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Michael Powell, Ph.D., joined Sofinnova Ventures as Managing Director in 1997. His Series A venture investments include: Actelion, Anesiva, InterMune, Seattle Genetics, Threshold and Orexigen (all now public companies), as well as numerous private companies: including, Ascenta, Anza, DiObex, and Intellikine. His investment strategy is to invest in product-focused biotech companies headed up by management experienced in drug development. His own R&D expertise is in drug delivery, vaccines, immunology, chemistry, and drug development of small molecules and protein therapeutics. Before joining Sofinnova Ventures, he was Group Leader at Genentech for six years, where he headed up the delivery and development of several protein and peptide therapeutics. He was also involved in spinning out VaxGen, an AIDS vaccine company. Prior to Genentech, he was Director of Product Development for Cytel, a company based on antagonist blockade of the major histocompatibility complex to ameliorate autoimmune disease, and which had a large Nasdaq IPO. Prior to Cytel, he was a Scientist and Project Team Leader at Syntex Research.Mike is the author of nearly 100 publications and books, including an 1100 page treatise on vaccine design. He is past Adjunct Professor at the University of Kansas in the Dept of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, a past editorial board member of J. Pharm.Sci. And the J. Controlled Release, is currently the Board President of AVAC (Aids Vaccine Advocacy Coalition), and past Advisor to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and One World Health. He received his PhD in chemistry from the University of Toronto in 1981, and carried out postdoctoral studies in bio-organic chemistry at the University of California, where he later was a faculty member. He was the first scientist in the biotech industry to be named a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists. | 