Our team is comprised of leading industry experts with deep radiotherapy development experience

Thijs Spoor, MBA is an established leader with nearly 30 years of combined executive, broad management and capital markets expertise across healthcare and medical device industries. Prior to joining the Viewpoint team, Mr. Spoor served as the President and CEO of KBP Biosciences, a global, clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing innovative small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of serious cardiorenal and infectious diseases. While at KBP, Mr. Spoor led all operations for major fund-raising and IPO readiness upon completion and publication of Phase 2b trial data. He drove the company’s small molecule clinical development programs including toxicology, clinical pharmacology, Phase 2 studies and discussions with regulators. Prior to that, Mr. Spoor served as the President and CEO of AzurRx BioPharma, where he led its spin-off, NASDAQ IPO, completion of animal studies, regulatory approvals and multiple Phase 2 studies.  Mr. Spoor also served as the President and CEO of FluoroPharma Medical, which he took public, as well as a Health and Life Sciences strategy consultant to Fortune 500 companies at Oliver Wyman. Mr Spoor worked on Wall Street as an equity research analyst at JP Morgan and Credit Suisse where he covered biotechnology stocks and medical device companies.  He started his career with a formal training in nuclear pharmacy which led to increasing commercial leadership roles in the imaging business at GE Healthcare (Amersham) in cardiology and oncology.  Mr. Spoor holds a Pharmacy degree from the University of Toronto and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Frances L. Johnson, MD is a physician scientist and entrepreneur with experience leading multi-disciplinary teams in academic, government and private enterprise settings. Dr. Johnson received a BS in Cell and Molecular Biology and a Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Washington followed by Internal Medicine residency at the University of California San Francisco and Cardiovascular Medicine fellowship at Stanford University. Her experience includes co-founding a biomedical startup (XDx; now CareDx, NASDAQ:CDNA) as a co-inventor of their molecular diagnostic technology while on Stanford’s faculty. Dr. Johnson remained in academics during the growth phase of CareDx and led heart transplant teams at three academic medical centers before co-founding Viewpoint Molecular Targeting with Dr. Schultz and Mr. Coleman. As CEO at Viewpoint, Dr. Johnson has successfully secured multiple competitive Phase I and Phase II National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute funded Small Business Innovation Research Grants and Contract Projects ($10M). Dr. Johnson has successfully developed a team that has secured the first of two IND approvals expected in 2021 to begin the clinical trials of Viewpoint radiopharmaceuticals.

Michael K. Schultz, PhD is the principal inventor of Viewpoint’s radiopharmaceuticals and directs ongoing development programs. Dr. Schultz is concurrently an Associate Professor of Radiology and Free Radical and Radiation Biology at the University of Iowa. Dr. Schultz has maintained continuous research funding for his laboratory for over a decade from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/ National Cancer Institute (NCI) and has published over 75 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and invited publications. Dr. Schultz (as Co-Principal Investigator) was awarded a competitive NIH Research Project Grant (R01) to perform the non-clinical research and development needed to advance Viewpoint’s alpha-particle therapy for neuroendocrine tumors to a Phase 1 clinical imaging and therapy trial to be conducted at the University of Iowa. Dr. Schultz is Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator (with CEO and CMO Frances Johnson, MD of Viewpoint) on over $10M of NCI funded Small Business Innovation Research grant projects. In addition to his role on the current R01 ($3.5M), Dr. Schultz is a Project Leader for the University of Iowa NIH sponsored Specialized Project of Research Excellence in Neuroendocrine Tumors (a $10M, 5-year grant) and has been the primary architect, Principal Investigator, or Co-Investigator on over $20M in total of grants from the NIH, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, and industry funded research projects. Dr. Schultz has five years of experience in product management in radiation detectors, electronics, and software (PerkinElmer/Ametec) and 17 years of experience in radiopharmaceutical CMC/IND approvals, including as a consultant to Algeta ASA (acquired by Bayer) on the CMC for the first alpha-particle targeted therapy approved in the United States.

Markus Puhlmann, MD MBA, is a clinical researcher with over 20 years of experience in oncology drug development in solid and liquid tumor indications involving all phases of clinical development.

Before joining Viewpoint, Dr. Puhlmann served as the CD30 Franchise Head of Global Clinical Development at cancer therapy company, Seagen. Prior to his time at Seagen, Dr. Puhlmann worked as Section Head at Merck & Co where he built an extensive trial portfolio to establish pembrolizumab in the GU indications. In this capacity, Dr. Puhlmann led and contributed to many successful regulatory filings for pembrolizumab in various indications for urothelial carcinoma, renal cell cancer and cervical cancer.

Earlier in his career, he held various positions with increasing responsibilities in clinical development and medical affairs at Schering Plough, Bayer and Amgen. Dr. Puhlmann also spent six years at the Surgery Branch, NCI, NIH, where he studied suicide gene therapy approaches including the effects of cytokines on tumor neovasculature.

Dr. Puhlmann trained as a surgeon in the UK and Germany and holds a medical degree from the Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany and an Executive MBA from Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business.

Mr. Hedt is an experienced research professional with over 20 years in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries and a comprehensive understanding of all stages of drug research, development, and product innovation. He has extensive experience and knowledge managing clinical projects with a concentration in early-stage drug development specializing in theranostics, radiopharmaceuticals, mAbs, and vaccines. 

Mr. Hedt joins the Viewpoint team having most recently served as the Founder and Principal Consultant at Cedalion, a strategic consulting and contract research practice specializing in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and diagnostic industries, working to provide strategic development plans, analysis of database and literature, and insight into the competitive landscape for an optimized approach to novel developments. Prior to that, he served as Head of Clinical Development and Strategy for Clarity Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company developing theranostics for the diagnosis and therapy of cancer, where he played a vital role in the design and implementation of clinical trial programs that drove research and development strategies and advancements. Additionally, Mr. Hedt served as Senior Director, Clinical Operations for Patrys Ltd., a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of an entirely new type of product for the treatment of cancer – natural human antibodies. He also held a variety of roles at CSL Ltd., an Australian multinational specialty biotechnology company that researches, develops, manufactures, and markets products to treat and prevent severe human medical conditions. 

Mr. Hedt received his Bachelor of Arts in Psychophysiology and Psychology from the Swinburne University of Technology and completed his Graduate and Postgraduate training in the History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Melbourne.