Leadership

Mr. Berns is a board member for Unity Biotechnology.  He previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer at Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, from 2014 until its acquisition by Pfizer, Inc. in 2016.  Mr. Berns served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Allos Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company, from 2006 to 2012 and was President and Chief Executive Officer of Bone Care International, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, from 2002 to 2005.

Prior to that, Mr. Berns was Vice President and General Manager of the immunology, oncology and pain therapeutics business unit of Abbott Laboratories.  He also served as Vice President, Marketing of BASF Pharmaceuticals/Knoll.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Berns held various positions, including senior management roles, at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. Mr. Berns received his B.S. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin.

Mr. Enright is a Managing Director and Founder of Longitude Capital. Prior to Longitude Capital, Mr. Enright was a Managing Director of Pequot Ventures where he co-led the life sciences investment practice. Prior to Pequot, he was a Managing Member of the Delta Opportunity Fund at Diaz & Altschul Capital Management. Mr. Enright began his investment career at PaineWebber Development Corporation. Mr. Enright also has significant life sciences operations experience, including senior executive positions at Valentis (VLTS), Boehringer Mannheim (acquired by Roche) and Sandoz (now known as Novartis). Mr. Enright currently serves on the boards of Aimmune (AIMT), Aptinyx (APTX), CardioDx, CuraSen Therapeutics, Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ), Orbus Therapeutics and SutroVax. Selected prior board memberships include Codexis (CDXS), Corcept Therapeutics (CORT), Esperion Therapeutics (ESPR), Horizon Pharmaceuticals (HZNP), InfaCare Pharmaceutical, MAP Pharmaceuticals (MAPP, acquired by Allergan), Prestwick Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Lundbeck), Sequenom (SQNM, acquired by LabCorp) and Threshold Pharmaceuticals (THLD). Mr. Enright holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University.

Jeffrey Bird, M.D., Ph.D., is the founder of Bluebird Ventures, an early stage life sciences venture capital firm. Formerly he was a managing director at Sutter Hill Ventures, where he focused on healthcare, including biotechnology and genomic technologies. Dr. Bird has been a board member of several public and many private biotechnology companies over an almost 20 year investing career. He has also held various leadership roles at multiple biotech companies throughout his career, including CEO and of Verinata Health, Inc, lead Director of Forty Seven Inc, Director of Corporate Development at Gilead Sciences Inc, and independent Director of Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Bird has done a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from Stanford University in 1988 and an MD in 1992 from Stanford Medical School, Stanford University and a B.S in Biological Sciences from Stanford University in 1982.

Prior to his role as President and Chief Executive Officer of Epirium Bio, Russell J. Cox served as Chief Executive Officer at Vital Therapies, Inc. He previously served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc, with responsibility for global commercial activities, R&D, manufacturing/technical operations, new product planning and global molecule leadership. Prior to Jazz, Mr. Cox served as Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Ipsen Group, a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Paris, France, focused in oncology, neuroscience and rare diseases. He was also Vice President of Marketing at Tercica, Inc. prior to its acquisition by Ipsen Group, and served as Vice President, Marketing with Scios Inc., which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2003. Mr. Cox began his career at Genentech, Inc. where he was a Product Team Leader responsible for the growth hormone franchise and led numerous product launches as a Group Product Manager. Mr. Cox has served on the Board of Directors of Aeglea BioTherapeutics, Inc. since 2015. Mr. Cox received a B.S. degree in biomedical science from Texas A&M University.

Sandy Mahatme is President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a stealth company backed by ARCH Venture Partners. He previously served as Executive Vice President, CFO and Chief Business Officer of Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc.

Prior to those roles, Mr. Mahatme worked at Celgene Corporation, where he served in various positions including Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, Senior Vice President of Finance, Corporate Treasurer and Head of Tax. While at Celgene, he built the treasury and tax functions before establishing the Corporate Development Department, which was focused on strategic, targeted initiatives including commercial development in emerging markets, acquisitions, licensing and global manufacturing expansion. Mr. Mahatme served in senior roles in business development and corporate finance at Pfizer, Inc. after starting his career at Ernst & Young LLP.

In addition to Epirium, he holds board positions with Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Flexion Therapeutics, Inc., and Aeglea Biotherapeutics. Mr. Mahatme earned Master of Laws degrees from Cornell Law School and the New York University School of Law and is a member of the New York State Bar Association.