About the Team

Mr. Rudy Shepard is a seasoned executive and entrepreneur with a proven track record of building and exiting successful medical companies. He served as CEO of Hancock Jaffe, Inc., later sold to LaMaitre Vascular, and as Founder & COO of Innatech Laboratories, acquired by Dow Corning Wright. He is also the inventor of the implantable “fixed” animal tissue graft used to replace a human ACL. Earlier in his career, he was CFO of Hancock Laboratories, Inc., which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson.

Mr. Lon Stone is an accomplished scientist and entrepreneur who has founded and led multiple public biotech companies. He was a Founder, Executive, and Board Member of Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (now Avid Bioservices, NASDAQ: CDMO), and of American Diagnostics Corporation, which IPO’d and was later acquired by Hoffmann-La Roche. He is also the inventor of the first test capable of determining pregnancy before a missed menstrual cycle.

Mr. Anil Bhalani has over 25 years of leadership experience in the medical device industry, with management roles at Newport Medical, Medstone, Applied Medical, Masimo, Respironics (Philips), and NID (Quest Diagnostics). His expertise spans operations, regulatory and clinical affairs, quality engineering, and manufacturing. He has successfully managed clinical trials and authored PMA applications that achieved FDA approval.

Dr. Francisco Valle brings extensive expertise in healthcare consulting and corporate leadership. He has provided management consulting services to hospitals and Federally Qualified Clinics, and held executive positions in several Fortune 100 companies. He has led startups, turnarounds, and M&A transactions, and served as CEO of SCDRG. He has received four CTAM Palm Awards for English and bilingual marketing campaigns, as well as the Community Healthcare Champion Award and the Health Professional of the Year Latino Champion in San Diego County.