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Accelerator restructures to add 2 advisory panels, new San Diego office

Startup financier Accelerator Life Science Partners has formed two new advisory panels to help guide its business decisions, while expanding its west coast operations by opening a new office in San Diego, the company’s third market outside of Seattle and New York.

Accelerator’s new “operating partners” group will evaluate new startup projects and investment opportunities and support the firm’s current portfolio of over 15 life science companies while serving in a variety of management roles.

Meanwhile, a clinical and scientific advisory board—stocked with academics, former big pharma drug developers and C-suite scientific leaders—will help provide guidance in product development and protocol design.

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“Advancing a groundbreaking scientific idea into and through clinical development takes not only robust data; it also requires critical insights into preclinical research, clinical trial design and strategy and keen understanding of the product approval pathway,” said Accelerator’s Chief Development Officer Kendall Mohler, a member of the scientific advisory board.

“Our CSAB members have demonstrated expertise in these areas, and we believe they will be an important asset as we partner with today’s most cutting-edge entrepreneurs,” Mohler added.

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Accelerators new operating partners include:

• Andrew Howard, of ADH Early Drug Discovery Consulting, formerly director of biology-discovery for diabetes and cardiometabolic disease at Merck

• Wendy Johnson, former CEO of Aires Pharmaceuticals, and board member of MorphoSys and AmpliPhi Biosciences

• David Pompliano, CSO and co-founder of Lodo Therapeutics

• Francisco Salva, former founder of Acerta Pharma, now president and CEO of Complexa

• John Santini, president and CEO of Vergent Bioscience

• David Schubert, chief operating partner at Accelerator

• Christopher Toombs, co-founder and CSO of Proniras

• Court Turner, former president and CEO of RQx Pharmaceuticals

The clinical and scientific advisory board includes:

• Lee Babiss, CEO of Gotham Therapeutics

• John Latham, CSO of Alder Biopharmaceuticals

• George McLendon, VP of therapeutic research and development for Carolinas HealthCare System and former provost of Rice University

• Kendall Mohler, chief development officer at Accelerator

• Gerald Nepom, professor of immunology at the University of Washington

• Homer Pearce, an independent consultant, formerly of Eli Lilly & Co.

• Anil Singhal, CSO at OncoResponse

• James Tobin, VP of scientific innovation, cardiovascular and metabolic at J&J Innovation