Richard W. Pascoe is currently the CEO of Acertis Pharmaceuticals, a private equity backed specialty pharmaceutical company.  He was previously the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Zevra Therapeutics, a rare disease company, from November of 2021to June of 2023. He was Chief Executive Officer of Histogen Inc. from January of 2019 to November of 2021. Mr. Pascoe was the Chief Executive Officer of Apricus Biosciences, Inc. from March 2013 until January 2019. Prior to Apricus, Mr. Pascoe was with Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where he served as the Chief Executive Officer.

Prior to joining Somaxon in 2008, Mr. Pascoe held a series of senior management roles to include Chief Operating Officer at ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Senior Vice President at King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Prior to King, Mr. Pascoe held commercial roles at Medco Research, Inc., COR Therapeutics, Inc., and B. Braun Interventional.

Mr. Pascoe is currently a Senior Advisor at Pappas Capital.  He is also member of the board of directors of Prizm Therapeutics, an ultra-rare disease company. He previously served on the board of directors of Seelos Therapeutics and Cohera Medical.  He is the past Chairman of the board of directors of Biocom, California’s leading advocate for the life sciences industry, and a current member of the board of directors of the Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund which serves the families of our nation’s fallen service members.

Mr. Pascoe served on active duty as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army’s where he earned several decorations including the Bronze Star Medal. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point where he received a B.S. degree in Leadership. Mr. Pascoe was appointed as the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for Southern California in 2016, where he served as a liaison between the Secretary of the Army and the local community until November 2021.