About Us
FSA is a network of seasoned professionals in the areas of Drug Development, Program Management, Engineering, Human Resource and Contract Administration. Our team comprises Industry, Academic, and Federal program veterans able to move programs and products forward efficiently and economically.
ABOUT US
Foothill Scientific Associates (FSA) was founded in 2015 to fill a critical need in life science consulting; focused, agile, and cost-effective help for start-ups and small-medium size businesses.
As buyers of these services for our own companies, the options were very limited. In only rare cases could we get the attention of the sr. level people in a firm and only if we were willing to make a commitment that was frequently above our budget. Or, we found experts in a particular area but the bandwidth was so constrained and breadth of knowledge so limited we had to create teams of experts from several organizations to cover the full scope. It meant putting resources into managing the interactions and frequently accommodating less beneficial results.
We also spent a considerable amount of time and effort trying to make them understand the balancing act of priorities in our businesses; achieving development milestones, managing stakeholders, financial constraints, and keeping staff motivated all within a constantly changing regulatory environment.
FSA was formed as an answer to the challenges we encountered. It is an organization that delivers on its commitment to provide exceptional value across a range of key business areas. Combining our experience with networks developed over many decades, we offer our clients a resource that recognizes their unique circumstances and is able to respond appropriately.
We stay within our core competencies and don't make promises we can't deliver on.
We are among the most successful USG/NDF program firms because of what we learned in success and failure in this environment for our own companies, further refined in working with numerous clients. If we take an engagement, it's because we think we can win.
With decades of experience in Life Science Business Management, we've worked across the spectrum — from strategic planning to fundraising and capital structure development, from P&L optimization to negotiating complex supply contracts. Having sat on every side of the table, there's very little we haven't seen.
Success in the life sciences greatly depends on the effective management of Technical operations. In the most successful bioscience organizations, there is a distinct culture — a mindset — within Technical Operations that drives performance and innovation. At FSA, our capabilities are built on a foundation of professionals who have been deeply immersed in this culture. They bring this hard-earned expertise to our clients, helping them navigate complex technical challenges with confidence and precision.
OUR TEAM
President
Mark Logomasini is an experienced life sciences executive with a successful 30+ year track record in contract services, drug development, and medical devices. Since founding Foothill Scientific in 2015, he has led/co-led capture teams that have brought in over $500M in USG funding to FSA clients, acting as the Program Manager on several of the awarded contracts.
Prior to founding Foothill Scientific, Mark was President/CEO and Director at Bioject Medical Technologies, a needle-free injection company sold to Inovio Pharmaceuticals in Spring 2016. In the aftermath of the FDA policy change on jet-injectors in 2011, Mark was brought in to triage the company, enabling it to survive a regulatory change that caused an 80% reduction in revenue. During his tenure Bioject was transformed into a lean, near virtual company focused on FDA permitted commercial applications, research programs, and international sales through distribution networks.
As a co-founder and CFO/VP Business Development of Molecular Medicine BioServices, a contract biomanufacturing and development organization (CDMO). Mark was responsible for capital structure formation, securing equity and debt financing to advance company operations. Mark managed the Business Operations group comprised of Finance and Accounting, Business Development, Project Management, Purchasing, IT, and Administration. He began working in Federal programs in 2001, leading business development activities and establishing the company as key resource in DHHS/DoD vaccine programs. When Molecular Medicine was acquired by Sigma-Aldrich in 2007 he handled the financial due diligence of the transaction and became the head of Federal Programs for S-A's SAFC contract service division. While at SAFC he served as the Medical Sector Lead for the DoD/NDIA sponsored Chem/BioDefense Acquisition Initiatives Forum for which he received an Award for Excellence from the JPEO-CBD in 2011.
Before Molecular Medicine, Mark built a leading west coast bioprocess equipment & engineering company, Western Separations, sold in 2000.
Mark Logomasini has a BS in Chemical Engineering from the Missouri University of Science & Technology and MBA from the University of California, Irvine where he graduated with Honors. He is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with the Project Management Institute.
Senior Associate
George Bettinger received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from Rutgers University and spent the next 30 years heading product development in the medical device industry, working for companies including DuPont, C.R. Bard and Mallinckrodt, where he also served for six years as plant manager for one of its manufacturing divisions and obtained certification in Regulatory Affairs. He taught courses in Technical Project Management and How to Transfer of Products from Development to Manufacturing for the American Management Association, and is experienced in organizational management for success and profit.
Dr. Bettinger joined the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas in 2002, where he served as the Associate Director for Product Development for the NIH funded Western Regional Center of Excellence. He authored a successful grant proposals to NIH and led a project team made up of university, government and commercial entities to develop human and animal vaccines to protect against Rift Valley fever through Phase 2 clinical trials. He is now Project Director at the University of Texas, El Paso on a project proposal he wrote developing an animal vaccine for protecting livestock against Rift Valley fever that is funded for 5 years by the US Agency for International Development in collaboration with Sokoine University of Agriculture, a veterinary school in Tanzania and a Moroccan manufacturing partner. Dr. Bettinger has been successful in bridging the space between scientific discovery and the steps needed to bring that discovery to fruition in the commercial sector.
Senior Associate
Thom Landro is a dynamic program leader with over 20 years program and alliance management experience in the biopharmaceutical industry with a proven track record of driving complex mission-critical programs to completion. He excels at driving alignment between business, technical and regulatory functions to achieve business objectives.
He has extensive experience in securing and managing large, US government-funded advanced development programs including an $80+ million HHS (BARDA)-funded contract for development of novel lyophilized human platelet-derived hemostatic agent, a $40+ million DOD (DHA)-funded cryopreserved platelet development program, and a ~$170 million HHS contract for influenza vaccine development. Milestones reached in these programs include IND filings, pre-clinical development, first in human clinical trials, and advancement to a phase 2/3 adaptive clinical trial.
In addition to his product development and government program experience, Mr. Landro has also overseen two international development alliances with Indian pharmaceutical companies with over 60 products under development. He has also managed CMC programs including a rapid scale-up and tech transfer of an influenza vaccine and startup of a large measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine manufacturing facility.
Mr. Landro's expertise includes proposal development, building and maintaining integrated master schedules (IMS), cross functional team and stakeholder management, program budgeting and cost management, risk management, vendor contracting an management, , and personnel development and mentoring.
Mr. Landro holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Utah and an MBA from the University of Michigan. He has been PMP certified since 2005.
Senior Partner
Chemistry, Manufacturing, & Controls
David Ingamells is a pharmaceutical executive with over 30 years of experience in all Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) operations, including Process and Analytical Development, Bulk Manufacturing, Fill/Finish, Tableting, Facilities Design and Construction, Supply Chain Management, Validation, Metrology, Quality Assurance, and Quality Control. Products include clinical and commercial enzymes, antibodies, viral vectors, and antibiotics.
David’s experience includes start-ups to large multi-national corporations, where he has implemented and managed quality systems; developed manufacturing processes; designed, constructed and commissioned clinical and commercial bulk and product manufacturing facilities; and launched commercial products.
His most recent full-time role was executive director of manufacturing at Avid Bioservices. Prior to that, he was vice president of manufacturing at Vaxart; in this position, he managed all CMC functions. He also held positions at Optimer Pharmaceuticals (purchased by Merck), Molecular Medicine Bioservices (purchased by SAFC Pharma/Millipore Sigma), BioMarin Pharmaceuticals, IDEC (merged with Biogen), and Genentech. Mr. Ingamells holds a BS in biochemistry from San Francisco State University.
Operations SME
Hands-on senior executive with over 35 years of mechanical engineering design, manufacturing, and financial management experience. As president of a $40M privately held B2B company, he guided the company strategy to meet the ownership's goals of year over year double-digit profitability and positive cash flow positioning the company for a successful ownership exit.
Jon is adept at creative electro-mechanical design and bringing products into production. His design expertise includes complex mechanical systems, feasibility reviews (design and cost), electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, test fixtures, forming tools, weld jigs and assembly aids. He has led product Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment (HARA), Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (DFMEA), and Design Review Based on Failure Mode (DRBFM). He has investigated in-field issues, maintained customer relationships, and testified in product liability cases.
Jon introduced numerous new products and product revisions into production and sales. He managed production data in the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Data including Bill of Materials (BOM), routers or travelers, purchased component data, order entry process, raw materials, and finished goods inventory. He guided the installation of capital equipment such as laser cutting tools, CNC mills and lathes, robotic systems, metal preparation and coating systems, and warehouse equipment along with facility expansion.
Jon Gribble graduated with honors with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from the University of California, Irvine. He was recognized in 2019 by the University of California, Irvine as an inductee to the Engineering Hall of Fame. He is a registered professional Mechanical Engineer with the State of California.