MANAGEMENT
Executive Team:
Mr. Peter Gombrich – Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Founder
Peter Gombrich is a serial entrepreneur having successfully founded three prior medical device companies. Under his leadership, he raised over $200 million and took several companies public. Mr. Gombrich founded CerMed in 2008, and has been working in the field of molecular diagnostic for women's health for nearly 10 years. Prior to founding CerMed, Mr. Gombrich founded Diamics, a women's healthcare company focused on cervical cancer screening in 2006. From 1992 to 2006, he founded and lead Acumed/Molecular Diagnostics, a cytopahtic laboratory products company which he took public. From 1985 to 1992, Mr. Gombrich founded and was CEO of ClinCom, a provider of bedside clinical information, which was sold to McKesson. Prior to ClinCom, Mr. Gombrich founded and was CEO and Chairman of Integrated Microcircuits, an outgrowth of St. Jude Medical from 1980 to 1984. From 1976 to 1982, he co-founded St. Jude Medical, the largest heart valve company in the world. Prior to St. Jude, he held various sales and marketing positions in several medical device companies including Medtronic and Beckman Instruments. Mr. Gombrich has a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Denver, Colorado, and an MBA from the University of Denver, Colorado.Dr. Paul Vichi, Ph.D. - Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President of Product Development
Dr. Paul Vichi has over 15 years of research and development experience in oncology focused molecular biology and clinical microbiology, with previous faculty appointments in the departments of Biomedical Technology and Pathology at the University of Vermont, as well as senior positions for commercial R&D. Dr. Vichi joined CerMed in 2008, and is responsible for development of CerMed's molecular screening products. From 2005 – 2008, he was Senior Scientist/Project Manager, Diffraction Ltd. where he lead the R&D efforts in nanotech-based solutions for emerging technologies. From 1998 through 2005, Dr. Vichi was Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Technologies, University of Vermont, and held various post-doctoral positions prior to that. Dr. Vichi has a BA in Environmental Science from St. Michael’s College, VT, a Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Vermont.
Drew Hofmann – Sr. VP Business Development
Drew Hofmann is recognized worldwide for his sales and marketing credentials, with over 30 years of successful experience motivating medical businesses to grow and expand.
As co-founder of HeartSine®, Drew served at its President and CEO from 1996 to 2005.
Prior to founding HeartSine he served as president, CEO and Chairman of SenDx Medical, Inc., a US “Point Care” Diagnostics Company acquired by Radiometer Medical A/S. He has held senior level Executive and Board positions in a number of other medical companies during his career including Electronics for Medicine where he served as Executive Vice President & COO of the Corporation and President of its Cardiology Products Division, Siemens-Burdick Corporation where he served as Vice President for Sales & Marketing and Survival Technology, Inc.
Drew has been actively involved in numerous acquisitions and several IPO’s, and in various joint venture arrangements and strategic alliances. He is currently serving as consultant/business advisor to several medical products and venture capital companies.
He has a BS degree in Industrial Management from the University of Baltimore where he also undertook graduate studies in the area of International Marketing and Economics.
Mr. Stephen Ambler - Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance
Mr. Stephen Ambler is a proven financial executive with a demonstrated record of achievement in senior finance and operational management with public and private companies. He has taken a prior company public and has strong investor relations skills and contact. From 2005 to 2009, he was CFO and VP Finance of Immersion Corporation, which manufactured medical devices among other products. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Ambler was CFO of Bam Entertainment, a gaming startup, which he helped take public. From 1994 – 2001, he was promoted to CFO in Insignia Solutions, a software company and relocated from the UK to the US. Prior to Insignia, Mr. Ambler held various positions in finance at several companies, and was an audit manager with Price Waterhouse. Mr Ambler is a Chartered Accountant (UK), and has a Diploma in Accounting Studies from Oxford Polytechnic.
Board of Directors:
Peter Gombrich - Chairman (See Executive Management above)
Medical and Scientific Advisory Board:
Dr. Paul Vichi, Ph.D. - (See Executive Management above)
Phillip D. Darney, MD, MSc (Medical Director)
Philip D. Darney, MD, MSc, is Professor and Chief, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, San Francisco General Hospital at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and Founding Director of the University’s Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health. He is board certified in both obstetrics and gynecology and preventive medicine. With research interests focusing on contraception and reproductive health, Dr. Darney has been a principal investigator for numerous clinical trials and epidemiologic studies, written more than 300 scholarly articles, and edited and contributed to many books. He is an associate editor of the journal Contraception, a member of the editorial board of Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and is a regular reviewer for a dozen other journals.Dr. Darney is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies and has been honored by the American Public Health Association and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for his contributions to family planning research and training.
Dr. Darney, the Founding President of the Society of Family Planning, has been a family planning consultant in numerous countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America and is currently a consultant in reproductive health to the Government of Viet Nam. He received his MD from UCSF and completed an internship in general surgery at the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital in San Francisco, a residency in preventive medicine at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, and a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Dr. Darney also holds a MS degree in demography from the University of London.
Randall Cohen, M.D., M.P.H.
For over ten years, Dr. Cohen’s primary focus has been medical research in two major areas: female reproductive infectious diseases and HIV/AIDS support in developing countries. He is the Principal Investigator and Program Director of the Fogarty International Center (FIC) funded Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), UCSF Infectious Disease Training Program (IDRTP), and Director of Reproductive Invectious Disease (RID) Fellowship in the Department of Obstretics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at UCSF. Since 2003, Dr. Cohen has been a Professor, Department of Obstretics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, at the University of California, San Francisco, where he is an attending/ teaching professor in OB/GYN full time. During the same period, from 2005, he has been the program director for the Kenya Medical Research Institute for Infectious Disease Research. From 1997 through 2003, Dr. Cohen was a professor in the Department of OB/GYN at the University of Washington. From 1998 through 2003, he was also a core faculty member at the International AIDS Research Training Program, University of Washington. Dr. Cohen has published hundreds of papers and articles and is the leading investigator for many, if not most, clinical trials for HIV/AIDS in Africa. Dr. Cohen has a BA in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Berkely, an MD from the University of Louisville, and an MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Washington School of Public Health.