Tim Rolph

Tim Rolph is Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Akero. Prior to co-founding Akero, Tim led Pfizer’s Cardiovascular & Metabolic Disease Research Unit as Chief Scientific Officer. In his 22 years at Pfizer, Tim led anti-infective research at the company’s Sandwich (UK) laboratories, directing the team that discovered the prototype CCR5 antagonist, maraviroc, launched as a novel antiretroviral for HIV (Celzentry™), before becoming Head of Research in Sandwich and then at Pfizer’s Groton, Conn., laboratories. Under his leadership at Pfizer, Steglatro™ (ertugliflozin) was discovered and developed in partnership with Merck, and launched as a fixed-dose combination with sitagliptin (Steglujan™), a leading oral medication for diabetes. Prior to Pfizer, Tim worked in Glaxo’s veterinary R&D group, initially studying the modulation of growth for food production and then moving into anti-parasitic research for veterinary applications. Tim holds a B.Sc in Biochemistry from the University of London and a D.Phil from the Faculty of Clinical Medicine at the University of Oxford. His pre- and post-doctoral training was at the Nuffield Institute for Medical Research, where he studied the metabolic adaptations of skeletal and cardiac muscle during development.