Dr. McKearn joined RiverVest as Venture Partner in 2008, bringing extensive scientific and operational expertise in pharmaceutical research and development as former president and CEO of Kalypsys, Inc.; head of discovery research for Pharmacia and Searle; and senior scientist with E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company.

“John has been a valuable addition to the RiverVest team and we are pleased to promote him,” said Jay Schmelter, RiverVest Managing Director. “His deep knowledge of pharmaceutical research and development is instrumental in enhancing the drug development programs of our portfolio companies and securing important venture capital financing opportunities.”

Most recently, Dr. McKearn helped originate and structure a $38.5 million Series B financing for Otonomy, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel drug therapies for disorders of the inner and middle ear. The deal, which closed in August 2010, was co-led by Novo Ventures and RiverVest Venture Partners, and joined by TPG Biotech, Domain Associates and Avalon.

“This is an exciting time for RiverVest,” said Dr. McKearn. “As a team, we are uniquely positioned in a marketplace that has been defined in recent years as harsh, frenetic and out of balance. We continue to leverage our deep operating experience to attract and shape promising biopharmaceutical opportunities and build value for our portfolio companies.”

Dr. McKearn holds a Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Chicago and a B.S. in biology from Northern Illinois University. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors for Otonomy, Inc., and has served on the boards of IDM Pharma, Inc. (acquired by Takeda), Epimmune and Keel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. McKearn holds more than 50 patents and numerous patent applications, primarily in the areas of cancer treatment and inflammatory disease.

About RiverVest Venture Partners

RiverVest is a venture capital firm focused on identifying and shaping early-stage life science companies to create significant shareholder value. With hands-on, high-level expertise and financial resources, RiverVest supports entrepreneurs by helping them achieve near-term objectives that position their companies for exit. For more information, please visit www.rivervest.com.

# # #

Contact Information:

RiverVest Venture Partners
Jay Schmelter, Managing Director
Thomas Melzer, Managing Director
314.726.6700

“The Kauffman Fellows Program accepts only the elite of the elite,” said Jay Schmelter, managing director, RiverVest Venture Partners. “But Dr. O’Donnell has proven to be in a class of his own. His strong educational and scientific background, coupled with his prior industry experience, made Dr. O’Donnell an ideal fellowship candidate. But during the past four years, he has exceeded even our highest expectations. His earnest inquiry, rigorous due diligence and uncanny ability to consider all facets of a deal have earned him respect and admiration across the board. RiverVest is pleased to promote Dr. O’Donnell principal.”

Prior to joining RiverVest, Dr. O’Donnell spent five years as an immunologist at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development in San Diego, where he was part of a successful cross-disciplinary team of chemists and biologists that drove small molecule anti-inflammatory drugs into clinical trials. As co-author of the first paper validating the newly discovered histamine H4 receptor (H4R) as a key regulator of asthma and immune pathologies, Dr. O’Donnell helped expand the known influences of histamine on the immune system and highlight the therapeutic potential of H4R antagonists in allergic conditions.

Dr. O’Donnell is a board observer at Excaliard Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Kaperio, Inc. and contributes to the formation, development and business strategies of RiverVest’s portfolio companies. His professional affiliations include the American Thoracic Society, American Association of Immunologists and the Society of Glycobiology.

Dr. O’Donnell earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Dundee, Scotland, and his M.A. in Biochemistry from Pembroke College, Oxford. He also received an M.B.A. from the Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego.

About RiverVest Venture Partners
RiverVest is a venture capital firm focused on identifying and shaping early-stage life science companies to create significant shareholder value. With hands-on, high-level expertise and financial resources, RiverVest supports entrepreneurs by helping them achieve near-term objectives that position their companies for exit. For more information, please visit www.rivervest.com.

# # #

Contact Information:
RiverVest Venture Partners
Thomas Melzer, Managing Director
Jay Schmelter, Managing Director
314.726.6700

RiverVest co-founder and managing director Thomas C. Melzer said, “We are pleased by the significant increase in the amount of private capital committed to Fund II compared to Fund I, as well as the broadening of our institutional investor base that this increase reflects.” Out of 16 investments in RiverVest’s Fund I, half were sourced in the Midwest, including three in St. Louis. “This strategy is appealing to institutional investors, who don’t like narrow geographic limits but do like the attractive valuations available in the Midwest,” said Jay W. Schmelter, also a RiverVest co-founder and managing director.

RiverVest’s Fund I portfolio currently includes 10 active companies: Five in medical devices, three in biopharmaceuticals, one in specialty pharmaceuticals, and one in healthcare services. Eight of these are fully funded to profitability or an exit. Fund II will pursue the same investment strategy as Fund I, with a focus on early-stage medical device and biopharmaceutical opportunities. The Fund II portfolio currently includes six active companies, three of which were co-founded by RiverVest.

“We invest nationally to diversify our portfolio and to build relationships with leading venture capital firms on the coasts – firms that will present investment opportunities to RiverVest as well as participate in those we originate,” said Mr. Melzer. “At the same time, we are located in a region with many outstanding research institutions, but one that is under-served by the venture industry.”

In addition to closing on Fund II, RiverVest Venture Partners announced that John P. McKearn, Ph.D., has joined the firm as Venture Partner. Dr. McKearn brings 25 years of scientific and operational expertise in pharmaceutical research and development at Kalypsys, Inc., Pharmacia, G.D. Searle & Co., and E.I. DuPontde Nemours and Company.

7733 Forsyth Boulevard, Suite 1650
St. Louis, MO 63105
Phone: 314.726.6700
Fax: 314.726.6715

“We’ve known John since Pfizer bought Pharmacia back in 2003 and have kept in close contact ever since,” said Mr. Schmelter. “John’s strong scientific training and operational expertise will further our capabilities in sourcing and adding value to our biopharmaceutical portfolio.” While leading Kalypsys, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company in San Diego, Dr. McKearn raised more than $150 million in private equity from 2003-2006. As head of Research for Searle and Pharmacia, Dr. McKearn was an important contributor to the discovery, development and launch of no fewer than eight new prescription drugs, including Celebrex, one of the leading pharmaceuticals to treat arthritis. “I believe in the quality of RiverVest’s personnel, investors and portfolio, along with their vast industry and academic networks,” said Dr. McKearn. “Fund I has had an impressive track record, and I look forward to applying my expertise to building RiverVest’s biopharmaceutical presence.”

Dr. McKearn holds a Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Chicago and a B.S. in biology from Northern Illinois University. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors for IDM Pharma (formerly Epimmune) (NASDAQ: IDMI) and for Keel Pharmaceuticals.

About RiverVest Venture Partners
RiverVest Venture Partners is a venture capital firm investing in promising life sciences companies nationwide. RiverVest applies both its capital and its team’s diverse range of expertise to create and grow successful enterprises that address unmet medical needs in major markets. RiverVest’s extensive national network and privileged access to opportunities throughout the Midwest enable the firm to build a diverse portfolio of innovative, product-focused companies.

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Having a presence in Ohio will further our strategy of investing nationally, while capitalizing on under-served centers of research and clinical excellence in the Midwest. We are also excited about Karen joining us, both because of her outstanding technical credentials and industry experience, and her continued involvement with BioEnterprise, a key center of entrepreneurial activity in the region.” Ms. Spilizewski brings nearly 20 years of experience in new product development and business development in medical and non-medical technologies. She joined BioEnterprise in 2005, where she identifies, assesses, and plays a key role in accelerating the emergence of medical device companies that originate from universities, clinical research, local entrepreneurs, or companies relocating to the Cleveland area. Prior to joining BioEnterprise, Ms. Spilizewski gained significant medical device industry experience at Avery Dennison, particularly in research and business development. She has a broad knowledge of the seed and early-stage life science opportunity landscape in Ohio and Western Pennsylvania and the ability to source and evaluate the most promising deals. Ms. Spilizewski received her MBA at Case Western Reserve’s Weatherhead School of Management and both an M.S. degree in Macromolecular Science and a B.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University.

Baiju Shah, president and CEO of BioEnterprise, said, “We are delighted to have a life science firm of RiverVest’s caliber become a part of the startup fabric here in Northeast Ohio. With its focus on both medical devices and biopharmaceuticals, as well as its relationships with venture firms on the coasts, RiverVest has the capacity to evaluate early-stage life science opportunities and, through syndication, help startup companies build their capital bases. In Karen, they have an outstanding individual to build their Ohio presence and to support medical device portfolio companies.”

About RiverVest Venture Partners
RiverVest Venture Partners is a venture capital firm investing in promising life sciences companies nationwide. RiverVest applies both its capital and its team’s diverse range of expertise to create and grow successful enterprises that address unmet medical needs in major markets. RiverVest’s extensive national network and privileged access to opportunities throughout the Midwest enable the firm to build a diverse portfolio of innovative, product-focused companies. RiverVest Venture Partners will locate their Cleveland office at the BioEnterprise Building, 11000 Cedar Avenue, Suite, 100, Cleveland, Ohio. www.rivervest.com

About BioEnterprise
The initiative comprises the collective activities of BioEnterprise and its partners’ commercialization offices: the Case Office of Technology Transfer, Cleveland Clinic Innovations, University Hospitals Case Medical Center – Center for Clinical Research and Summa Enterprise Group. The combined efforts of these groups created, recruited, and accelerated more than 60 companies in five years.

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Dr. Foulkes was chief scientific officer and member of the board of directors at Oncogene Science (OSI Pharmaceuticals), where he shepherded the initial development of Tarceva, which was approved by the FDA in 2004 for treatment of lung cancer. As chief technical officer and board member at Aurora Biosciences (now Vertex), he participated in the IPO and led scientific collaborations with four major pharmaceutical companies. He was also executive vice president of Research and Development and board member at Elitra Pharmaceuticals, where he headed efforts developing antimicrobial compounds from a novel functional genomics platform.

Prior to serving in the biopharmaceutical industry, Dr. Foulkes held academic positions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a tenured staff member of The Medical Research Council in the United Kingdom. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Dundee, Scotland, in biochemistry and a B.Sc. in biochemistry from the University College Cardiff.

In addition to welcoming Dr. Foulkes to its team, RiverVest also announced it had promoted Scott Naisbitt, M.D., Ph.D., to the position of principal. Dr. Naisbitt, who recently completed the Kauffman Fellows Program, has served with RiverVest for over three years. Prior to joining RiverVest, he was an associate of Seedling Enterprises, a medical device fund and incubator. He has clinical and research experience at Massachusetts General Hospital, the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Science and Technology, and Harvard Medical School.

“Gordon has extensive entrepreneurial and operations experience with biopharmaceutical companies,” said Thomas Melzer, managing director, RiverVest Venture Partners. “Gordon and Scott both possess exceptional industry and scientific knowledge and far reaching networks, enabling them to provide the strategic counsel and hands-on support necessary to identify and foster the growth of top emerging life science companies.”

RiverVest Venture Partners is a venture capital firm investing in promising life sciences companies nationwide. RiverVest applies both its capital and its team’s diverse range of expertise to create and grow successful enterprises that address unmet medical needs in major markets. RiverVest’s extensive national network and privileged access to opportunities throughout the Midwest enable the firm to build a diverse portfolio of innovative, product-focused companies. For more information please visit www.rivervest.com.

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