Who We Are
Board of Directors
Steven Gillis, Ph.D.,
Executive Chairman
Managing Director, ARCH Venture Partners, Dr. Gillis is a Managing Director with ARCH, joining the firm as a Venture Partner in 2005. Dr. Gillis is focused on the evaluation of new life science technologies and also on the development and growth of ARCH's biotechnology portfolio companies. He is a director of Trubion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: TRBN), Limerick NeuroSciences, Magen BioSciences, and Surface Logix. He serves as both director and Chairman of VLST, Spaltudaq and VentiRx Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Gillis was a founder and director of Corixa Corp. and served as the company's CEO from its inception and as its Chairman from 1999 until its acquisition in 2005 by GlaxoSmithKline. Prior to Corixa, Dr. Gillis was a founder and director of Immunex Corp. From 1981 until his departure in 1994, he served as Immunex's Director of Research and Development, Chief Scientific Officer, and as CEO of Immunex's R&D subsidiary. Dr. Gillis was interim CEO of Immunex Corp. following its majority purchase by American Cyanamid Co. and remained a member of the board until 1997. Amgen, Inc. acquired Immunex in 2002.
Dr. Gillis is an immunologist by training with over 300 peer-reviewed publications in the areas of molecular and tumor immunology. He is credited as being a pioneer in the field of cytokines and cytokine receptors, directing the development of multiple marketed products including Leukine, (GM-CSF), Prokine (IL-2) and Enbrel (soluble TNF receptor-Fc fusion protein) as well as the regulatory approval of Bexxar (radiolabeled anti-CD20). Dr. Gillis received a B.A. from Williams College and a Ph.D. from Dartmouth College.
Gerry Langeler
Managing Director, OVP Venture Partners
Mr. Langeler joined OVP Venture Partners in 1992 and focuses on investments in the digital energy, software, imaging and digital biology sectors. Prior to joining OVP, Mr. Langeler was co-founder of Mentor Graphics Corporation (NASDAQ: MENT) in Portland, OR in 1981. There he served as President, and over 11 years helped lead Mentor through its IPO to over $400M in worldwide sales and over $1B in market capitalization. He began his technology career at Tektronix.
Mr. Langeler is the author of The Vision Trap (Harvard Business Review, 3/92) and serves on the advisory board of Highway 12 Ventures in Boise, Idaho. He received his AB in Chemistry from Cornell University and his MBA from Harvard University.
Gregory Sessler
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Spiration, Inc.
Mr. Sessler joined Spiration in the fall of 2002 with more than 20 years of financial and strategic management experience in the life sciences industry. Prior to joining Spiration, Mr. Sessler served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Rosetta Inpharmatics, a leader in informational genomics, from March 2000 until its acquisition by Merck & Co in July 2001 for $540 million. In addition to playing an instrumental role in the business development activities that led to the acquisition by Merck, Mr. Sessler led Rosetta's efforts to a successful initial public offering in August 2000, as well as previous initial public offerings for three other biomedical companies, including Sonus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Mr. Sessler is a member of the AICPA and the Financial Executives International. He is also on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association. Mr. Sessler holds a bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, from Syracuse University and a master's in business administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Martin A. Simonetti
President & CEO, VLST Corp.
Mr. Simonetti has served as President and Chief Executive Officer since November 2005. From 1999 to 2005, Mr. Simonetti was employed at Dendreon Corporation, most recently serving as Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President Finance and Treasurer. From 1991 to 1998, he was employed at Amgen Inc., serving as Vice President Operations and Finance of Amgen BioPharma and its Director of Colorado Operations. From 1984 to 1991, he worked at Genentech, Inc., first as a scientist in its Medicinal and Analytical Chemistry Department and later as a financial analyst and group controller.
Mr. Simonetti serves on the board of directors of Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE: ARE), based in Pasadena, California and Icagen, Inc. (Nasdaq: ICGN), based in Durham, North Carolina. He is also a member of the Dean's executive advisory board for the Albers School of Business and Economics at Seattle University. Mr. Simonetti received an M.S. from the University of California, Davis and an M.B.A. from the University of Santa Clara.
David L. Urdal, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer, Dendreon Corporation
Dr. Urdal has served as Dendreon's chief scientific officer since 1995. Prior to joining Dendreon, he held various positions with Immunex Corporation, including president of Immunex Manufacturing Corporation, vice president and director of development, and head of the departments of biochemistry and membrane biochemistry. At Immunex, Dr. Urdal participated in the discovery, development and commercialization of hematopoietic growth factors, cytokines and cytokine receptors, such as GM-CSF (Leukine) and TNF-receptor (Enbrel). Dr. Urdal has served as a director of Dendreon since 1995 and also serves as director for Ore Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Urdal received his M.S. in Public Health and his Ph.D. in Biochemical Oncology from the University of Washington.