Mr. Messner was promoted to Chief Operating Officer as of March 2010. He originally joined the Company as Vice President of Commercial Operations in June 2006. In his current role, he is responsible for managing the commercial functions of business development, marketing and sales, as well as the finance department and internal company operations. Previously, Mr. Messner co-founded Proventiv Therapeutics in September 2005. While at Proventiv, Mr. Messner was the Vice President of Commercial Operations, focusing on business development and marketing. In this role, he negotiated terms with licensing partners and fundraising institutions and created commercial marketing strategies and associated financial forecasts. Prior to Proventiv, Mr. Messner held senior positions at Bone Care International and Abbott Laboratories. While at Bone Care International, Mr. Messner ran the marketing department, where he was responsible for creating and executing the Hectorol® marketing plan as well as the pricing and product reimbursement strategies. Mr. Messner earned his MBA from the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a BS in Management from Miami University.