Background
Agere Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was established to provide state-of-art solutions to the development of poorly soluble compounds. Agere integrates comprehensive scientific knowledge and formulation expertise with innovative analytical methods and predictive computational tools to greatly de-risk compound progression. This results in timely and cost effective development of challenging compounds. Customers access Agere technology using a wide variety of business arrangements including fee-for-service, co-development and cost-sharing, strategic alliance, and partnering opportunities.
Agere's broad expertise in formulation, compound advancement, and drug delivery is utilized by clients in a wide variety of ways. Examples include:
- cGMP Manufacturing
- Select and optimize discovery leads
- Identify and execute optimum formulation strategies
- Increase oral bioavailability
- Develop stable parenteral formulations
- Predict long-term formulation stability
- Predict in vivo performance
- Manufacture materials for in vivo studies
Management
Agere Pharmaceuticals was co-founded by Marshall Crew, Ph.D. (President) and Dan Smithey, Ph.D. (CSO). As leaders in the field of solubilization, they have over 25 years of combined expertise in drug delivery and pharmaceutical compound advancement.
Dan Smithey, PhD.
Dr. Smithey has over 15 years of experience in pharmaceutical development technologies, from discovery stage through product commercialization. His areas of expertise include rational drug design, solid-state characterization and modeling, formulation development, and prediction of in vivo performance. Dr. Smithey holds over 30 patent and patent applications and has 24 journal publications. Dr. Smithey holds a doctorate in Physics from University of Oregon.
Marshall D. Crew, Ph.D.
Dr. Crew has worked for more than 13 years developing technologies for the delivery of poorly soluble drugs. He currently has over 27 patents and patent applications on various drug delivery platforms, including controlled release, nanotechnology and solid dispersions. His latest scientific focus is in the area of drug discovery and development of compounds outside the traditional drug-like chemical space. Dr. Crew holds a doctorate in Physical Chemistry from Oregon State University.
Investor
Agere has one private equity investor group, Biblioteca, that has been with Agere since the company’s inception.
Biblioteca Investors focuses on high technology opportunities which can leverage their technology and marketing experience. Principals Casey Jones and Ron Rohrer have been involved as founders, managers, or investors with more than 20 technology start-ups and early-stage companies since 1970. Focusing on 3 to 4 companies at a time allows Biblioteca to devote the attention required to guide or assist start-ups toward early growth and successful exits.
Board
Agere’s Board consists of three members: Dr. Ron Rohrer, Dr. Marshall Crew, and Dr. Dan Smithey. Dr. Rohrer brings extensive startup and private equity experience to Agere.
Ron Rohrer, Ph.D.
Ron’s impressive track-record with technology start-ups – including 4 IPOs and 11 acquisitions - is matched by his research and academic accomplishments. A member of the National Academy since 1989, Ron is currently University Professor Emeritus at Carnegie Mellon University. In addition to authoring over 100 technical papers and 5 patents, in 1996 Ron was the recipient of the prestigious NEC C&C Prize for his invention of the worldwide industry-standard SPICE circuit simulator. Ron is a graduate of MIT (SB EE) and Berkeley (MS EE and PhD EE).