Avi is the Chief Operating Officer of Aviir, Inc., a Palo Alto, CA, based developer of proteomic diagnostic tests that enable diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.  The company has raised over $30M of venture funding, and has recently accepted a strategic investment from Pfizer.  Aviir’s first test, a multi-protein signature assay for the diagnosis of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), will be commercialized in 2009.

Avi joined the founding scientists of Aviir, Inc. in early 2006 from Lumen Therapeutics, where he was CEO.  From 2002 to 2005, Avi was CFO and head of Business Development of XDx, Inc, where he was a member of the management team that developed AlloMap Cardiac, the first marketed multi-gene assay for detecting immune activation indicated for cardiac transplant rejection.

Avi’s twenty year life sciences career includes management consulting at Booz Allen and Hamilton and Pittiglio Rabin Todd and McGrath, with extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, commercialization processes, and product development.  He held management positions at Chiron Corporation where he worked on Business Development, and pricing the Nucleic Acid Test (NAT) for blood screening.  As a scientist at American Cyanamid he developed formulations, process transmittals and master batch records for a variety of therapeutics, and wrote monographs for FDA and international submissions.

Avi obtained his MBA degree from Stanford University, Ph.D. and MS degrees in Pharmaceutics from Temple University, and BS degree in Pharmacy from the University of Bombay.  He is a registered pharmacist.