Fundraising Fox
/People
Sign in

John McKearn

Investor

Senior Advisor at RiverVest Venture Partners · Board director at Bonum Therapeutics · Board director at Wugen · Board director at Good Therapeutics

St. Louis, Missouri

Writes $100K – $10M checks · typically $1M

Find your path to John

133 people in our graph share verified history with John — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Mark G. CurrieunlockedJohn: together at Searle (1990–1999)
×2John: together at Searle
×9John: together at RiverVest Venture Partners

About

John McKearn is a Ph.D. immunologist who has spent his career translating scientific research into therapeutics across academia, large pharma, venture-backed biotechs, and early-stage company formation. He spent 16 years at Searle/Pharmacia (now Pfizer), rising to Global Head of Research and helping bring more than a dozen pharmaceuticals to market, before becoming president and CEO of San Diego biotech Kalypsys. He joined RiverVest in 2008 as a managing director, developing the firm's biopharma strategy, and transitioned to senior advisor in 2026. His work centers on assessing biological mechanisms, development risk, and clinical feasibility of early-stage drug candidates, and he has served on the boards of numerous portfolio companies including Allakos, Good Therapeutics, and ZS Pharma.

Contact· published on John's own website

Beyond investing

Education
Holds a Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Chicago. Holds a B.S. in Biology from Northern Illinois University.

From John's own website — common ground for a warm intro.

Board director at Bonum Therapeutics

Intro paths

→

In turn, John can intro founders to Bonum Therapeutics's investors below.

Bonum Therapeutics's investors · 6

3x5 PartnersPortlandCodon CapitalSan Francisco · since 2022Digitalis VenturesNew York · $100K – $10M checks · since 2022RiverVest Venture PartnersSt. Louis · $500K – $3M checks · since 2026Roche Venture FundBasel · $648K – $3.2M checks · since 2022Vivo CapitalPalo Alto · $10M – $50M checks

Co-founders at Bonum Therapeutics

JMJohn Mulligan
John MulliganExecutive Officer, Director, Promoter

Board director at Wugen

Intro paths

→

In turn, John can intro founders to Wugen's investors below.

Wugen's investors · 8

AbingworthLondon · $15M – $30M checks · since 2020Aisling CapitalNew York · since 2025Alpha Wave GlobalMiamiBioGenerator VenturesSt. Louis · $50K – $250K checksFidelity InvestmentsBoston · since 2025Intermediate Capital GroupLondon · $5M – $50M checks · since 2025LYZZ CapitalShanghai · since 2025RiverVest Venture PartnersSt. Louis · $500K – $3M checks · since 2021

Board director at Good Therapeutics

Intro paths

→

In turn, John can intro founders to Good Therapeutics's investors below.

Good Therapeutics's investors · 4

Codon CapitalSan Francisco · since 2019Digitalis VenturesNew York · $100K – $10M checks · since 2021RiverVest Venture PartnersSt. Louis · $500K – $3M checks · since 2021Roche Venture FundBasel · $648K – $3.2M checks · since 2021

Co-founders at Good Therapeutics

JMJohn Mulligan
John MulliganExecutive Officer, Director, Promoter

Experience

  1. RiverVest Venture PartnersBiotechnology Consultantcurrent2026 — present
  2. RiverVest Venture PartnersManaging Director2008 — 2025
  3. IDM PharmaBoard Member2000 — 2009
  4. KalypsysCSO, President & CEO2003 — 2006
  5. PharmaciaSr VP of Discovery Research2000 — 2003
  6. SearleResearch1987 — 2000

Skills & more

Biotechnology46Life Sciences25Pharmaceuticals3Drug Discovery47Immunology18Drug Development39Lifesciences43Medicinal Chemistry3Clinical Development15Genomics9Oncology14Technology Transfer14
+3 moreBiopharmaceuticalsPatentsPharmaceutical Industry

From John's professional profile.

Deals · 2

Bonum TherapeuticsBoard seat

via RiverVest Venture Partners · filed Apr 2026 · $32.3M raise

OncoResponseBoard seat

via RiverVest Venture Partners · filed May 2025

Attribution from SEC filings, press coverage, and firm rosters.

Other disclosed investments

Led

Otonomy

Board seats

Allakos IncCodeable TherapeuticsEpimmuneGood TherapeuticsIDM PharmaKeel PharmaceuticalsLumena PharmaceuticalsMyonid TherapeuticsOutriggerOxalurx IncWugenWugenZS Pharma

Investor

Allakos IncAllotera TherapeuticsArch Oncology IncGood TherapeuticsLumena PharmaceuticalsZS Pharma

Sources: curated public sources · the investor's own website · SEC Form D filings.

Colleagues at RiverVest Venture Partners

Alessandro Sette
Scientific Advisor; Professor and Member, La Jolla Institute for Immunology at RiverVest Venture Partners
Andrew Kleiboeker
Associate at RiverVest Venture Partners
Corrin Short
Executive Assistant at RiverVest Venture Partners
Courtney Harris
Controller at RiverVest Venture Partners
Gary DeCrescenzo
Scientific Advisor; Independent Consultant, Pharmaceutical Research and Development at RiverVest Venture Partners
Isaac Zike
Managing Director at RiverVest Venture Partners
Jared Rutter
Scientific Advisor; Professor of Biochemistry and HHMI Investigator, University of Utah at RiverVest Venture Partners
Jay W. Schmelter
Co-founder of RiverVest Venture Partners, funding and founding life science companies

Network1

Farah Champsi
Venture Advisor at Agent Capital

Investors connected to John in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.

Frequently asked questions

Who is John McKearn?
John McKearn is a Ph.D. immunologist who has spent his career translating scientific research into therapeutics across academia, large pharma, venture-backed biotechs, and early-stage company formation. He spent 16 years at Searle/Pharmacia (now Pfizer), rising to Global Head of Research and helping bring more than a dozen pharmaceuticals to market, before becoming president and CEO of San Diego biotech Kalypsys. He joined RiverVest in 2008 as a managing director, developing the firm's biopharma strategy, and transitioned to senior advisor in 2026. His work centers on assessing biological mechanisms, development risk, and clinical feasibility of early-stage drug candidates, and he has served on the boards of numerous portfolio companies including Allakos, Good Therapeutics, and ZS Pharma.
Where does John McKearn work?
John McKearn is Senior Advisor at RiverVest Venture Partners and Board director at Bonum Therapeutics and Board director at Wugen and Board director at Good Therapeutics.
What check size does John McKearn write?
John McKearn typically writes checks of $100K – $10M.
What boards does John McKearn sit on?
John McKearn holds tracked board seats at Allakos Inc, Bonum Therapeutics, Bonum Therapeutics, Codeable Therapeutics, Epimmune, Good Therapeutics, IDM Pharma, Keel Pharmaceuticals, Lumena Pharmaceuticals, Myonid Therapeutics.
What companies has John McKearn invested in?
Investments tracked here include Otonomy, Allakos Inc, Allotera Therapeutics, Arch Oncology Inc, Bonum Therapeutics, Good Therapeutics, Lumena Pharmaceuticals, OncoResponse, ZS Pharma.
Where did John McKearn go to school?
John McKearn studied at University of Chicago (PhD, Immunology); Northern Illinois University (Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Biology).
Does John McKearn lead rounds?
Yes — John McKearn has led 1 tracked investment.

Same school

Shared employers