A soft-spoken introvert in a social scenario, Paul Dorman, chairman and CEO of Fort Worth-based holding company DFB Pharmaceuticals, is driven in the pharmaceutical realm-specifically in the development of groundbreaking oncology drugs. Over the last 20 years, Dorman has successfully invested, developed and operated multiple pharmaceutical businesses.
In September 1990, Dorman, with two associates, purchased DPT Laboratories in San Antonio from Alcon Laboratories of Fort Worth. As chairman of the board and CEO, he expanded DPT, a contract manufacturer and developer of pharmaceutical products, into a DFB portfolio of healthcare companies that provide both services and proprietary branded pharmaceutical products to the global market. The DFB operating companies grew from $18 million in sales with 150 employees to more than $400 million in sales with a workforce of 1,500 and facilities in Texas, New Jersey, Germany and Canada. DFB sold Coria Laboratories and a majority interest in DPT Laboratories. DFB sold Healthpoint Biotherapeutics to Smith & Nephew plc to form a worldwide leader in the field of wound repair and tissue regeneration.
Today, DFB continues to operate Phyton Biotech. Dorman is personally investing in several new healthcare development opportunities and non-healthcare businesses.
Dorman was born in Kilgore. His father worked as an oil field machinist, and the family moved several times during his growing up years. Dorman attended high school in Mississippi and college in Louisiana. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tulane University and a Juris Doctor of Law from Loyola University. Dorman's high school biology teacher encouraged him to go to college. "When I was going to school in the daytime, I worked at night, and when I went to law school, I worked in the daytime and went to school at night," Dorman says. "In both cases, I was allowed to work flexible hours. I really learned that someone helping you help yourself is very important. It was a good lesson in life for me. I enjoy helping people do well."
The drug development Dorman is most excited about is a program utilizing nanoparticles of existing chemotherapy drugs (nano-paclitaxel and nano-docetaxel) to treat various cancers. Currently, strong chemotherapy drugs, some with toxic solvents, are intravenously injected into the patients" veins where most vital organs are exposed to their toxicity. Nanoparticles of the drug will allow direct injection into the cancerous tumor with a minimum or no exposure to other important organs. This is expected to reduce side effects such as hair loss. "We are currently in clinical trials for ovarian cancer and will be reviewing a similar program with the FDA for breast, prostate and bladder cancers very soon," Dorman says.
"If our clinical trials prove the theory out, it can have a very positive impact on people's lives in the outcome of treating cancer," Dorman says. "That's become a major thing to me, particularly in this stage of my life. I'm financially comfortable, so I'm able to give back philanthropically, and with this opportunity, I'm able to give back to improve medical outcomes."
As an example of a non-healthcare business, Dorman is the largest investor in Tabletop Media LLC, a company which has a product named Ziosk®. Ziosk is the first entertainment, ordering, and pay-at-the-table technology featuring a 7-inch touchscreen tablet with encrypted credit card reader and receipt printing capabilities. The tablet also can be used to play games, watch videos, view news and other entertainment and "pay-on-demand."
Dorman supports many charitable causes including Cook Children's, Jewel Charity, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Harris Methodist Foundation, and Big Brothers Big Sisters. He lends patronage to local cultural institutions such as The Modern, Amon Carter Museum, Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth Symphony, Fort Worth Opera, Casa Mañana and Fort Worth Zoo.
In his spare time, Dorman enjoys traveling, fly fishing, going to the movies and watching DVDs in his home theater in Westover Hills. Dorman lives in a sprawling 1960s-era home built by the late Eddie Chiles, well-known oil and gas man and Texas Rangers Baseball Club owner. The home was designed by nationally acclaimed architect A. Quincy Jones. Hollywood designer William Haines completed the interior. Dorman has since remodeled, including a 12-car garage to house his impressive classic and high-performance automobile collection.
Dorman is divorced and has no children. His four-legged child, Oliver, a much-loved and spoiled Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, sleeps in Dorman's bedroom in his own "Furrari" car bed-red, of course, to match his daddy's F12 Ferrari.
