John M. Climaco is a life sciences executive with more than two decades of experience building and leading public and private companies from formation through IPO, global clinical development, and strategic exit. As President and CEO of CNS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: CNSP), he led the company from inception through its NASDAQ IPO and the completion of an international pivotal trial of its lead compound in second-line
glioblastoma — a study spanning 263 patients across 47 centers in five countries — and secured FDA Fast Track and Orphan Drug designations along the way. His direct
experience navigating the scientific, regulatory, and capital-formation challenges unique to neuro-oncology makes him a valuable partner to companies developing therapies for glioblastoma and other CNS malignancies.
 

Over his career, John has raised several hundred million dollars across public and private vehicles, and he brings fourteen years of board experience across eight NASDAQ
companies, including service as Chairman, Lead Independent Director, and committee chair. He currently serves as Lead Independent Director of Moleculin Biotech (NASDAQ: MBRX), a clinical-stage oncology company. Earlier, he co-founded Axial Biotech, where he developed and commercialized ScoliScore, the first DNA-based orthopaedic diagnostic, through to a successful asset sale.

 

John holds a JD from the University of California Law San Francisco and a BA in Philosophy, cum laude, from Middlebury College. Beyond the office, John is an accomplished mountaineer, expedition leader, and writer.
He has led expeditions to Pakistan, Nepal, China, Peru, Bolivia, Alaska, Guatemala, and Svalbard, and was awarded a W.L. Gore Shipton-Tilman Exploration Grant for exploration in West Papua. His essays and photography have appeared in Men's Journal, Alpinist, Climbing, Rock and Ice, and The American Alpine Journal, and in anthologies including Epic: Stories of Survival from the World's Highest Peaks and 30 Years of Climbing: The
Best Writing From Climbing Magazine.