The Civica Rx Team
Ned McCoy
President & Chief Executive Officer
Ned.McCoy@civicarx.org
Ned McCoy is Civica’s President and CEO. He has been with the company since its 2018 launch and most recently served as Chief Operating Officer where he was responsible for commercial operations, research and development, manufacturing/supply chain and business development. Prior to this role, Ned was the Chief Business Development Officer, responsible for developing and signing long term supply partnerships to prevent drug shortages and establish fair pricing.
Ned worked for Abbott for 32 years before joining Civica, where he had a strong track record of creating successful business opportunities by developing lasting partnerships between companies that capitalized on the strengths of both.
While at Abbott, Ned worked in 4 business divisions: Hospital Products, Pharmaceutical Products (now AbbVie), Nutrition and Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions.
Ned was the recipient of 4 President's Awards for outstanding accomplishments and was awarded the “Biggest Contributor to Earnings Per Share” for Abbott during one year. He is an inventor with 11 issued patents.
Ned received his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC). He and his wife, Gail, have 3 children and reside in Dublin, Ohio.
Eamon Fitzmaurice
Chief Financial Officer
Eamon.Fitzmaurice@civicarx.org
Eamon Fitzmaurice joins us most recently from Novartis Gene Therapies (previously named AveXis) and from vaccine companies Seqirus, Novartis Vaccines and pharmaceutical company Merck earlier in his career.
At Novartis Gene Therapies, Eamon served as Controller, Global Technical Operations shortly after joining the company as Plant Controller in 2018. Prior to working to working at Novartis Gene therapies, Eamon was Plant Manager for two years at an Oral Solid Dosage facility for Purdue Pharma. Eamon previously worked at Novartis Vaccines and led the US/Global vaccine finance organization through the sale of Novartis Vaccines to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), including through the deal closure and integration with CSL. Prior to Novartis Vaccines, Eamon spent 23yrs with Merck in roles in both Finance and Operations (Production & Operational Excellence).
Eamon holds a B. Commerce from University College Cork, Ireland and a CMA from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in London, UK.
Debbi Ford
Chief Communications & Public Affairs Officer
Debbi.Ford@civicarx.org
With more than 25 years of experience in corporate communications and public relations agency environments, Debbi’s experience includes communications leadership roles in biopharma/healthcare, high tech, energy, government and hunger relief.
Most recently in biopharma with Alexion, Amgen, Novartis Vaccines (now GSK), and Shire (now Takeda), Debbi’s focus has been on partnering to define company missions, media relations, corporate responsibility, employee communications, crisis and issues management, M&A communications, social media and brand creative. She has received award-winning recognition for her leadership of communications/change campaigns that helped companies solve business challenges and deliver improved and sustained results.
Debbi is a graduate of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
Russell A. Gall
Chief Manufacturing & Supply Chain Officer
Russ.Gall@civicarx.org
Russell Gall serves on the executive leadership team of Civica Rx as Chief Manufacturing and Supply Chain Officer. Prior to Civica, Russ was actively involved in consulting throughout the pharmaceutical and medical device industry. He also currently serves on the Board of Directors of Hamlin Scientific.
As an Operations Executive with over 30 years in senior operations leadership roles in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, Russ has had direct responsibilities for over 21 different global manufacturing sites. This has included controlled (Schedule 1-5) injectable drugs, radio-pharmaceuticals, potent compounds, cephalosporins, lyophilized products, specialty chemicals/active pharmaceutical ingredients, an extensive array of drug delivery systems, medical devices, all types of sterilization technologies, and all forms of molding and assembly operations. Russ’ functional responsibilities have included all aspects of Manufacturing, Quality, Research & Development, Supply Chain, Engineering, Maintenance, Finance, Human Resources, EH&S, Information Systems, Operational Excellence, and Contract Manufacturing.
Russ served as VP of Operations and General Manager for B. Braun Medical’s IV Solutions business in Irvine, CA, including all operations for a 1,450 employee, 4 building campus. As VP of Operations/GM for Teva Parenteral Medicines, Inc., he developed and implemented strategic plans for regulatory compliance remediation and return to market of key oncolytic products on FDA’s drug shortage list. As VP of Manufacturing Operations for Covidien, Russ led 9 global manufacturing facilities producing Contrast Media and Nuclear Medicines, generating sales of $1.1 billion. Russ was also a member of Hospira’s corporate executive team and, as VP of Operations, was responsible for the highest throughput injectable drug manufacturing site worldwide, including 2,600 employees and contributing to the generation of over $1 billion in sales.
Russ received two Bachelor of Science degrees (Microbiology and Packaging Engineering), both from Michigan State University, and is a recipient of a U.S. patent. He has also participated as a Board member of North Carolina Wesleyan College, Nash Community College Foundation, Boys & Girls Club of North Carolina, Rocky Mount Area Chamber of Commerce, and Rocky Mount Area United Way.
Scott Gochnour
Chief R&D Officer
Scott.Gochnour@civicarx.org
Scott Gochnour is a pharmaceutical industry leader serving on the executive leadership team with Civica Rx as the Chief Research and Development Officer. He brings extensive experience in developing and optimizing product performance and providing technical, quality and regulatory leadership to introduce quality products to market.
Prior to his position at Civica Rx, he was the Senior Vice President for Global Generic Research and Development (R&D) for Teva Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Additionally, he has held similar R&D leadership positions with Allergan, Actavis, Watson Pharmaceuticals and TheraTech for over 30 years in various research, product development, process engineering and management positions in R&D and production operations.
He was responsible for the global development and regulatory approval of both brand and generic complex dosages forms including drug/device combination products. He has had oversight for the manufacturing of pharmaceutical clinical and stability supplies in R&D pilot plants and commercial operations supporting regulatory submissions. His experience includes product formulation, process development, quality and compliance, regulatory affairs, equipment design and qualification, materials selection and evaluation, and scale-up/validation for commercial operations.
He graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Science and Engineering with emphasis in Biomaterials along with minors in Chemistry and Spanish. He is a member of the Engineering National Advisory Committee for the University of Utah and a former board member for BioUtah.
Gina Guinasso
President of CivicaScript
Gina.Guinasso@civicarx.org
Gina Guinasso has joined as the President of CivicaScript and is tasked with extending the successful Civica Rx model to the outpatient setting in order to dramatically lower the cost of select high-cost generic medications for individuals and families across the country.
Most recently Gina was the Senior Vice President of Commercial and Medicare Formulary Contracting Strategy at OptumRx, a UnitedHealth Group company. In this capacity, she led the day-to-day rebate negotiations for all internal and external pharmacy benefit management clients across all lines of business including commercial, Medicare part D, managed Medicaid, and fee for service Medicaid. Gina’s team was responsible for formulary strategy development and execution of manufacturer agreements for both pharmacy and medical benefit products and oversaw both traditional rebate and value-based contracts.
Prior to joining OptumRx, Gina spent over 20 years in the biopharmaceutical industry focused on leading market access account teams, federal markets, distribution strategy, specialty pharmacy networks, state and federal policy, patient assistance, and reimbursement strategy. Gina is a lawyer by training and has extensive experience contracting with commercial health plans, PBMs, Medicare and managed Medicaid plan sponsors, specialty pharmacies, wholesalers, 3PLs, and pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Gina is an active member of the Washington State Bar Association. She received her BA in International Business from Washington State University and her Juris Doctor from Seattle University School of Law.
Donna Gulbinski
Chief Quality & Regulatory Affairs Officer
Donna.Gulbinski@civicarx.org
Donna’s expertise spans worldwide operations, quality, and regulatory experience across vaccine, biological, pharmaceutical and device technologies where she has held positions of significant responsibility for Quality and GxP Compliance, including various roles in drug discovery, operations, and quality and regulatory affairs at Merck & Co., Bristol Myers Squibb and Lachman Consultants.
Donna is currently the Chief Quality & Regulatory Affairs Officer at Civica, Inc., a new independent not-for-profit company founded by health care systems and philanthropies to address critical generic drug shortages caused by market failures.
Jennifer Spalding
Chief Commercial Officer, General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer
Jennifer.Spalding@civicarx.org
Jennifer is Civica’s Chief Commercial Officer, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, providing oversight of the Commercial, Compliance and Business Development organizations and providing strategic legal strategy and counsel in support of business objectives. Jennifer has extensive experience in complex licensing, contracting, healthcare compliance and crisis management.
Prior to joining Civica, Jennifer was Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Medical Segment of Cardinal Health. Jennifer led a global team of lawyers to support the rapidly growing Medical Segment by providing strategic legal advice, including a $6.5B acquisition of Medtronic’s Patient Recovery Business.
Kris Weidling
Chief Human Resources Officer
Kris.Weidling@civicarx.org
Kristopher Weidling (Kris), a strategic-thinking HR leader for global life sciences firms, showcases a superior track record of supporting an organization’s growth strategy while astutely managing talent and cultural change. He has proved to be a trusted advisor to organizational leadership in initiating innovative human capital management strategies and aligning HR best practices and processes with organizational objectives. Most importantly, he has accelerated transformation through leadership, attracting and developing the best talent and building a culture of engagement, agility, and innovation.
Most recently, as the Head of HR (Global Business Functions) at Astra Zeneca (AZ) Oncology, Kris championed the creation of an agile organizational culture while enabling 49% growth within the Oncology unit in 2018-2019. Here, he aligned all strategic HR scorecard initiatives with the AZ 2025 strategy of “Disruptive Innovation” to become the #1 Oncology company by 2025.