Management

Dr. Fruchtman joined Onconova in January 2015 as Chief Medical Officer.  He was promoted to President in July 2018 and to CEO in January 2019.  He has extensive experience in large and small biopharmaceutical companies and has led successful clinical development programs while serving in senior positions at Ortho Biotech Products, Novartis, Allos Therapeutics, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals and Syndax Pharmaceuticals.

Previously, Dr. Fruchtman was on the faculty of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the Director of the Stem Cell Transplantation and Myeloproliferative Disorder Programs at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. He is an author of more than 170 lectures, presentations, books, chapters, and abstracts and serves as an external reviewer for multiple medical journals.

Dr. Fruchtman received his medical degree from New York Medical College with the distinction of membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha honorary medical fraternity.

Dr. Gelder joined Onconova Therapeutics in June of 2021 as Chief Medical Officer (CMO). He has more than 35 years of experience in clinical development, medical affairs, and medical marketing and expertise that specifically covers the development of kinase inhibitors as cancer therapeutics. He was most recently the CMO of Elevar Therapeutics, where he led the company’s clinical development, medical affairs, regulatory affairs, and preclinical teams. Prior to his time at Elevar, Dr. Gelder served as the CMO of Pierian Biosciences (formerly DiaTech Oncology), Accelovance, Inc., and Heron Therapeutics, Inc.

Dr. Gelder also has extensive experience at large pharmaceutical companies, as he previously worked in global medical affairs and led therapeutic oncology programs for Pfizer, Wyeth, and Bayer. Dr. Gelder has led successful early- and late-stage global clinical trials and has been involved in the approval and launch of several cancer therapeutics. Prior to his career in the biopharmaceutical industry, Dr. Gelder was an investigator in multiple clinical trials and authored numerous scientific papers in the areas of women’s health and oncology. He earned his M.D. from the University of Virginia School of Medicine and completed a fellowship in gynecologic oncology. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

In his role as Onconova’s CMO, Dr. Gelder leads ON 123300’s clinical development, facilitates the progression of rigosertib’s investigator-initiated trials, and evaluates potential product candidates for in-licensing.

Mr. Guerin joined Onconova Therapeutics in September 2013 to augment the financial reporting, forecasting, and internal controls capabilities of the company following the IPO in July 2013.  Prior to joining Onconova, Mr. Guerin worked as an interim senior finance & accounting executive facilitating the post-acquisition integration activities of newly-acquired private equity portfolio companies.  Previously, Mr. Guerin was the VP Finance & CFO of Cardiokine, Inc. through that company’s filing of a New Drug Application and the sale of the company.  Prior to joining Cardiokine, Mr. Guerin was Director, Financial Reporting & Internal Controls at Barrier Therapeutics, Inc. during Barrier’s IPO and follow-on offering.  Mr. Guerin started his career at Coopers & Lybrand in Philadelphia.  He received his bachelor’s degree in Accounting from DeSales University and has earned the CPA, CMA, and CFM professional certifications.

Mr. Avi Oler joined Onconova’s Management Team in December 2018 as Vice President, Corporate Development and General Counsel and was promoted to Senior Vice President, Corporate Development & General Counsel in January of 2020.

Mr. Oler served most recently as Vice President of Operations and Chief of Staff to the CEO of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals. During his tenure, he was instrumental in the company’s progress and productive licensing activities. He served in varied roles of increasing responsibility, as a member of the executive management team, the corporate development team, and as Head of Alliances and Legal Affairs.  Due to a series of successful accomplishments, he was named Chief of Staff.

Previously, Mr. Oler practiced corporate law at the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis LLP.  Prior to this, he was a financial research analyst at the Center for Financial Research & Analysis, and an investment banker with Lehman Brothers in London.

Mr. Oler holds a JD from Northwestern University School of Law with Distinction, an MBA from Kellogg School of Management with Distinction, and a Master of Science in Politics of the World Economy from the London School of Economics. He earned his undergraduate degrees, magna cum laude, from the Wharton School and the University of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Parris joined Onconova Therapeutics in August 2018 as Senior Director, Clinical Operations, and is responsible for overseeing and managing the Clinical Operations team and the cross functional project teams.  He was promoted to Vice President, Clinical Operations in January 2021. 

Mr. Parris has clinical development experience in multiple therapeutic areas,  with a focus on Oncology and Hematology indications across a wide variety of therapeutic agents.  He has over 24 years of industry experience, initially in Europe and since 2003 in the United States, holding management positions in contract research organizations as well as small pharma companies.

Previously, Mr. Parris served as Director of Clinical Operations for Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Vice President of Clinical Development for Eleison Pharmaceuticals, and Director of Clinical Operations at Aegerion Pharmaceuticals.  He has a Bachelor of Science Degree, with honors, from Imperial College in London.