Tacere Therapeutics, Inc. specializes in the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of serious infectious diseases such as Hepatitis C (HCV). Combining expertise in RNA interference (RNAi), gene medicine, and novel biologicals, Tacere possesses proprietary skill in the identification and development of RNAi therapeutics.
Executive Management & Board of Directors
With experienced board and management and world-class scientific founders and advisors, Tacere combines pioneering capability in the emerging field of RNAi therapeutics with extensive experience in the development of novel biological agents.
Sara M. Hall
Founder, Director & Chief Executive Officer
Prior to founding Tacere, Sara was a Director and the Chief Executive Officer of Benitec Limited, an Australian Stock Exchanged-listed company developing RNAi-based therapeutics. Sara joined Benitec through its acquisition of Avocel Inc., one of the pioneering companies in the development of RNAi therapeutics. After creating a 9X return in 18 months for her investors in Avocel, Sara became the Chief Operating Officer and ultimately CEO of Benitec. Sara has a proven track record as a biotech entrepreneur, from conception through due diligence, license negotiation, staffing, facilities, marketing, funding, and M&A; and has held senior positions in R&D as well as intellectual property and business development at Boehringer Ingelheim, Clontech/BD Biosciences, and B-Bridge International. Sara has been recognized for both her business and scientific innovations, including serving on the Scientific Advisory Board of Sigma-Aldrich and as the recipient of two R&D 100 Awards. Sara holds BS and MS degrees in virology.
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Michael J. Catelani
Founder, Chairman, President & Chief Financial Officer
Prior to founding Tacere, Mike was a Director and the Chief Financial Officer of Benitec Limited, an Australian Stock Exchanged-listed company developing RNAi-based therapeutics. From 2002 to 2004, Mike held senior financial management positions at Axon Instruments, ultimately as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Axon Instruments, a leading designer and manufacturer of instrumentation and software systems for the life sciences industry was a U.S. corporation publicly traded on the Australian Stock Exchange. Previously, he was the Vice President of Finance for Media Arts Group, an NYSE-listed company in the art, home décor, and collectibles industry, where he served as the principal accounting officer, managed investor relations, and led the divestiture of the company’s retail operations. Prior thereto, Mike served as the Controller, as well as an R&D Project Manager and a Division General Manager, for Air Toxics Ltd., an environmental laboratory specializing in the analysis of organic compounds in air. Mike has worked with several early-stage start ups in a variety of industries, from retail to distributed power generation, in both advisory and management roles and is the Co-Chairman of InnVision, a non-profit organization serving the homeless in the San Francisco Bay Area. Mike began his professional career at Ernst & Young and is a CPA. He received his BS degree in business administration/accountancy from California State University-Sacramento and holds an MBA from the University of California, Davis.
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John Monahan, PhD
Founder & Director
John is an experienced CEO in the management of complex biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies having built and directed several successful companies. He has identified and championed the cause of numerous scientific and commercial concepts, bringing them from proof-of-concept to commercial production. Most recently, he founded and built Avigen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGN), a company which has become a leader in its sector for the development of new therapy products for the treatment of serious human diseases. He has managed several private and public financings for the company, including its IPO. In total, in both the public and private marketplace, he raised over $235 million as CEO. He also led the company through the filing of a number of investigational new drug (IND) applications. Prior to Avigen, John directed numerous biotech and pharmaceutical research, preclinical and clinical programs at various institutions. He received his PhD in Biochemistry from McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada and his BS degree in Science from University College, Dublin, Ireland. He has over 50 publications/reviews in the scientific literature and has made hundreds of presentations including public TV interviews, to scientific groups, investors and the public in general over the years.
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Amit Kumar, PhD
Founder & Director
Amit has been President and CEO of CombiMatrix Corporation since September 2001 and a Director since September 2000. Previously, Amit was Vice President of Life Sciences of Acacia Research Corp. (NASDAQ: ACRI). From January 1999 to February 2000, Amit was the founding President and Chief Executive Officer of Signature BioSciences, Inc., a life science company developing technology for advanced research in genomics, proteomics and drug discovery. From January 1998 to December 1999, Amit was an Entrepreneur in Residence with Oak Investment Partners, a venture capital firm. Prior to joining the world of venture capital, Amit was a Senior Manager at IDEXX Laboratories, Inc., a biotechnology company which acquired Idetek Corporation, where he had been the Head of Research & Development for Idetek Corporation. Amit received his BS degree in chemistry from Occidental College. After joint studies at Stanford University and the California Institute of Technology, he received his PhD from Caltech in 1991 then completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard University in 1993.
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Yasuo Urata
Director
Yasuo Urata established Oncolys BioPharma, Inc., of which he is the President & CEO, in 2004 after serving various executive functions at Japan Tobacco (JT)'s pharmaceutical division, including Director of R&D Planning. During the time of JT from 1994 to 2004, Mr. Urata launched the innovative HIV drug, Viracept® with Agouron, and led many drug development projects such as GVAX project with Cell Genesys and the cancer vaccine project with Corixa. Before JT, he served as clinical project leader mainly for cardiovascular and central nerve system fields. Mr. Urata holds a B.S. and M.S. from Kyoto Pharmaceutical University .
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