Board of Directors
Kevin J. Kinsella, Partner, Avalon Ventures
Jay Lichter, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO, Akesis Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Kevin R. Sayer, Former CFO of Specialty Labs SP and Minimed Inc.
John F. Steel IV, Director
Carl LeBel, Ph.D., President and COO, Akesis Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Kevin J. Kinsella, Partner, Avalon Ventures
Kevin J. Kinsella has been in the venture capital industry since 1983 when he founded Avalon Ventures. Mr. Kinsella has specialized in the formation, financing and development of more than 60 early stage companies, including: Athena Neurosciences, ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Aurora Biosciences, Caliper Technologies, GenPharm International, IDUN Pharmaceuticals, Landmark Graphics Corporation, Neurocrine Biosciences, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Pharmacopeia, River Medical, Senomyx, Sequana Therapeutics, Synaptics, Talarian, X-Ceptor Therapeutics and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Kinsella was the founding chairman of Athena, Aurora, Landmark, Microcide, NeoRx, Onyx, Sytera, Synaptics, Vertex, X-Ceptor and Sequana. He also is an early stage investor in Amira Pharmaceuticals, Ambit Biosciences, Anaptys Biosciences, Illumina, Inc., and Vocera Communications. Mr. Kinsella is also chairman of the investment committee of Poland Partners and INNOVA 98, respectively a $62.5 million and a $125 million fund investing in Central Europe.
Mr. Kinsella is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1967) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Management, with minors in Electrical Engineering and Political Science. He holds a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) (1969) and did post-graduate work in political economics on a Rotary International Fellowship at the University of Stockholm, Sweden. Mr. Kinsella is a Life Sustaining Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Dean’s Advisory Counsel at SAIS and a Vice-President of the Board of Trustees of the San Diego Museum of Art. He is the largest producer of the Tony Award Winning, hit Broadway musical, Jersey Boys.
Jay Lichter, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO, Akesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Jay Lichter, Ph.D. is a seasoned biotechnology and pharmaceutical business executive with over 15 years of experience in management, scientific research and business development. Prior to joining Akesis, Dr. Lichter served as vice president of operations and business development of Sytera, Inc., an ophthalmology pharmaceutical company that merged in 2006 with Sirion Therapeutics, Inc. Prior to Sytera, he was executive vice president of business development for Sequenom Inc., a public biotechnology company. Previously, Dr. Lichter served as president and CEO of XenoPharm, Inc., a start-up company established with technology licensed to commercialize xenobiotic sensors. Earlier in his career, Dr. Lichter worked at both Pfizer, Inc. and Genset Corporation in various management capacities.
Dr. Lichter holds a Bachelor's degree and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Illinois. He completed Post-Doctoral Fellowships at Yale University and Du Pont Merck Pharmaceutical Company.
Kevin R. Sayer, Former CFO of Speciality Labs SP and Minimed Inc.
Kevin R. Sayer served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Specialty Labs SP (NYSE), a clinical reference laboratory services company, from April 2004 to April 2005. (DELETE) From 1994 to 2001, Mr. Sayer was the Chief Financial Officer of Minimed, Inc., a publicly traded medical device company focused on diabetes management. During his tenure at Minimed, Mr. Sayer managed multiple financing and strategic transactions and played a central role in the 2001 acquisition of Minimed, Inc., by Medtronic, Inc., a leader in developing solutions for diabetes. From 2001 to 2002, he co-led the integration team for the newly combined entity and assumed executive responsibilities over operations as vice president and general manager of Medtronic Minimed's External Pump and Disposable Product business unit. Mr. Sayer began his career in public accountancy and from 1983 to 1994 held various positions at Ernst & Young. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1983 with concurrent bachelor and master degrees in Accounting and Information Systems, and is a certified public accountant.
John F. Steel IV, Director
Mr. Steel had been, since April 2002, chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of MicroIslet, Inc., a publicly-traded diabetes-focused biotechnology company. In January 1998, Mr. Steel founded MicroIslet of Delaware, Inc., a company acquired by MicroIslet that is now its wholly owned subsidiary, and served as its chairman and chief executive officer from September 1998 to April 2002. From January 1996 to December 1997, Mr. Steel was a founder and chief executive officer of Akesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Delaware), a company that developed a patented treatment for insulin resistance for Type 2 diabetes. From 1996 through the present, Mr. Steel continues to serve as an active director for Akesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Akesis (Delaware) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the company. From 1987 to 1994, Mr. Steel consulted to several public and private companies on business issues through Steel Management. Mr. Steel received his M.B.A. degree with an emphasis in Finance from the University of Southern California and a bachelor of arts degree from Dartmouth College.
Carl LeBel, Ph.D., President and Chief Operating Officer, Akesis Pharmaceuticals
Carl LeBel, Ph.D. has more than 18 years of experience as a biopharmaceutical industry executive, including 14 years at Amgen Inc. where he was an executive director for program management and strategic operations. Most recently his responsibilities at Amgen included overseeing global cross-functional program activities for a late-stage development candidate in osteoporosis. He has an extensive background in the area of metabolic diseases, including direct experience in the conduct of clinical trials in diabetes, obesity and osteoporosis. Prior to joining Amgen, Dr. LeBel held preclinical development positions at Arthur D. Little Inc. and Alkermes Inc. from 1990 to 1993.
Dr. LeBel holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Detroit, a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences/Toxicology from Northeastern University, and was a National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences postdoctoral fellow in Community and Environmental Medicine at the University of California, Irvine. He is also a director at Ash Stevens Inc., a privately held pharmaceutical contract manufacturer.