New board brings together leaders in healthcare delivery, pharmaceutical development, public-company governance, and entrepreneurship

VivaMed BioPharma today announced the formation of its Board of Directors, bringing together leaders in healthcare delivery, pharmaceutical research and manufacturing, public-company leadership, and corporate governance to guide the company’s next phase of growth.

The Board will provide strategic oversight as VivaMed advances its mission to transform healthcare through innovative solutions that improve patient outcomes and expand access to high-quality care. Its inaugural members are:

Peter Fine, former CEO of Banner Health — led Banner Health for nearly 24 years, growing it into one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health systems, with 33 hospitals, more than 55,000 employees, and over $14 billion in annual revenue.

Quentin P. Smith, Jr., Founder and President of Cadre Business Advisors — brings four decades in strategic planning and corporate governance; a founding director and former Chairman of Banner Health, with board experience at STORE Capital, Arizona Public Service, Rodel, Orion Group Holdings (NYSE:ORN), and iCrossing.

Chris Volk, Executive Chairman of Tenet Equity — guided the public listings of three NYSE companies, two of which he co-founded, and oversaw more than $20 billion in real estate investment; author of The Value Equation.

Robin Blackstone, MD — is a surgeon, healthcare executive, and nationally recognized leader in healthcare quality who previously served as Senior Vice President of Clinical and Medical Affairs at Ethicon and held the Ira A. Fulton Endowed Chair at Banner Health and is the founder of Blackstone Health and the H4 Alliance.

Sarah Chattergee, AVP, Business Development at TCG Lifesciences — has more than 24 years in global life sciences, spanning medicinal chemistry, drug discovery, and strategic partnerships.

John Shufeldt, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP, Co-Founder, President and Chief Medical Officer of VivaMed — is a physician-entrepreneur who has founded or scaled more than 15 companies, including NextCare Urgent Care and MeMD (acquired by Walmart in 2021), and founded Tribal Health to address healthcare disparities in Indigenous communities.

Kendric Speagle, Co-Founder and CEO of VivaMed — has more than 30 years in M&A, executive management, and drug development, and leads VivaMed’s licensing of university-discovered drug assets across 30+ university partners in 13 countries, contributing to regulatory approval of 39 drugs.

"The formation of our Board of Directors marks a significant milestone in VivaMed’s evolution," said Kendric Speagle, Co-Founder and CEO of VivaMed. "Each of these leaders brings a proven track record of building organizations and creating value. Their guidance will be instrumental as we execute our strategy and expand our impact across the healthcare ecosystem."

About VivaMed BioPharma

VivaMed BioPharma is a biotech company that uses artificial intelligence, in partnership with academic, research, and pharmaceutical organizations, to discover and advance new and repurposed therapeutic assets — delivering a validated pathway from computational drug candidates to translational results.

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Media Contact:

Kate Fassett

Chief Development Officer

VivaMed BioPharma

480-688-2657

kfassett@vivamed.com