Director Nominee
Brian G. Atwood will be one of our directors upon the commencement of trading of our units on Nasdaq. He is currently the Chairman and CEO of CERo Therapeutics Holdings (Nasdaq: CERO) and the former Chairman of Phoenix Biotech Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: PBAX), which merged with Cero in February 2024. Mr. Atwood serves as a Managing Director for Versant Ventures, a healthcare-focused venture capital firm that he co-founded in 1999, but ceased actively participating as an investor principal in 2014. In 2015, Mr. Atwood co-founded Cell Design Labs, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing human cell engineering technology for the treatment of multiple diseases, including cancer, where he served as President and Chief Executive Officer until 2018, when it was acquired by Gilead Sciences. Mr. Atwood serves on the board of directors of Atreca, Inc. (Nasdaq: BCEL), where he is Chairman. He also served on the board of directors of Immune Design Corp. from 2008 until 2016, Veracyte, Inc., as its Chairman from its founding in 2008 until 2016, OpGen Inc., from 2007 until 2017, Five Prime Therapeutics, as its Chairman from 2002 until 2016, Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 2006 until its acquisition in 2014, Helicos Biosciences from 2003 until 2011, Pharmion Corporation from 2000 until its acquisition in 2008, Trius Therapeutics, Inc. from 2007 until its acquisition in 2013 and Locust Walk Acquisition Corporation as its Chairman from January 2021 until the consummation of its business combination in August 2021, in addition to several other public and private companies during his career in the biotechnology industry. Mr. Atwood holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Irvine, a M.S. in Ecology from the University of California, Davis, and a M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He is well-qualified to serve as a director because of his experience in the biotechnology industry, his years of business and leadership experience and his financial sophistication and expertise.