Court R. Turner

Court R. Turner, J.D. joined Avalon Ventures as an Advisor in January 2008, focusing on the formation and strategic operations of the Avalon VIII portfolio companies. Within that role, Mr. Turner is the President, CEO and Director of Carolus Therapeutics, Inc. and the Chief Operating Officer of Afraxis, Inc., Zacharon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Avelas Biosciences, Inc. and Otonomy, Inc. Prior to joining the Avalon team, Mr. Turner spent over a decade of his career within companies in the San Diego biotechnology community. Starting in 1997, Mr. Turner joined Aurora Biosciences Corporation (acquired by Vertex Pharmaceuticals in 2001) in its Legal and Strategic Alliances departments focused on technology licensing, business development and a myriad of corporate legal matters facing a public company, including SEC filings and M&A transactions. In June 2002, Mr. Turner joined Kalypsys, Inc. a then start-up small molecule drug discovery company. During his tenure at Kalypsys, the company grew from 15 to over 125 employees with an impressive product pipeline and three rounds of financing totaling over $170M. Mr. Turner was a member of the Kalypsys Executive Management Team. Mr. Turner received a Bachelor’s Degree from San Diego State University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Diego School of Law.