RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., April 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Pappas Capital announced today that Thomas P. "Tom" Mathers has joined the firm as a partner. Mathers previously served as CEO of CoLucid Pharmaceuticals CLCD, a Pappas Capital portfolio company that was acquired in early 2017 by Eli Lilly & Company for nearly $1 billion.

In joining Pappas, Mathers' initial mandate will be to spearhead the formation of a new biopharmaceutical company that is expected to be backed by Pappas and other venture capital investors. In addition to launching the new company, he will source new deals, assist in evaluating prospective investment opportunities and provide expertise and oversight to Pappas portfolio companies. He will be based in Boston.

"The opportunity to be part of the Pappas team, with its reputation for creating new, innovative companies, is very attractive to me," said Mathers. "I worked closely with the firm for many years while at CoLucid, and my hope is that we can repeat the CoLucid success story many times over in the coming years."

Mathers has more than 26 years of executive management experience in the life sciences and medical device industry. Prior to Pappas Capital and CoLucid, he served as President and CEO of Peptimmune, Inc.; President and CEO of Cell Based Delivery, Inc.; Vice President and General Manager of Cardion AG; and Vice President of Strategic Development at Genzyme. He previously served on the Board of Directors for the Biotechnology Industry Organization for nine years, where he was active in the policy areas of capital formation, bioethics, intellectual property and regulatory policy. He is currently serving as a Trustee of Butler University.

Mathers holds several patents and patents pending and earned his BS in Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point. From 1988 to 1991, he served as a captain in the United States Army and was awarded several medals for his services as an AH-64 Apache helicopter pilot in the Gulf War.

Mathers is the second partner to join the Pappas Capital team this year. In January, Pappas named Kyle A. Rasbach, Ph.D., Pharm.D., a former T. Rowe Price vice president and healthcare equity analyst, as a partner. During his time at T. Rowe Price, Rasbach led the firm's IPO investment in CoLucid.

Since 2014, three companies founded or co-founded by Pappas have been sold to large pharmaceutical companies: CoLucid; Afferent Pharmaceuticals, bought by Merck in 2016 for $500 million upfront and $750 million in milestones; and Lumena Pharmaceuticals, bought by Shire in 2014 for more than $300 million. Over the past five years a dozen Pappas portfolio companies have been acquired or have completed an initial public offering – among them, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, TESARO, Chimerix, and TYRX (acquired by Medtronic). Most recently, in December portfolio company Rotation Medical was acquired by Smith & Nephew.

About Pappas Capital

Founded in 1994, Pappas Capital invests exclusively in the life sciences sector – biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals, drug delivery, medical devices and related ventures – across the United States and Canada. Pappas Capital has raised more than $500 million in capital and has guided the launch or development of more than 70 companies. For more information about Pappas Capital, please visit www.pappas-capital.com.

CONTACT:

Ford S. Worthy

fworthy@pappas-capital.com

919-998-3330

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SOURCE Pappas Capital