FibroGen CEO Tom Neff dies at 64

  • He has been in the position of CEO at FibroGen for almost 27 years
  • Jim Schoeneck taking over in the interim
  • Search for a successor

(exechange) — San Francisco, California, August 26, 2019 — Tom Neff, chief executive of FibroGen, has died. FibroGen announced his death on Monday, August 26, 2019. Thomas B. (Tom) Neff has been in the role of Chief Executive Officer at FibroGen, Inc. for almost 27 years. He died at age 64.

FibroGen will undertake a search for a successor.

Tom Neff’s duties as CEO will be taken over in the interim by James A. (Jim) Schoeneck, a former Chief Executive Officer of Depomed, Inc., as Interim Chief Executive Officer.

Already a director

Schoeneck is already a director of FibroGen.

In the position of CEO since 1993

Tom Neff became CEO of the Company in January 1993.

Thomas B. Neff founded FibroGen, Inc. and has served as the Chairman of the Company’s board of directors and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Company’s board of directors since 1993.

He served as a director of FibroGen China Anemia Holdings, Ltd, FibroGen International (Cayman) Limited, and FibroGen International (Hong Kong) Limited, as well as the General Manager of FibroGen (China) Medical Technology Development Co., Ltd.

Neff received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Claremont McKenna College with concentrations in Molecular Biology and Government.

Subsequently he studied economics and finance at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, and was a Fellow of the Thomas J. Watson Foundation.

He was employed as an investment banker first at PaineWebber Incorporated (1983-1988) and then at Lazard Freres & Co. through 1992. In 1991, he was among 40 selected as future financial industry leaders in a poll of 600 financial leaders by Institutional Investor.

Neff was founder of Pharmaceutical Partners I and Pharmaceutical Partners II, the pioneer entities investing in drug royalties and predecessors to what is now named Royalty Pharma.

He left the group in 1998 to concentrate on FibroGen but remained as Managing General Partner of Pharmaceutical Partners I and Pharmaceutical Partners II until all assets were distributed to partners through 2009.

He was also founder and General Partner of Three Arch Bay Health Science Fund, a private investment fund focused on emerging biomedical companies, from 1993 to completion in 2011.

He received an honorary doctorate of medical sciences from Oulu University, Oulu, Finland in 2009.

He was a director of Kolltan Pharmaceuticals, a spin-out from Yale University, from 2009 to 2016.

Neff is a named inventor on more than 100 of FibroGen’s patents and patent applications.

Push-out Score not determined

When the reason for the departure is death, a Push-out Score™ is not determined.

Read the full story in the exechange report 35.2019 ($).