Bill Gerhart

Mr. Gerhart is the Chairman and CEO of Patara Pharma, a San Diego-based, clinical stage, biopharmaceutical company he founded to develop a new therapy for the treatment of diseases and conditions associated with inflammation and fibrosis. Prior to Patara, he was the President & CEO of Elevation Pharmaceuticals, a San Diego-based biotech he founded in 2008 that developed a new inhaled therapy for patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Elevation was acquired in 2012 by Sunovion, a subsidiary of Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma, and in 2017, the FDA approved this new therapy, marketed as Lonhala™ Magnair™, the first nebulized LAMA for COPD patients. Prior to Elevation, Mr. Gerhart was the President and CEO of Mpex Pharmaceuticals from 2002 to 2007, a company he helped found to discover and develop new antibacterials for the treatment of serious infections including Quinsair®, an inhaled antibiotic, now approved in Europe and Canada for the treatment of cystic fibrosis. Mr. Gerhart is a member of the Board of Trustees at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and a member of YPO. He earned an MBA degree at Harvard University and a BBA degree at Baylor University.