This Friday the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association (WBBA) will release findings from its 2010 Economic Impact Report at their Governor’s Life Sciences Summit and WBBA Annual Meeting. With the sometimes volatile ups and downs of our industry, these findings have the potential to propel WBBA forward in both current and new initiatives and strategies … Continue reading “A Look Ahead for Washington State’s Life Sciences Cluster”
Author: Thong Le
Thong Q. Le serves as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Accelerator Corporation. With more than 16 years of experience in identifying, investing, managing, and successfully exiting numerous seed and early-stage investments, Mr. Le is positioned to grow and expand the Accelerator investment model. He currently serves as CEO and Director of Acylin Therapeutics and Oncofactor Corporation, and is a Board Observer at AnswerDash and Cardeas Pharma.
Prior to becoming CEO at Accelerator, Mr. Le served as a Managing Director at WRF Capital, the venture capital investment arm of Washington Research Foundation in Seattle, WA. During his 13-year tenure at WRF Capital, Mr. Le played a significant role in the early sourcing, financing, and development of numerous start-up companies, including Alder Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALDR), Corus Pharma (acquired by Gilead Sciences), Halosource (LSE: HALO.L), Hyperion Therapeutics (Nasdaq: HPTX), Lumera (NasdaqNM: LMRA), Performant (acquired by Mercury Interactive), Pathway Medical Technologies (acquired by MEDRAD), and VLST (asset acquisition by major international pharmaceutical company).
He also led WRF Capital’s investments in Accelerator, AnswerDash, ARZEDA, Cardeas Pharma, Resolve Therapeutics, and Uptake Medical, all companies where he was actively involved in establishing as a founding or early investor.
Prior to joining WRF Capital, Mr. Le was the founder, president and CEO of MiniMeals, Inc. and a consultant for Capital Management Consulting, Inc. Earlier, he was at Raymond James & Associates, Singer & Xenos Investment Management Company and Capital Management Group LLC, a private investment firm specializing in biomedical ventures.
Mr. Le completed post-graduate studies at the Templeton College of Oxford University and earned a bachelor of arts cum laude in government from Harvard University. He currently serves on the executive boards of the Evergreen Venture Capital Association (EVCA), the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association, and the Washington Global Health Fund. He was previously named one of the region’s “40 Under 40” by the Puget Sound Business Journal.
SF and Silicon Valley: Drop the Incrementalism and Invest in True Innovation
“Just as energy is the basis of life itself and ideas the source of innovation, so is innovation the vital spark of all human change, improvement and progress”—Theodore Levitt I have lived in the Seattle area for many years, and I spend a fair amount of time interacting with senior executives and fellow venture capitalists … Continue reading “SF and Silicon Valley: Drop the Incrementalism and Invest in True Innovation”