Singapore, March 26, 2008: MPM Capital, the largest venture capital investor dedicated solely to healthcare industry, has announced that Mr Robert Millman, and Dr Elizabeth Stoner, have joined MPM as Executive Partners. Both will be based in MPM’s Boston office.

 

Mr Robert Millman brings to MPM 18 years of experience in creating and managing intellectual property and patent estates for biotechnology as well as drug discovery and development companies. Most recently, he was the Chief IP Counsel for Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, where he developed the leading intellectual property portfolio in RNAi therapeutics.

 

Before Alnylam, he served as the Chief IP Counsel at Infinity Pharmaceuticals, a company focused on small molecule discovery, for three years. From 1999 to 2002, Mr Millman was Chief IP Counsel at Celera Genomics, where he developed and implemented an IP protection plan during the race to sequence the human genome. Mr Millman has previously served as Patent Counsel at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, and earlier in his career he held an associate position at Morrison and Foerster LLP and a patent agent/specialist position at Sterne, Kessler Goldstein and Fox, LLP.

 

Mr Millman received his JD degree from the Washington College of Law at The American University, an MS degree in Genetics from Washington State University, and a BS degree in Biochemistry from the University of California, Riverside.

 

Dr Elizabeth Stoner joined MPM following a 22-year career at Merck Research Laboratories. At the time of her retirement from Merck, Dr Stoner was Senior Vice President of Global Clinical Development Operations with responsibility for the company’s clinical development activities in more than 40 countries. She also oversaw the clinical development activities of Merck’s Japanese partner Banyu, led the clinical development for the Merck/Schering-Plough Joint Venture for Zetia/Vytorin, and played a critical leadership role in Merck’s efforts to transform its worldwide clinical development operations.

 

Earlier in her career at Merck, Dr Stoner led the Proscar clinical development program from inception, establishing Merck as a leader in the field of prostate disease. As Endocrine Therapeutic Head, Dr Stoner’s responsibilities included all steroid and lipid metabolism, as well as the growth hormone secretagogue, clinical research programs.

 

Before Merck, she was an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Cornell University Medical College. Dr Stoner received a BS in Chemistry from Ottawa University, KS, an MS in Chemistry from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and an MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine.