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John P. McKearn, Ph.D., Venture Partner John McKearn joined RiverVest in April 2008 as a venture partner with more than 25 years experience in pharmaceutical and biotechnology research and development, most recently as president and CEO of Kalypsys, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company in San Diego, California. From 2000–2003, Dr. McKearn led Pharmacia Discovery Research with more than 1600 scientists worldwide. The company honored Dr. McKearn as a premier innovator and leader, and a scientific and technological "agent for change" with his appointment to Pharmacia’s Science Fellows Program. As a scientist with G.D. Searle & Co., from 1987-2000, and as the head of Discovery Research from 1997-2000, Dr. McKearn established the groundwork for new studies that drove the company's entry into arthritis and oncology research. These efforts directly contributed to the commercialization of several major products, including DayPro, Arthrotec, and most notably, Celebrex, one of the leading pharmaceuticals to treat arthritis. Dr. McKearn currently serves as a member of the board of directors for IDM Pharma (formerly Epimmune) (NASDAQ: IDMI) and for Keel Pharmaceuticals. Prior to 1987, Dr. McKearn was a senior scientist at E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company; a member of the Basel Institute for Immunology in Basel, Switzerland; and a research associate in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Washington University. Dr. McKearn holds more than 50 patents and numerous patent applications, primarily in the area of cancer treatment and inflammatory disease. Additionally, he has co-authored more than 70 published, peer-reviewed scientific papers. He completed his Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Chicago and his B.S. in biology from Northern Illinois University. John P. McKearn, Ph.D. |
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