Mark Levin is an industry visionary with more than 36 years of experience, including 25 years building and operating leading biotech companies. Mark co-founded Third Rock Ventures in 2007 and focuses on the formation, development and business strategy of our portfolio companies, as well as actively identifying and evaluating new investments. He also assumes active leadership roles in our portfolio companies, functioning as CEO through the first 12-18 months post launch.
Mark was co-founder of Mayfield Fund's life sciences effort where he was also the founding CEO of Tularik, Cell Genesys/Abgenix, Focal, Stem Cells and Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Mark served as CEO of Millennium Pharmaceuticals for 12 years. Earlier in his career, Mark was a scientist at Lilly and Genentech.
Mark holds an MS in Chemical and Biomedical Engineering from Washington University. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and the Friends of Personalized Medicine, and he co-founded upSTART in Cambridge, MA.
Current Roles
Board Member of Constellation Pharmaceuticals, former interim CEO
Board Member of DC Devices
Board Member of Edimer Pharmaceuticals
Year Joined Third Rock
2007
Administrative Support
Linda Heath
Executive Assistant Email
(617) 585-2049
Kevin Starr is a proven operational leader with over 25 years of experience building and operating leading biotech companies. Kevin co-founded Third Rock Ventures in 2007 and focuses on the formation, development and business strategy of our portfolio companies as well as actively identifying and evaluating new investments. He also assumes active leadership roles in our portfolio companies, functioning as Chief Executive Officer through the first 12-18 months post launch.
Prior to Third Rock Ventures, Kevin was Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, where he led key roles in raising billions of dollars in capital through strategic alliances and public financing and driving growth through company expansion and mergers and acquisitions. Earlier in his career, he served in various executive roles at Millennium BioTherapeutics, Biogen and Digital Equipment Corporation.
Kevin holds a MS in Corporate Finance from Boston College and a BA in Mathematics and Business from Colby College. He is currently a Board Member of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals. Kevin is also a founding investor in Prospect Pictures, an independent film and entertainment company.
Current Roles
Board Member of Agios Pharmaceuticals, Former interim CEO
Board Member of Zafgen Pharmaceuticals, Former interim CEO
Year Joined Third Rock
2007
Administrative Support
Linda Heath
Executive Assistant Email
(617) 585-2049
Bob Tepper is a distinguished scientist with over 25 years of experience building and operating leading R&D operations. Bob co-founded Third Rock Ventures in 2007 and focuses on the formation, development and scientific strategy of our portfolio companies as well as actively identifying and evaluating new investments. He also assumes active leadership roles in our portfolio companies, functioning as Chief Scientific Officer through the first 12-18 months post launch.
Prior to joining Third Rock Ventures, Bob was President of R&D at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and was vital in its expansion from a drug discovery company to a fully-integrated biopharmaceutical company. Prior to Millennium, Bob co-founded Cell Genesys/Abgenix.
Bob holds an AB in Biochemistry from Princeton University and his MD degree from Harvard Medical School. Bob serves as an adjunct faculty member at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital and is an advisory board member of several leading health care institutions including the Partners HealthCare Center for Personalized Genetic Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Tufts Medical School. Bob is a Board Member of Cerulean Pharmaceuticals and is on the Board of Overseers at Tufts University.
Current Roles
Board Member of Constellation Pharmaceuticals, former interim CSO
Neil Exter joined Third Rock Ventures in 2007 and plays an integral role in the overall formation, development and business strategy of our portfolio companies. Additionally, he supports the business development efforts within the portfolio companies. He also assumes active leadership roles in our portfolio companies, functioning as interim Chief Operating Officer/Chief Business Officer through the first 12-18 months post launch.
Neil has over 17 years of business development and strategic experience, facilitating the successful development and implementation of operations and collaborations across the spectrum of newly emerging and established biotech companies.
Prior to joining Third Rock Ventures, Neil was CBO of Alantos Pharmaceuticals, leading the sale of the company to Amgen. Previously, Neil served as VP for Millennium Pharmaceuticals, directing in-licensing and M&A. Earlier in his career, Neil held various executive management roles within the high technology industry, including tenures at Hewlett Packard and Wang Laboratories.
Neil holds an MBA as a Baker Scholar from Harvard Business School, a MS from Stanford University and a BS from Cornell University. Neil is a member of the Board of Overseers at Children’s Hospital Boston and a member of the Children’s Hospital Boston Board Research Committee. Additionally, Neil is a member of the Innovation Research Fund at Partners Healthcare.
Current Roles
Interim Chief Business Officer of Constellation Pharmaceuticals
Craig Greaves joined Third Rock Ventures in 2009 and focuses on our executive searches as part of the founding and building of our portfolio companies leadership team.
He has over 25 years of human resources and recruiting experience in life sciences and high technology.
Prior to joining Third Rock Ventures, Craig served as a corporate recruiting leader at Biogen Idec and Cubist Pharmaceuticals and as a retained executive search consultant. During his tenure at Biogen, the company grew from a research organization of 350 employees to a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company with more than 4,300 employees located in 20 countries. Craig also led the merger integration of all employment systems, practices and processes between Biogen and IDEC Pharmaceuticals.
Nick Leschly joined Third Rock Ventures in 2007 and plays an integral role in the overall formation, development and business strategy of our therapeutic portfolio companies as well as identifying and evaluating new investments. He also assumes active leadership roles in our portfolio companies, functioning as interim COO/CBO through the first 12-18 months post launch.
Nick has extensive business experience with proven leadership and operational skills having led successful development and operations across a variety of emerging and established biotech companies.
Prior to joining Third Rock, Nick served as the product and alliance leader for Millennium Pharmaceuticals VELCADE™, managing a $100M+ global development plan. Nick also founded and served as CEO of MedXtend Corporation.
Nick holds a BS in Molecular Biology from Princeton University and an MBA from Wharton Business School. Nick is the Founder and Chairman of The CAVU Foundation.
Current Roles
Board Member of Edimer Pharmaceuticals
Former interim Chief Business Officer of Agios Pharmaceuticals
Craig Muir joined Third Rock Ventures in 2007 and leads the identification and integration of drug discovery and development technology platforms for all of our portfolio companies, as well as contributing to scientific diligence for investment opportunities. He also assumes active leadership roles in our portfolio companies, functioning as interim CTO/CIO through the first 12-18 months post launch.
Craig has over 25 years of technology development, implementation and application experience across the biotechnology and pharmaceuticals industries.
Prior to joining Third Rock Ventures, Craig was Senior Vice President, Technical Operations for Codon Devices, and also spent 12 years at Millennium Pharmaceuticals as Vice President of Platform Technology. Earlier in his career, Craig served in a number of executive technology development and scientific roles at Genentech, Tularik and the University of Vermont.
Craig holds a BS in Animal Physiology from University of California – Davis and has co-authored six peer-reviewed scientific papers and is co-inventor on several issued patents. He has directed the development of or collaborated on several technologies that currently serve as the fundamental value driver for a number of biotechnology companies, including Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Portola, xCellerex, Transform and many others.
Cary Pfeffer joined Third Rock Ventures in 2007 and drives the firm’s overall interface strategy with pharmaceutical and large biotech companies as well as academic institutions. Additionally, he supports the business development efforts within our portfolio companies. He also assumes active leadership roles in our portfolio companies, functioning as interim CBO through the first 12-18 months post launch.
Cary has over 15 years of business development and transaction experience, facilitating the successful development and implementation of leading collaborations across the spectrum of newly emerging and established biotech companies.
Before joining Third Rock Ventures, Cary founded The Pfeffer Group, which provided business development and strategy advisory services for leading biotechnology and life sciences companies. Prior, he spent more than 10 years at Biogen in a variety of executive domestic and international management roles focused on business and market development, product development and commercial operations. Earlier in his career, Cary spent several years in corporate finance in the Health Care Investment Banking Group of Lehman Brothers.
Cary earned his MD from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from the Wharton School, and a BA in Biochemistry from Columbia University.
Current Roles
Partner Development Initiative with pharmaceutical and other large life science companies
Interim Head of Business Development for various Third Rock portfolio companies
Lou Tartaglia joined Third Rock Ventures in 2007 and plays an integral role in the overall scientific diligence, formation and efforts of our portfolio companies and investment opportunities. He also assumes active leadership roles in our portfolio companies, functioning as interim CSO through the first 12-18 months post launch.
Lou has over 20 years of scientific experience and therapeutic product project leadership and is recognized as a thought leader in obesity and metabolic diseases. He has published more than 50 peer-reviewed scientific papers, including first authorship on a manuscript selected by Cell as one of the 15 most important papers they have published in 30 years.
Prior to joining Third Rock Ventures, Lou was SVP and General Manager of GeneLogic. Prior to GeneLogic, Lou was Vice President of New Ventures at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, and also Vice President of Metabolic Diseases where he was responsible for the discovery and development of multiple therapeutic programs. Before joining Millennium, he worked at Genentech on the tumor necrosis factor receptors.
Lou holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.
Current Roles
Interim Chief Scientific Officer of Agios Pharmaceuticals
Board Member of Zafgen Pharmaceuticals, former interim Chief Scientific Officer
