ST. LOUIS, MO – RiverVest Venture Partners®, a venture capital firm investing nationwide in emerging medical technology and biopharmaceutical companies, today announced that Gordon Foulkes, Ph.D., has joined the firm as a Venture Partner. Dr. Foulkes brings to RiverVest extensive operational experience in biopharmaceutical research and development. Prior to joining RiverVest, he headed research and development in three biotechnology companies where he helped raise $145 million in private and public offerings and secure more than $200 million in 15 corporate partnerships.

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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