Leadership

Erez Aminov is an experienced biotechnology consultant and investor. Since 2023, he has been the CEO & Chairman of the Board at Mira Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ), initially joining the company as a consultant in 2022. His invaluable contributions and strategic acumen led to his rapid promotion to CEO. Before ascending to leadership at Mira Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Aminov established Locate Venture Corp in September 2021, committing himself to advancing and supporting early-stage biotech startups.

Mr. Aminov embarked on his journey in the biotech consulting sector in 2021, a move that marked the beginning of a career characterized by influential consulting roles with various biotech companies. With over two decades of experience, he has cultivated a robust skill set tailored to meet the biotech industry's unique challenges, including creating strategic alliances and guiding startups toward growth and prosperity.

Mr. Aminov earned a B.A. in Accounting from Touro University in New York, which helped shape his financial insight. At Mira Pharmaceuticals, he leads through informed decision-making, an essential attribute in navigating the nuances of the public sector. Drawing on his years of experience in financial expertise, he instills confidence in his ability to guide a publicly traded company through the complexities of the market.

Itzchak Angel is an accomplished executive in the Pharmaceutical Industry, with over 40 years’ experience in guiding medical, pharmaceutical, drug- and business- development in both large and emerging companies. Since 2005, he has been President and CEO of Angel Pharmaceutical Consulting & Technologies (A.P.C.T.)  where he assists pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies, individuals, medical stuff, hospitals, technology transfer companies, investors, university researchers and research teams in variable aspects of drug development. Under this function, he gives consultation to and assist Life Sciences companies in Strategic and Operational issues related to Ethical Drug Development (from Research through Preclinical and Clinical, up to marketing), Regulatory Affaires, Business Development and Planning and Organization, ranging in many diverse therapeutic indication and pharmacological families. 

Dr. Angel’s journey in the sciences began with his education at the Tel-Aviv university, where he earned his B. Sc, and M.Sc. degrees in Biology in 1979 and 1980, taking part in a special curriculum for outstanding students. He further studied at the Hamburg University, Germany, obtaining a Ph.D. in Neurochemistry in 1982. His postdoctoral research took him to the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland where he pursued his research on Neurobiology. For numerous years, he was Head of Pharmacology in Synthelabo (Sanofi-Aventis, Paris, France) where he participated in the research and development of drugs such as Xatral (alfuzosin), Ambien (zolpidem) and Mizollen (mizolastine). To name some of Dr Angel’s executive functions, he has formerly been President and Chief executive Officer of the stem-cell company Accellta (Haifa, Israel), Vice President for Research and Development at Proteologics Ltd, Galmed Pharmaceuticals and at D-Pharm Biopharmaceuticals (Rehovot, Israel) where he has been involved in research and advanced development in several areas such as Stroke, Epilepsy, Alzheimer’s’ Disease, Parkinson’s disease, metabolic disorders, psoriasis and Cancers.

Effectively established Discovery, Research and Development teams and projects and brought several pharmaceutical drugs to market. Excellent communicator and negotiator who led international projects and interfaced with high profile regulatory, government and industry leaders.

Dr. Angel is author of more than 100 book chapters, papers, abstracts and patents. He is also a passionate painter, music lover , avid traveller who speaks many languages.

Michelle Yanez has been our Chief Financial Officer since April 2023, prior to which she served as our Corporate Controller since May 2022. Ms. Yanez is a senior financial executive with over 25 years of experience in public and privately held biotech, pharmaceuticals, and life science companies. Ms. Yanez’ experience includes a broad range of responsibilities in a highly complex and regulated market. She also brings deep corporate governance experience through her work with corporate boards, including audit and finance committees. Ms. Yanez is part-time Corporate Controller at Telomir Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held biotech company. From 2002 until its acquisition in 2022, Ms. Yanez held various positions in BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. (NASDAQ:BDSI), including the Director of Financial Reporting. In her role, she led financial offerings, managed due diligence for product acquisitions and financings and managed finance documents and filings for the tender offer, Ms. Yanez served as an independent director of Inhibitor Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCQB: INTI), a publicly traded pharmaceutical development company focused on therapeutics for certain cancers and certain non-cancerous proliferation disorders, since December 2022.

Ms. Yanez is a member of the Institute of Management Accountants and a member of the SEC Professionals Group. Ms. Yanez received her MBA from Rutgers School of Business, Cum Laude.