James L. Smith, PhD, MBA
Co-Chief Executive Officer

James Leif Smith (Chairman of the Board of Directors, Founder, and CEO), PhD, MBA: Dr. Smith has over 20 years of scientific, operational, strategic and management experience in the biotech industry. He has been involved in the formation, product development, and leadership of several biotechnology companies over the last two decades. Dr. Smith holds more than 25 patents associated with antimicrobial and cancer therapeutics. He has authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications covering topics on drug discovery and antibiotic development. He previously held leadership roles as Product Leader for Oragenics Inc., contributing to the development of its antimicrobial product line. These product lines were used to leverage investments from government, private, and public sectors. In the early 2000s, he was Vice President of Ivigene Inc., which was using a proprietary technology for the identification of novel protein targets for vaccines and diagnostics products. Dr. Smith was the founder of Biotech Analyst Group, which provided an in-depth analysis of technologies and their related patents. He served as an Executive Director of the Able Trust Foundation in Tallahassee FL for five years through a gubernatorial appointment. As an executive committee member, he served as treasurer and secretary. Dr. Smith has a Doctorate degree in Biochemistry from the College of Medicine at the University of Florida and an M.B.A. degree in Finance and Competitive Strategy from Warrington College of Business. James leads the overall strategy for Sano as well as runs the research and development team at the Sano Chemicals research facilities in Bryan, TX.