About InSitu
InSitu Biologics is a near-clinical-stage Life Sciences company developing injectable sustained-release drug delivery technologies to extend therapeutic exposure to the target site. The company’s lead product candidate, INSB200™, is a ropivacaine-based sustained-release peripheral nerve block agent for post-operative pain management. Preclinical animal data have demonstrated sustained therapeutic release for up to five days while remaining within targeted safety parameters.
INSB200™ is expected to qualify for the FDA’s 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, which may reduce development timelines, clinical costs, and program risk relative to traditional drug development approaches. InSitu is preparing for IND submission in Q3 2026, with first-in-human Phase 1/2 clinical trials targeted for Q4 2026.
Beyond post-operative pain, the company’s tunable injectable platform may support site-specific sustained-release formulations across multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology, infection management, and other localized delivery applications where controlled exposure and reduced systemic burden may create meaningful clinical value.
Leadership
Dan Halpern
Chief Executive Officer
Dan Halpern is Chief Executive Officer of InSitu Biologics, bringing more than 35 years of experience building, financing, and leading emerging-growth companies. His background spans strategy, corporate finance, business development, and operations within life sciences, healthcare, and technology. Dan has served in CEO, COO, board member, VP Business Development, and various corporate development roles across startups, turnarounds, and rapidly growing businesses. He has also sourced and structured investments, advised on intellectual property and market strategy, and guided companies through financing and commercialization.
Dan holds an MBA in Finance from NYU’s Stern School of Business and a B.A. from the University of Michigan.
Bill Taylor
Chief Science Officer
Bill Taylor is co-founder and Chief Science Officer of InSitu Biologics, where he leads development of the company’s sustained-release platform. He brings more than 25 years of pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device experience spanning formulation and process development, program leadership, technology transfer, validation, and regulated manufacturing. His prior roles include leadership positions at ACIST Medical Systems, Lifecore Biomedical, and PDL BioPharma, where he managed complex product-development programs and cross-functional teams.
Bill holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a B.S. in Biology from the University of Minnesota and is a named inventor on multiple patents. His combination of hands-on formulation science and proven manufacturing and tech-transfer execution positions him to lead InSitu's R&D as the company advances toward clinical and commercial scale.
CFO, CPA Certificate Holder, MBA
Sandi Klemann
Sandi Klemann is Chief Financial Officer of InSitu Biologics and founder of Fractional Finance Solutions, where she provides fractional CFO leadership to early-stage life sciences companies. She brings more than 35 years of accounting, finance, and operational experience across medical device, pharmaceuticals, financial services, SaaS, and other growth-stage businesses. Her prior leadership roles include St. Jude Medical, U.S. Bank, ACIST Medical and Upsher-Smith Laboratories. Sandi helps companies strengthen financial operations, improve forecasting, navigate liquidity challenges, and build infrastructure for growth.
Sandi holds an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and a BBA in Accounting and Finance from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
Senior Scientist
Kelsey Pflepsen, PhD
Dr. Kelsey Pflepsen is a Senior Scientist at InSitu Biologics with over 14 years of experience in preclinical research. Six of those years focused on developing non-opioid therapeutics for chronic pain and engineering hydrogels with intrinsic wound-healing properties. She brings more than six years of experience in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, spanning preclinical project management, non-clinical safety assessment, and regulatory compliance with GLP, ICH, and ISO standards, supporting drug development from discovery through IND submission.
Dr. Pflepsen holds a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics, an M.S. in Biomedical Engineering, and a B.S. in Neuroscience, all from the University of Minnesota.
Mark Robbins
Regulatory / Clinical Strategy
Dr. Robbins is a pharmaceutical and biotech executive with over 40 years of broad-based industry experience. In his role at Kodiak Strategic Consultants, he consults to a diverse group of pharmaceutical and biotech companies on clinical, regulatory, business development, and licensing issues. Dr. Robbins served as a CEO in residence at the University of Minnesota’s Office for Technology Commercialization and co-founded several biotech ventures. He is a co-founder and board member of Diastol Therapeutics. He served as the COO of Bullet Biotechnology, regulatory strategic advisor to GigaGen, and acting CEO of GigaMune, all of which have focused on novel immunotherapies targeting cancer and autoimmune diseases.
Prior to his consulting career, Dr. Robbins held several senior-level positions with both branded and generic pharmaceutical companies (Upsher-Smith Labs, Mallinckrodt, TapeMark), where he was responsible for developing regulatory and clinical strategies that led to numerous new drug application (NDA), biologics license application (BLA), and abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) approvals by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He has conducted analyses in therapeutic areas that include cardiology, oncology, endocrine/metabolic, women’s health, infectious diseases, radiology, and nuclear medicine and diagnostics. In addition, Dr. Robbins has experience assisting biotech startups with strategy and financing.
Dr. Robbins holds adjunct professorships in pharmacology at the University of Minnesota Medical School and the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, and his work has been published in numerous peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Lisa Discepola
Clinical Operations
Lisa Discepola is a senior clinical operations and development executive with over 25 years of experience leading global drug, device, diagnostic, and combination-product programs. At InSitu Biologics, she leads clinical operations, bringing end-to-end expertise spanning clinical development strategy, regulatory planning, operational execution, quality systems, and global clinical trial management, with particular depth in advancing therapies from early development through regulatory approval.
Lisa is the founder and principal of Lisa Discepola Consulting Inc., through which she has provided clinical operations and drug development leadership in support of trial sponsors (including early-stage pharma portfolio companies of major venture capital funds), CROs (Stiris) and clinical research (Astellas, formerly Fujisawa) across multiple therapeutic areas. Throughout her career, Lisa developed deep operational experience in global trial management from the site level up and has contributed to scientific publications and presentations.
Ms. Discepola holds a Bachelor of Science in Anatomy and Cell Biology from McGill University and pursued graduate studies in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Université de Montréal.
Manufacturing Operations
Chad Whiterabbit
Chad Whiterabbit brings more than 25 years of manufacturing and operations leadership to InSitu Biologics, spanning the medical device, pharmaceutical, and specialty chemical industries, including senior roles at Medtronic, Surmodics, CIMA Labs, and MGK, a Sumitomo Chemical subsidiary. Chad has led multi-site manufacturing organizations, directed large-scale operational turnarounds, and served as the primary operations interface for contract manufacturing partnerships with eight major pharmaceutical companies. As a site leader at Medtronic, he earned four U.S. patents and delivered sustained double-digit throughput improvements across complex regulated manufacturing environments.
Chad holds an M.Eng. in Engineering Management from St. Cloud State University and a B.S. in Biology from the University of Minnesota Duluth, and is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt.
A multidisciplinary leadership team combining decades of experience in life sciences, product development, regulatory strategy, manufacturing, clinical operations, and finance to execute InSitu's growth strategy.
Board of Directors
Robert F. Wilson
Chairman
Dr. Robert Wilson is an interventional cardiologist and Professor of Medicine who previously led the interventional cardiology program at the University of Minnesota. He has extensive experience in medical device and business development. Dr. Wilson previously founded and led three medical device companies: ACIST Medical Systems (diagnostic interventional cardiology equipment, acquired), HLT (transcatheter heart valve, acquired), and Egg Medical (radiation protection platform), where he is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman.
Dr. Wilson holds a B.S. degree from Pennsylvania State University and an MD degree from the University of Iowa Medical School.
Ivan T. Shaw, PhD
Board Director
Dr. Ivan T. Shaw is a neurobiologist by training and an experienced pharmaceutical industry professional with broad expertise in the full lifecycle of pharmaceutical development, medical affairs and regulatory affairs. Ivan has served as the CEO for multiple project-focused companies developing oncology, immunology and neuroscience therapeutic assets. He has also held the position of Vice-President, Clinical Development with enGene Inc., Medical Director with Actavis LLC, and Director Clinical Development with Aptalis Pharma Inc.
Ivan received his Doctorate in Neurological Sciences/Neurology and Neurosurgery from McGill University.
Board Director
Greg Van Guilder
Greg Van Guilder serves as the chief investment officer (CIO) for ECMC Group, where he oversees a diversified investment portfolio that includes global equities, alternatives, private capital, structured credit and income, and direct investments. In collaboration with the ECMC Group Investment Committee, Mr. Van Guilder and the Investment team implement a long-term strategy to grow the portfolio while managing risk prudently. With more than 37 years of experience in the student loan industry, Mr. Van Guilder was appointed chief financial officer (CFO) of ECMC Group in 2006. From 2016 to 2018, he held both the CFO and CIO titles at ECMC Group. Due to the growth and complexity of the investment portfolio, he transitioned to the full-time CIO role in 2018.
Greg holds a BA in economics from St. Olaf College.
Dan Halpern
Chief Executive Officer
Dan Halpern is Chief Executive Officer of InSitu Biologics, bringing more than 35 years of experience building, financing, and leading emerging-growth companies. His background spans strategy, corporate finance, business development, and operations within life sciences, healthcare, and technology. Dan has served in CEO, COO, board member, VP Business Development, and various corporate development roles across startups, turnarounds, and rapidly growing businesses. He has also sourced and structured investments, advised on intellectual property and market strategy, and guided companies through financing and commercialization.
Dan holds an MBA in Finance from NYU’s Stern School of Business and a B.A. from the University of Michigan.
A seasoned Board of Directors with proven experience building, financing, governing, and investing in life sciences and medical technology companies across multiple stages of growth.
Medical Advisory Board
Jeff Gadsden, MD
Jeff Gadsden is a Professor of Anesthesiology at Duke University, and Chief of the Division of Orthopedic, Plastic and Regional Anesthesiology. He graduated with an M.D. in 1999 from Queen’s University, Canada, and undertook training in anesthesiology at the University of Toronto and St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. Dr. Gadsden holds fellowships with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (Anesthesia) and the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists, and is board certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology. After working in both Canada and Australia, he decided to return to the U.S. to focus on his teaching and research interests, which include ultrasound-guided nerve blockade, the monitoring of regional anesthesia, trauma, and education.
Jacob Hutchins, MD, MHA
Dr. Jacob Hutchins is a Professor in Anesthesiology and currently the Senior Medical Director of Perioperative Services for the Fairview University Medical Center, the Division Director of Regional Anesthesia, Acute Pain, and Ambulatory Surgery, and the Division Director of East Bank Multi Specialty Anesthesia. His current research interests include ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia in adult and pediatric patients in the areas of ambulatory, cardiothoracic, and orthopedic surgery. His research also explores the area of long-acting local anesthetics and cryoanalgesia for postoperative pain control in a variety of surgical procedures and management of acute postoperative pain in ambulatory surgery.
Dr. Hutchins completed his Masters in Healthcare Administration, fellowship in cardiothoracic anesthesiology and his residency in anesthesiology at the University of Minnesota.
Mark Ereth, MD
Dr. Mark Ereth joined InSitu Biologics in 2020 as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Ereth is an Emeritus Professor of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. As a physician, scientist, inventor, and social entrepreneur, he has received grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, led numerous human and laboratory studies – including many in support of FDA submissions, authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, and co-founded Cheetah Development, a nonprofit working in Tanzania.
Dr. Ereth received his MD degree from the University of North Dakota School of Medicine, and completed anesthesiology residency and fellowship in cardiovascular and thoracic anesthesiology at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine.
Patrick Horst, MD
Patrick K. Horst, MD, is a fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon specializing in primary and complex revision hip and knee replacement. He is an Assistant Professor in the University of Minnesota Department of Orthopedic Surgery and practices with TRIA Orthopedic Center and HealthPartners. His clinical and academic work focuses on improving musculoskeletal care through innovation, patient-reported outcomes, healthcare analytics, value-based care, and the thoughtful use of technology. Dr. Horst has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications on joint replacement outcomes and quality improvement.
Dr. Horst earned his medical degree from the University of Minnesota and completed residency at UCSF and fellowship training in Adult Reconstruction at Stanford University.
Lance Silverman, MD
Dr. Lance Silverman is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon specializing in foot and ankle care. He led Silverman Ankle & Foot for nearly two decades and has held physician leadership roles in outpatient surgery and wound care, including serving as CEO of Greenway Surgery Center. His clinical background includes extensive experience treating complex foot and ankle conditions, sports injuries, and other orthopaedic disorders.
Dr. Silverman completed his orthopaedic surgery residency at Henry Ford Hospital and a foot and ankle surgery fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh. He earned his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine and a B.S. in Biology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.