Board of Directors

The Novalar Board of Directors oversees our practices and management, to make sure that we continue to comply with the highest ethical standards and comply with all laws applicable to our business.

Brian H. Dovey, Chairman

Mr. Dovey has been a Partner of Domain Associates since 1988. Since joining Domain, he has served on the Board of Directors of over 30 private and public companies and has been Chairman of five. Recent board positions include Align Technology, Connetics, SkinMedica, and Orexigen Therapeutics. Prior to Domain, Mr. Dovey spent six years at Rorer Group (now part of Sanofi Aventis). As President of Rorer from 1986 to 1988, he was the primary architect of this company's strategic shift to pharmaceuticals that resulted in a doubling of annual sales to approximately $1 billion. Previously, Mr. Dovey was President of Survival Technology, a start-up medical products company whose sales growth placed it in the top ten of the Inc 100. He has also held management positions with Howmedica, Howmet Corporation, and New York Telephone. Mr. Dovey has served as both President and Chairman of the National Venture Capital Association. He is Chair of the Wistar Institute, a leader in preclinical bio-medical research in the non-profit sector. Mr. Dovey serves on the Board of Directors and is also Co-Dean at the Center for Venture Education (Kauffman Fellows Program). He is a Trustee Emeritus of Germantown Academy, and is a former Trustee of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and the Burnham Institute for Medical Research. He was also a former board member of the industry associations representing the medical device industry as well as the association representing consumer pharmaceuticals. Mr. Dovey received his MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Colgate University.

John Savarese, M.D.

Dr. Savarese is a Managing Director at Montreux Equity Partners. Dr. Savarese's clinical experience in General and Orthopedic Surgery was gained at the Cornell University Medical College/Hospital for Special Surgery. Dr. Savarese is a board director or observer for Montreux portfolio companies, KFx, Verus, Avantis Medical, Bayhill and Novalar. In addition, he was actively involved in Montreux's investment decisions in Somaxon (NASDAQ: SOMX), Aryx (NASDAQ: ARYX), Orexigen (NASDAQ: OREX), Cerexa (Forest labs), Renal CarePartners, NovoStent and Asthmatx. Prior to joining Montreux, Dr. Savarese served as Director of Business Development and Marketing with the entrepreneurial team at NeurogesX (NASDAQ: NGSX), a Montreux portfolio company focused on the treatment of pain. Dr. Savarese worked in the Life Sciences Investment Banking division at Credit Suisse First Boston and started his career in the venture industry as a consultant to private equity firms and early stage companies.

Lowell Sears

Mr. Sears is Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Sears Capital Management, Inc. He has been a venture investor and portfolio manager through Sears Capital Management since 1994. From 1988 until 1994, Mr. Sears was Chief Financial Officer of Amgen, Inc. In addition to his role as CFO with Amgen, he also held the position of Senior Vice President responsible for the Asia Pacific Region, establishing marketing, sales and development operations in Japan, China, and other countries from 1992 through 1994. From 1986 until 1988, Mr. Sears served as Treasurer and Director of Planning for Amgen. Before joining Amgen, he held senior planning and financial positions with Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) from 1976 until 1986, including a period as Chief Financial Officer for its Ventures Division. Mr. Sears has been an active participant in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries since 1979 and serves on the boards of the following companies: Coapt Systems, InteKrin Therapeutics, Corthera, SymBio Pharmaceuticals KK. He holds a BA in Economics from Claremont McKenna College and an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Steven J. Semmelmayer

Mr. Semmelmayer began his career at Ormco Orthodontics, a leader in the orthodontic products market, where he held numerous sales and marketing positions. In 1993, he became General Manager and then President of Kerr Corporation, one of the industry's largest manufacturers of professional dental consumable products. He presided over Kerr for twelve years, growing the company from $120 million to almost $400 million in revenue through both internal initiatives and acquisitions. In 2005, Mr. Semmelmayer was named the President of the Professional Dental Group of Kerr's parent, Sybron Dental Specialties, a position he maintained until Sybron was sold to Danaher Corporation for $2.2 billion. In 2007, Mr. Semmelmayer served as President, CEO and Chairman of LED Medical Diagnostics Inc., and its subsidiary, LED Dental Inc., an innovative company dedicated to the early detection of oral cancer. Currently Mr. Semmelmayer serves as CEO of Discus Dental, LLC. He joined Discus in November of 2008. Mr. Semmelmayer also serves on the Boards of American Dental Partners (NASDQ: ADPI) and Building Materials Distributors Inc.

Ralph Snyderman, M.D.

Ralph joined NEA in 2006 as Venture Partner focusing primarily on biotechnology investments. He works closely with NEA portfolio companies and serves on the board of Liquidia Technologies, Targacept, Inc. and Trevena, Inc. He also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of Cardioxyl. Ralph is Chancellor Emeritus, Duke University and James B. Duke Professor of Medicine in the Duke University School of Medicine. He served as Chancellor for Health Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine from 1989 to July 2004. He also oversaw the development of the Duke University Health System and served as its first President and Chief Executive Officer. Ralph played a leading role in the conception and development of Prospective Care, a novel approach to personalized health and an evolving model of national health delivery. In 1987, Ralph joined the biotech firm Genentech, Inc., where he was Senior Vice President for Medical Research and Development. He is often called upon by Congress, the Institute of Medicine, the NIH, and national policy makers to contribute to the debate on health care reform, particularly his concepts concerning prospective care. Ralph played a prominent role in the leadership of such important national organizations as the Association of American Physicians, the Institute of Medicine and the Association of American Medical Colleges. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Additionally, Ralph is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and honors as well as a major contributor to nearly 375 scientific manuscripts.

Donna Janson

Ms. Janson joined Novalar™ as CEO in June of 2004, and brings more than 20 years experience in leading dental companies and launching novel products to the dental market. Between 2002 and 2004, Ms. Janson served as President and CEO of Biora AB, a public dental biotech company specializing in periodontal regeneration. As CEO, she successfully reorganized and refocused the organization and achieved continued profitability. Ms. Janson managed the acquisition of Biora by Straumann at a 50% premium to the share price.

Prior to being appointed CEO, Ms. Janson served as president of Biora Inc., the North American subsidiary of Biora AB. In this role, she was responsible for establishing Biora, Inc., played an active role in Biora's Independent Public Offering and was able to achieve profitability in less than 5 years. She currently serves as a board member of Axenic Dental, Inc., a dental device company focused on developing a disposable dental handpiece.


The operating committees of the Board of Directors are listed below.


Our Investors include, among others:

  • Domain Associates
  • New Enterprise Associates
  • S.R. One
  • Montreux Equity Partners
  • Boston Millennia Partners
  • Genevest
  • Sears Capital Management