David P. Luci
Currently, Mr. Luci is President & CEO of Acurx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACXP), a New York-based, development-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a new class of antibiotics to treat common infections caused by certain Gram-positive bacteria and to combat the global crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to currently available antibiotics, which he co-founded in 2017.
Mr. Luci is a life sciences executive with management experience co-founding and managing both public and private biopharmaceutical companies in various senior executive positions, including as President & CEO, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Business Officer and General Counsel.
Mr. Luci has been responsible for over $210 million in equity financing since 2004 raising over $160 million in over-subscribed public offerings. Further, Mr. Luci was the first employee in Bioenvision (Nasdaq: BIVN) in 2002 as CFO and General Counsel and was the lead executive in selling Bioenvision to Genzyme (Nasdaq: GENZ) for $345 million in 2007 after achieving EU marketing approval for Bioenvision’s lead cancer drug to treat childhood leukemia; as well as selling both of his prior two companies in M&A transactions, including the sale of Dipexium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: DPRX) to PLx Pharma (Nasdaq: PLXP) in a merger valued at $69 million and the sale of MacroChem Corporation (Nasdaq: MACM) to Abeona Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ABEO) in 2009. Since entering the pharmaceutical industry in 2002 at “C-level” positions, every company that Mr. Luci has managed has been sold.
Mr. Luci has also successfully completed numerous international licensing and co-development transactions including the out-licensing of Australian rights to Bioenvision’s lead drug to Mayne Pharma (Hospira) and the in-licensing Asian rights to Bioenvision’s lead drug from Southern Research Institute, each of which predicated the sale of Bioenvision to Genzyme.
Mr. Luci began his career with Ernst & Young LLP (New York Office) as a certified public accountant working in the Healthcare Practice Group for three years; transitioned to practicing corporate law at Paul Hastings (New York Office), a full-service international law firm, for eight years where his practice encompassed all aspects of public and private mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, restructurings and private equity transactions, with a core focus in the healthcare industry.
Mr. Luci is a graduate of Bucknell University (B.S.B.A. Business Management with a concentration in Accounting) where he was President of the Pre-Law Society and Albany Law School (Cum Laude, 1994).