Capnia names chairman, CEO

Palo Alto, CA - August 6, 2007 - Capnia Inc. named Ernest Mario chairman and chief executive officer Monday.

Palo Alto-based Capnia said Mario joins the company from Liberty Corner, N.J.-based Reliant Pharmaceuticals Inc., where he served in the same roles, and has 40 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry.

He is an adjunct professor of pharmacy at the University of Rhode Island and a partner with Pappas Ventures, a North Carolina-based life sciences venture capital firm.

Capnia is a privately-held drug development company focused on treatments for migraine, rhinitis and other conditions. The company is backed by Vivo Ventures and Asset Management Partners, both of Palo Alto; TeknoInvest and Alliance Venture, both of Oslo, Norway; and San Francisco-based Sagamore Bioventures. 

At Vivo Ventures, we leverage our internal expertise in evaluating data to generate outsized returns for company founders and employees as well as for our investors. Vivo prides itself on its working relationships with its founders who have often continued to work with the firm in other startup ventures. The majority of Vivo's investments are in U.S. based companies with therapeutic products in clinical development. MORE