About Us

Michael Wells Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael Wells has had a long and distinguished career as an entrepreneur, healthcare investor and chief executive. He is the founder and Managing Director of Princeton Biopharma Capital Partners which he created for the purpose of providing growth capital to emerging health care companies. He is also the acting Chairman and CEO of Fidelis Animal Health and non-executive Chairman of Kaleo, both portfolio companies of Princeton Biopharma Capital. Prior to creating his investment company, he was the founder and CEO of Aton Pharma, a pharmaceutical company focused on rare diseases. For his part in creating and growing this company he was named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2009 and in 2010 the company was acquired by Valeant Pharmaceuticals. After selling Aton Pharma, he partnered with Cerberus Capital Management and invested in Covis Pharma Sarl where he was a board member for five years. In 2020, Covis was sold to Apollo. His career began at Merck & Co. where he held a range of sales and marketing positions over eight years.

Cynthia Davis Chief Financial Officer With more than 20 years of experience leading financial operations for pharmaceutical and healthcare company start-ups, Cynthia is right at home directing all facets of finance, accounting, reporting, and operations at Fidelis. As she oversees Fidelis’ financial operations in this time of rapid growth, Cynthia draws on her senior-level entrepreneurial experience, most recently as principal and financial lead at TotalBio Solutions consulting for start-up lifescience and high-tech enterprise clients. Prior to that, she served as global controller for Quantum Global Technologies, experience she is drawing on as she helps Fidelis expand its reach. As vice president of finance and treasury and other senior finance positions for Discovery Laboratories, she led treasury, special-purpose financing, risk management, and facility activities. Additionally, she completed due diligence review for acquisitions and capital expenditures as the biotech company prepared for commercialization. Holding a BS degree in business administration from Delaware Valley University, Cynthia also puts her skills to good use to support local youth organizations, e.g., serving as founder and past chair of the Plumstead (PA) Baseball Association Fundraising and Sponsorships Committee.

Barry Levinson, PhD Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer Barry Levinson, PhD, serves as Chief Operating Officer with Fidelis Animal Health. Dr. Levinson has over 35 years of biotech and pharmaceutical industry experience combined with a distinguished scientific career. He previously served as VP Business Development at Valeant Pharma (now Bausch Health) and was a founding employee, VP Business Development and Chief Scientific Officer at Aton Pharma. At Aton, he identified and acquired several key products and put in place its international partnerships. In addition, he was responsible for recognizing opportunities to expand the application of Aton’s products to new medical uses, and spearheaded R&D programs to develop these new indications. Before Aton, Barry was Founder and President of Park Life Science Advisory, LLC, a life sciences consulting firm, and prior to that was at consulting firm CPP Advisors (now Apeiron Partners), and the Life Sciences Group at KPMG Corporate Finance, LLP, an investment bank. For the decade prior, Barry held increasingly senior positions in cardiovascular research and then in business development at Berlex Laboratories, the US subsidiary of Schering A.G. (now Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals). He began his corporate career at biotech startup Ecogen, where he founded its Protein Biochemistry Group, and served as the company’s Radiation Safety Officer. Dr. Levinson received his PhD and Master’s degrees in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University, and was granted his Bachelor of Arts, with highest honors, in Biochemistry from Princeton University. He serves on the Fidelis Board of Directors as well as that of Covis Pharmaceuticals, and is a Managing Director of Princeton Biopharma Capital Partners.

Susan Witham Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality If there ever was a one-source expert for all matters related to pharmaceutical regulatory affairs, quality assurance/quality control, and working with the FDA, Susan Witham is it. Bringing 30+ years of experience in these areas, Susan leads the Fidelis team through all facets of regulatory compliance and quality. Susan has a strong track record of successful new product applications and has advised a number of companies in regulatory-related matters. Her accomplished pharmaceutical career includes a variety of senior executive roles in regulatory and quality at Kremers Urban Pharmaceuticals (now Lannett), Shionogi Inc, and Adams Respiratory Therapeutics, as well as positions with Columbia Labs, Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products, and Novartis. Her expertise and guidance are instrumental as Fidelis continues to develop and expand our pharmaceutical-grade pain management solutions in animal health and welfare. In her role at Fidelis, Susan finds it rewarding to guide the approval of high-quality products that make it easier for research institutions to comply with the latest regulatory guidelines in animal care as well.

Steven Leary, DVM Chief Medical Officer Steven Leary, DVM, DACLAM, serves as Chief Medical Officer with Fidelis Animal Health. He received his DVM from Iowa State University and postdoctoral training in laboratory animal medicine and comparative pathology from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Leary has 40 years’ experience, including serving as director at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Washington University in St. Louis. He served on the AAALAC Council, as president of ACLAM, and as chair of the AVMA Animal Welfare Committee and Panels on Euthanasia, Humane Slaughter, and Depopulation. He is past recipient of the ISU Stange Award, Charles River Prize, and AALAS Griffin and Nathan R. Brewer awards.

Kenneth Sylvestor, PhD, MBA, RPh
Senior Advisor, Manufacturing & Supply Chain

With more than 30 years of experience leading pharmaceutical manufacturing and global supply chain operations, Ken is a natural to head all facets of Fidelis cGMP-certified manufacturing and supply chain. Ken’s broad range of knowledge keeps our lead product sourcing and production running smoothly and ensures the impeccable quality our clients expect.

Some highlights of Ken’s extensive corporate experience include roles as Head of North America External Manufacturing for Sanofi, directing Global External Manufacturing for Cephalon,  VP Operations at Watson Pharmaceuticals for oversight of two U.S. manufacturing plant sites and led Worldwide Supply Operations for Glaxo SmthKline.

A registered pharmacist (RPh), Ken brings advanced education in both pharmacy and business management to his position at Fidelis. Ken earned a BS in pharmacy from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, an MBA in management from LaSalle University, and a PhD in pharmacy-health policy from the University of the Sciences.