Board of Directors

Shane J. Schaffer, PharmD is a Co-Founder of Cingulate Therapeutics and has served as the Chairman and CEO since its inception. Dr. Schaffer is a 25-year pharmaceutical industry veteran with experience in pharmaceutical drug development, commercialization and biotech commercial operations. During his career, he has held positions at Pfizer, Novartis and Sanofi (including predecessor companies).

Dr. Schaffer has broad functional and therapeutic expertise through the development and commercialization of several billion dollar brands including the ADHD Franchise of Ritalin® & Focalin®, Lipitor®, Lyrica®, Eligard®, Arixtra®, Hyalgan® and Avapro®/Avalide®. He has led the strategic brand planning, franchise resource allocation and managed care & reimbursement strategy for numerous products.

Dr. Schaffer received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Kansas. He served as Chief Fellow and completed a Post-Doctoral Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowship at Rutgers University, College of Pharmacy in conjunction with Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis, now Pfizer.

Peter J. Werth is Founder and CEO of ChemWerth Inc., a privately held Connecticut-based corporation founded in 1982.  ChemWerth Inc. is a full-service generic drug development and supply company providing high quality Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients to regulated markets worldwide. Through exclusive development and partnerships with API manufacturers, ChemWerth Inc. provides expertise in product selection and development, analytical and regulatory services, and strong project management to ensure the highest standards of quality.

With operations in China and India, ChemWerth was one of the first companies to recognize China’s potential to be a major supplier of generic APIs to the U.S.  By 1986, ChemWerth received FDA approval for its first product from China.

Mr. Werth began his career working on the chemical side of the generic drug business from its inception in 1975 in the areas of Research and Development as well as Sales and Marketing.  From 1965 to 1975, he worked in Research and Development for Upjohn Pharmaceuticals, now Pfizer.  Prior to starting ChemWerth he was with Ganes Chemicals, a subsidiary of Siegfried Chemicals, where he was Vice President of Sales and Marketing for their U.S. operations.

Mr. Werth envisioned the ability to develop and implement a successful business model for project selection which he believed was the heart of a successful generic company.  Following this business model, ChemWerth has successfully introduced over 130 generic APIs.

Mr. Werth earned a BS degree in Chemistry and Math from Fort Hays State University and a MS degree in Organic Chemistry from Stanford University. He serves as a board of director for the following companies: VM Pharma LLC, VM Therapeutics LLC, VM Oncology LLC, Likarda LLC, Altos Therapeutic, Alzeca, Nuance, Perseus and Cingulate Therapeutics LLC. Mr. Werth has formed LLCs to develop commercial projects using specific technologies which reflect his strong entrepreneurial interests and contributions toward start-ups.   Mr. Werth was the lead investor in the first two companies that targeted generics for companion animals – Putney and Piedmont.

Along with his family, he has established the Werth Family Foundation to support various philanthropic causes, specifically in educational, cultural, and medical-related causes globally. Mr. Werth financed the formation of The Peter J. Werth Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Connecticut, the Werth College of Science, Technology and Mathematics at Fort Hays State University and the Werth Center for Coastal & Marine Studies at Southern Connecticut State University.

Jeff Ervin has more than 20 years of experience as an executive and investor in high growth businesses. Mr. Ervin has held the position of Chairman and CEO of IMAC Holdings (NASDAQ: BACK) since 2015. He led the initial public offering of IMAC Holdings in 2019 upon filling a significant demand for non-opioid orthopedic pain services. During his tenure, IMAC launched an investigator-initiated Phase 1 clinical trial utilizing umbilical derived stem cells for bradykinesia due to Parkinson's disease.

Prior to IMAC, Mr. Ervin served as senior financial officer for Medicare.com and its parent company Medx Publishing. He was instrumental in the acquisition of Medicaid.com, which was sold to United Healthcare Group, and was responsible for the negotiations and ultimate sale of Medicare.com to eHealth Insurance (NASDAQ:EHTH). He launched his post-MBA career as Senior Financial Analyst for the Baptist Hospital System of Nashville where he was responsible for evaluating direct equity placement and managing portfolio investments in healthcare.

Mr. Ervin holds an MBA from the Owen School of Management at Vanderbilt University and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Miami University.

Bryan Lawrence has nearly 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, serving in a variety of research-based capacities in Pharmacoeconomics and Managed Care Outcomes Research departments at Novartis (formerly Sandoz) and Janssen Pharmaceutica (J&J), as well as some diverse commercial roles.

Bryan served as Director, Managed Care Marketing, and was a member of the Aciphex® Launch Team at Janssen. He was also responsible for contracting efforts with United Healthcare for nine Johnson & Johnson operating companies as a Corporate Account Director at Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems.

Dr. Lawrence has significant experience in healthcare consulting and has held roles at Navigant Consulting and Applied Health Outcomes, and was one of four owners/partners who rebranded Applied Health Outcomes as Xcenda, a diverse consulting company that worked with pharmaceutical industry clients. Dr. Lawrence was serving as Xcenda’s Vice President, Marketing and Business Development, when Xcenda was acquired by AmerisourceBergen Corporation.

Bryan holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Kansas, a two-year Pharmacoeconomics Fellowship from Glaxo Inc. and the University of South Carolina, and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a member of the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy Advisory Council.

Jay Roberts has been a senior strategic executive in the healthcare industry for over 30 years. He is serving as a Venture Partner for DigiLife Fund II, leading fundraising, due diligence, and investment decisions along with members of the DigiLife team and syndicate investment funds. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Caidya, Inc.; Veriskin, Inc.; NaviPoint Health, Inc.; Vyant Bio, Inc. and is a member of the Fellows of DIA.

Jay has held CEO, COO, and CFO positions for publicly traded and venture and private equity backed healthcare technology, diagnostics, software solutions and manufacturing companies throughout a successful industry career, including leading more than 50 M&A and debt and equity transactions valued at approximately $1 billion.

Jay formerly was a member of the Board of Directors and Past Chair for the Drug Information Association (DIA), a global neutral forum enabling drug developers and regulators access to education and collaboration. He also served on the Board of Directors for vivoPharm, Pty, Ltd, a holding company of Vyant Bio based in Melbourne, Australia, and is the past Chairman of the Board of Directors for AdvantEdge Healthcare Solutions Private Limited, based in Bangalore, India, and a director of Gentris Hong Kong Limited, a global biopharma services company.

Jay is a current member of the Alliance of CEOs based in San Francisco, CA and is a recognized thought leader and has been invited to speak and serve as an expert panelist for numerous programs and publications, covering topics related to “conscious capitalism”, leadership and mentoring, corporate finance, mergers, and acquisition, capital formation, and innovation related to cancer treatments and the healthcare industry generally.

Mr. Roberts earned a Bachelor of Science and an MBA from the University of Maine.