Organovo
Changing the shape of medical research and practice
Changing the shape of medical research and practice
Organovo's Board of Directors is comprised of talented leaders with proven oversight gained from running and growing life science businesses.
Mr. Murphy has 20 years of experience in biotechnology, including serving in Product Strategy and Director of Process Development roles at Amgen. He is a co-founder of Organovo and has been responsible for all company operations since 2007. His ten years at Amgen included four years as Global Operations Leader for the largest development program in Amgen’s history, Phase 3 osteoporosis/bone cancer drug denosumab. At Amgen, he also worked to develop several other novel formulation and device products. Prior to Amgen, he played a central role at Alkermes, Inc. on the development team for their first approved product, Nutropin (hGH) Depot. He holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is an alumnus of the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Mr. Murphy serves as Vice Chairman of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, comprised of over 120 member companies, patient advocacy foundations, venture capital firms, and academic research institutes focused on the advancement of regenerative medicine through engagement with government leaders and cooperative efforts.
Mr. Baltera is a seasoned pharmaceutical industry executive, who acquired a wealth of business and product management experience during 17 years with biotech pioneer Amgen. In his recent role as CEO of Amira Pharmaceuticals, he led the company to acquisition by Bristol-Meyers Squibb Company. He was instrumental in focusing Amira's development efforts, strengthening and developing its pipeline and forging key collaborations with partners such as GlaxoSmithKline. Before becoming Amira’s CEO, Bob held a number of senior management positions at Amgen, the last being vice president of corporate and contract manufacturing. He successfully used his collective experience to serve as team leader responsible for the approval of Kineret™ in rheumatoid arthritis, a highlight of his many accomplishments while at Amgen. Bob also serves in senior roles in several organizations, as Executive Chairman of Synovex, on the Board of Directors of Panmira Pharmaceuticals, on the Board of Directors of San Diego Venture Group, and on the Board of Trustees of the Keck Graduate Institute. Bob has an M.B.A. from the Anderson School at UCLA and earned his B.S. in microbiology and a M.S. in genetics from The Pennsylvania State University.
Mr. Forgacs is one of our founders and joined us as a director in April 2007. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Modern Meadow, a private company focused on applying the latest advances in tissue engineering to develop cultured leather and meat products. Mr. Forgacs served as a Managing Director at Richmond Global, an international technology-focused venture fund, from 2008 to 2012. Prior to joining Richmond, he was a consultant in the New York office of McKinsey & Company, advising global financial institutions, healthcare/pharmaceutical companies and private equity/venture capital firms. Mr. Forgacs began his career with Citigroup as an investment banker in the Financial Strategy Group, and helped found the client-facing Ecommerce Group. Mr. Forgacs is a Kauffman Fellow with the Center for Venture Education and a Term Member with the Council on Foreign Relations. He holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts with honors from Harvard University.
From 2006 to 2009, Mr. Glover was the Senior Vice President, Operations and Chief Financial Officer of Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly-traded biopharmaceutical company acquired by Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. From 1989 to 2006, he was employed by Beckman Coulter, Inc., most recently serving as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Glover served as a director of Varian, Inc., a publicly-traded company purchased by Agilent Technologies, and was Varian's audit committee chairman. He currently serves as a director for a non-profit corporation. Mr. Glover received his B.S. in accounting from California State Polytechnic University and his M.B.A. from Pepperdine University. Mr. Glover is also a Certified Public Accountant.
Mr. Stern has over 25 years of venture capital and investment banking experience focusing primarily on the life science and technology sectors of the capital markets. Mr. Stern has completed over 100 transactions throughout his career, including private placements, public offerings and mergers and acquisitions, valued in excess of several billion dollars. Mr. Stern currently is a director at Prolor Biotech, InVivo Therapeutics, Organovo Holdings, and LabStyle Innovations. Prior to being Head of Private Equity Banking at Aegis Capital and CEO of SternAegis Ventures, Mr. Stern was the Senior Managing Director at Spencer Trask Ventures from 1997 to 2012 and was at Josephthal & Co. from 1989 to 1997 as Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Private Equity Marketing. Mr. Stern has been a FINRA licensed securities broker since 1987 and a General Securities Principal since 1991.