Mr. Hale has had a significant career in the biotechnology industry, serving in management, board of directors and advisory positions for both commercial and non-profit organizations. He has been instrumental in the development and growth of the San Diego biotech industry over the past twenty-five years.

Mr. Hale is currently chairman and CEO of Hale BioPharma Ventures LLC, a private company focused on the start-up and development of biopharmaceutical companies. Mr. Hale was president and CEO of CancerVax Corporation, a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel biological products for the treatment of cancer, from October 2000 until its merger with Micromet, Inc. in 2006 and now serves as chairman. Prior to CancerVax he was president and CEO of Women First HealthCare.

Mr. Hale has previously led some of San Diego’s premiere biotech companies, including as president and CEO of Hybritech, Inc. before it was acquired by Eli Lilly & Co.; and as chairman, president and CEO of Gensia, Inc., through its merger with SICOR; and as a co-founder and chairman of Viagene, Inc. prior to its acquisition by Chiron Corporation.

Mr. Hale also was a founder and currently serves as chairman of the public company, Somaxon Pharmaceuticals and serves as chairman of the public companies, Santarus, Inc., and Metabasis Therapeutics and of the private company, SkinMedica, Inc.

In addition to serving on the board of directors of some of the biotech industry’s most innovative companies, Mr. Hale is also active in the not-for-profit world. He is a co-founder and former chairman of BIOCOM/San Diego, and is a co-founder and currently chairman of the executive committee of CONNECT. Additionally, Mr. Hale serves on the board of the California Healthcare Institute (CHI), the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC), Rady Children’s Hospital of San Diego, the Biotechnology Industry Organization and the Burnham Institute.