesion molecules that are found on the surfaces of nearly all cells, mediating a wide variety of physiological processes, including cell adhesion, migration, survival and differentiation.   Integrins play a key role in the inflammatory and immune response to disease.  Consequently, integrins are involved in a diverse range of diseases, including cancer, infection, thrombosis and autoimmune disorders.

We are also exploring new ways of modulating the effects of stem cells and the stem cell niche.  A stem cell is a unique cell that can proliferate and differentiate into other cell types with specialized functions such as those of muscle, brain, blood or skin. In adults, they contribute to the repair of damaged tissue by regenerating those cell types necessary for proper organ function.  The stem cell niche is the microenvironment located within the bone marrow where the stem cells reside.  The niche supports the maintenance of stem cell identity and regulates the function of stem cells.

Cell Mediated Drug Resistance and Minimal Residual Disease

Inflammatory Bowel Disease