Thomas, McNerney & Partners has retained and frequently consults with a select group of prominent clinical and scientific advisors to support the deal screening and due diligence process as well as provide assistance to portfolio companies. In addition, the Scientific Advisory Board formally convenes twice a year to discuss the most promising scientific discoveries and investment opportunities in their fields.

Dr. Chabner is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Clinical Director of the Cancer Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. With the formation of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, he also has responsibilities as Associate Director for Clinical Sciences of that consortium, which includes the Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Chabner was previously at the National Cancer Institute ("NCI"), where he participated in the training of clinical and research fellows for 24 years and served for 13 years as permanent Director of the Division of Cancer Treatment, NCI. From 1971 to 1989, he maintained an active laboratory program in cancer pharmacology at the NCI, focusing on the mechanism of action and resistance of antifolates and other antimetabolites, and leading the development of paclitaxel (Taxol®). His research has contributed significantly to the development of high dose chemotherapy regimens and to standard therapies for lymphoma. He received an M.D., cum laude, from Harvard Medical School.

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Dr. DiMarchi is the Linda & Jack Gill Chair in Biomolecular Sciences and Professor of Chemistry at Indiana University. He is a retired Group Vice President for Biotechnology and Product Development at Eli Lilly & Company where for more than two decades he provided leadership in biotechnology, endocrine research and product development. Professor DiMarchi is recognized for the discovery and development of rDNA-derived Humalog® (LisPro-human insulin). This designer insulin represents the first demonstration that structurally altered rDNA-derived, biosynthetic proteins can improve pharmacological performance without increasing the risk of an abnormal immunological response. As scientist and administrator at Lilly, Dr. DiMarchi participated in the commercial development of Humulin®, Humatrope®, Xigris®, and Forteo®. The goal of his current research and commercial endeavors is to develop proteins with enhanced therapeutic properties through biochemical optimization with non-natural amino acids, an approach he has termed chemical-biotechnology. Dr. DiMarchi received his Ph.D. from Indiana University.

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Dr. Fischbach is the Scientific Director of The Simons Foundation, where he oversees the Autism Initiative focused on the advancement of Autism research. He previously served as Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences at Columbia University and was the former Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the N.I.H., where he served from 1998-2001. He was the Nathan Marsh Pusey Professor of Neurobiology and Chairman of the Neurobiology Departments of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital from 1990 to 1998. During 1981 to 1990, he was the Edison Professor of Neurobiology and Head of the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at Washington University School of Medicine. Throughout his career, Dr. Fischbach has studied the formation and maintenance of synapses. He pioneered the use of nerve cell cultures to study the electrophysiology, morphology and biochemistry of developing nerve-muscle and inter-neuronal synapses. Dr. Fischbach is a past President of the Society of Neuroscience, as well as a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Institute of Medicine. He received an M.D. degree from Cornell University Medical School.

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Dr. Kaldor is currently Chief Executive Officer of Ambrx, Inc. He was most recently the President and Chief Scientific Officer of Takeda San Diego, Inc., the U.S. Discovery Research Center for Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company Limited. He led the March 2005 $270 million sale of Syrrx to Takeda that resulted in the creation of Takeda San Diego, Inc. Dr. Kaldor joined Syrrx, a privately held structure-based drug discovery company, as Chief Scientific Officer in 2002. He became a member of the Syrrx Board of Directors as President and Chief Scientific Officer in 2003, and ran all aspects of the company for two years prior to its acquisition. Before joining Syrrx, Dr. Kaldor gained over 12 years of drug discovery and development experience at Eli Lilly and Company. He is the co-inventor of multiple compounds that have advanced into the clinic including Viracept™, a marketed HIV protease inhibitor. Dr. Kaldor received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Harvard University. 

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Dr. Schwartz is the Founder and Medical Director of the Minnesota Cardiovascular Research Institute ("MCRI"), a non-profit center dedicated to developing and testing advanced cardiovascular technologies. Dr. Schwartz also is a cardiologist at the Minneapolis Heart Institute, with clinical and research interests in interventional cardiology, imaging, clinical information processing and clinical medical care. Prior to founding MCRI, he was Director at the Center for Applied Vascular Biology and Interventions, Mayo Foundation. In addition, Dr. Schwartz served as Professor and Associate Professor at the Mayo Medical School. He is credited with developing one of the most widely recognized pre-clinical animal models for testing drug-eluting stents. Dr. Schwartz received a master's degree in Electrical Engineering and an M.D. from the University of Colorado-Denver.

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