Laura Shawver, PhD  |  Business Development

Dr. Shawver is an experienced Biotech executive with more than 25 years of experience in the development of small molecule drugs for cancer and other serious diseases. Prior to joining Cleave Biosciences as Chief Executive Officer and driving the $54M Series A financing, she was an Entrepreneur in Residence for 5AM Ventures beginning October 2010.  From 2002 – 2010, Dr. Shawver was the Chief Executive Officer of Phenomix Corporation where she also served on the Board of Directors. Phenomix was a venture-backed company that developed dutogliptin through a successful Phase 3 clinical trial and attracted collaborations from Forest Laboratories and Chiesi Farmaceutici. Previously, Dr. Shawver was the President of SUGEN Inc. from 2000 after holding various positions since 1992. SUGEN focused on understanding key molecular pathways of cancer cells and developed the drugs Sutent™ and Palladia™. The company was acquired by Pharmacia in 1999.  Prior to SUGEN, she was employed at Berlex Biosciences, formerly known as Triton Biosciences. She is an active member of the American Association for Cancer Research and also a member of American Society for Clinical Oncologists. Dr. Shawver is the Founder of The Clearity Foundation, a nonprofit organization providing access to molecular profiling for ovarian cancer patients to improve their treatment options. Shawver received her PhD in Pharmacology and a BS degree in Microbiology, both from the University of Iowa.