Assurex Health names three new executive officers

Assurex Health, the booming Mason mental-health biotech company, announced Monday that three people have taken leadership roles.

Virginia C. Drosos, president and chief executive officer, named Peter Donato as senior vice president and chief financial officer; Craig S. Lewis as senior vice president and chief marketing and strategy officer, and Sandra J. Gunselman as vice president of clinical operations.

Assurex Health, a startup that was born at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, developed the GeneSight test, which allows doctors and other caregivers to match a patient's genetic profile with a suitable drug to improve treatment of depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions.

Veterans Affairs hospitals and Medicare are now paying for the GeneSight test for patients.

In April, the company, after a brief flirtation with moving from Mason, announced that it would build a $15 million facility on Innovation Way, just off Interstate 71.

Of her new executives, Drosos said, "Each of these new leaders has deep industry experience, proven track records in elevating their organizations to new levels of performance, and most importantly, they share our vision and passion for helping people on the road to mental wellness."

Donato has 23 years of financial management and accounting experience largely for health care companies. Most recently, he was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Bovie Medical. Donato has also served as corporate controller for Cyberonics Inc., as chief financial officer of Catsys Health Inc., and as chief financial officer for IRIS International Inc. Donato holds a bachelor of science in business administration degree in accounting from The Ohio State University and a master of business administration degree from the University of Akron. Donato takes over for Stephen Stamp, who has held the position for the past two years.

Lewis has more than 25 years of experience in domestic and global marketing, sales, product development and strategic planning in the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries. He launched multiple products and led product teams in neuropsychiatry, including ADHD and schizophrenia, in prior roles at Shire Pharmaceuticals, Marion Merrell Dow, Otsuka and Zimmer.

Lewis holds a bachelor of business administration degree from the Carl H. Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati and a master of business administration degree from Xavier University.

Gunselman has more than 20 years of experience in the biotechnology and regulated medical device industries. She oversees the operations and laboratory research programs of company laboratories in Mason and Toronto, Ontario.

Most recently, she served as vice president of clinical operations at Transgenomic Inc. Before that, she was laboratory director at Kailos Genetics and served as a senior research scientist with the U.S. Army and the Pacific Northwest Research Foundation. She earned a bachelor of science degree in biology from Lipscomb University and a doctorate in cellular and molecular biology from Colorado State University.