Management
Dr. Woodruff Emlen, MD co-founder, President, CEO and Director: Dr Emlen has over 10 years experience in biotechnology, as Vice President of Exploratory Medicine at Connetics Corporation and Vice President of Scientific Affairs at InterMune Pharmaceuticals. He was one of the members of the InterMune Senior Management Team from its founding through its IPO and until it was an established public company. Prior to working in the private sector, Dr. Emlen was a Professor of Medicine and Immunology at the University of Colorado where his research focused on inflammation and autoimmune diseases. Dr. Emlen received his BS from Stanford, his MD from UC San Diego and served on the faculty of the Universities of Washington and Colorado.
Dr Michael Holers, MD co-founder, Chief Scientific Officer and Director: Dr. Holers is one of the world’s leading experts in complement biology and has published more than 175 articles in the area. His research has focused on the role of complement in initiating inflammation and on the development of novel approaches to controlling complement activation in vivo. Dr. Holers is the Smyth Professor and Chairman of the Division of Rheumatology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He has served as a founding member of the International Complement Society and as Chair of the Committee on Research, the Scientific Advisory Committee and as a Member of the Boards of Directors of the American College of Rheumatology and its Research and Education Foundation. Dr. Holers received his MD degree and his post-doctoral training at Washington University in St. Louis, where he was an Associate Professor before he joined the faculty at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center .
Board of Directors
Tim Mills, PhD, Sanderling Ventures: Dr. Mills has served as the Corporate Vice President of Business Development and Chief Scientific Officer of Target Therapeutics, a medical device company that was acquired by Boston Scientific for $1.2 billion in 1997. He also served as the Director for Prograft Medical, a Target affiliate. Prior to joining Target in 1994, Dr. Mills served as Director of Business Development and Advanced Research & Development in the Interventional Cardiology Division of Baxter Healthcare. Dr. Mills received his Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley & San Francisco School of Medicine, his M.S. in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley, and his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Ed Hurwitz, Alta Partners: Ed joined Alta in 2002 and is a Director in Alta BioPharma III and Alta Partners VIII. Prior to joining Alta, Ed served as Senior Vice President and CFO of Affymetrix from 1997 to 2002. From 1994 to 1997, Ed was a biotechnology research analyst for Robertson Stephens & Company, and from 1992 to 1994, was a biotechnology research analyst for Smith Barney Shearson. From 1990 to 1992, Ed practiced commercial law at Cooley Godward LLP.
Ed earned his Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration degrees in 1990 from the University of California , Berkeley ’s Boalt School of Law and Haas School of Business, respectively. Ed earned a Bachelor of Arts in Molecular Biology from Cornell University in 1985.
Nick Galakatos, PhD, Clarus Ventures: Dr. Galakatos is a co-founder and Managing Director of Clarus Ventures. He has over 21 years of industry and investment experience in the healthcare sector, including being a General Partner at MPM Capital since 2000. From 1997 to 2000, Dr. Galakatos was Vice President of New Business at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and a member of the Management Team. Prior to Millennium he was at Venrock Associates and Novartis (formerly Ciba) where he was Head of Molecular Biology Research. Dr. Galakatos was a co-founder of Millennium Predictive Medicine, and TransForm Pharmaceuticals, where he was also Chairman. He holds a Ph.D. degree in organic chemistry from MIT, and performed postdoctoral studies in molecular biology at Harvard Medical School.