Jay Shepard

Jay Shepard joined our Board in January 2020. Mr. Shepard is currently Non-executive Chairman and formerly President and Chief Executive Officer of Aravive, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing treatments designed to halt the progression of life-threatening diseases, including cancer and fibrosis. Previously, Mr. Shepard was an Executive Partner at Sofinnova Ventures, a healthcare venture capital firm. Before that he also served as President and Chief Executive Officer and was a member of the board of directors of NextWave Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing unique pediatric products utilizing proprietary drug delivery technology that was acquired by Pfizer, Inc. Mr. Shepard has also served as President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of Ilypsa, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company pioneering novel non-absorbed polymeric drugs for renal and metabolic disorders that was acquired by Amgen. Mr. Shepard has held board appointments for numerous public and private companies, including Ilypsa, Inc., Relypsa, Inc., Intermune, Inc., Bullet Biotechnology, Inc., Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Durect Corporation. Currently, Mr. Shepard serves on the board of directors of Esperion Therapeutics, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, and of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. Mr. Shepard holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Arizona.