Management

Artisan has assembled a core group of senior managers focused on the clinical development of drugs in the field of critical care and hospital-based therapeutics. We intend to announce additional senior and supportive hires in the near future.

 

John A. Rocha,
Director of Finance

Mr. Rocha has almost fifteen years of both public accounting and financial management experience primarily in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and healthcare industries.

Mr. Rocha was most recently at Deloitte & Touche’s Technology Venture Center (“TVC”) servicing early stage audit and tax clients in the life sciences and high tech industries.

Prior to Mr. Rocha’s TVC experience, he was Vice President of Finance and Controller of Acretia, Inc., a privately held drug development Company that in-licenses product candidates from leading medical institutions. Acretia successfully in-licensed three compounds during Mr. Rocha’s tenure.

Prior to Acretia, Mr. Rocha was the controller of ZYCOS, Inc., a privately held phase 2b biotechnology Company. Mr. Rocha was a key member of the senior management team that sold the company to MGI Pharma, Inc. in 2004 for $50 million. While at ZYCOS, he was involved in raising over $40M in venture capital financing, as well as responsible for managing all financial and accounting operations of the business. Subsequent to the acquisition of ZYCOS by MGI Pharma, Mr. Rocha was named Director of Finance for the resulting subsidiary, MGI Pharma Biologics, and oversaw its successful post acquisition integration with the parent.

He began his career in public accounting at Ernst & Young, where he was a manager in both the healthcare and mergers & acquisitions practices.

Mr. Rocha earned his B.A. from Boston College and his M.B.A. & M.S. in Accounting from the Northeastern University Graduate School of Professional Accounting. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of both the Massachusetts Society of CPA’s and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.