Srinivas Akkaraju

About Srinivas Akkaraju

Srinivas Akkaraju, M.D., Ph.D., age 57, has served as an independent director of vTv Therapeutics since February 2024. He is the founder and Managing General Partner at Samsara BioCapital, with prior roles at Sofinnova Ventures (General Partner), New Leaf Venture Partners (Managing Director), Panorama Capital (Managing Director), J.P. Morgan Partners (joined 2001; Partner 2005), and Genentech (business/corporate development) and holds an M.D. and Ph.D. in immunology from Stanford and undergraduate degrees in biochemistry and computer science from Rice University .

Past Roles

External Roles

Board Governance

• Independence: The Board determined Dr. Akkaraju is independent under Nasdaq rules and he meets Audit Committee independence requirements .
• Committee assignments: Audit Committee member; Audit Committee comprised of Chair Dan Spiegelman and members Drs. Akkaraju and Phillips; Audit met 4 times in 2024 .
• Board attendance: In 2024 the Board met 7 times; all directors attended at least 94% of aggregate Board and committee meetings for which they were eligible .
• Shareholder support (2025 election): Votes for/withheld (broker non-votes) for Akkaraju: 2,069,879 For; 116,667 Withheld; 219,013 broker non-votes .
• Governance constraints (investor agreements): Lead investors from the February 27, 2024 Securities Purchase Agreement have aggregate rights to nominate three directors (Akkaraju, Cheong, Phillips) and the Board implemented voting procedures requiring approval by at least five directors for certain major actions for three years post-closing .

Fixed Compensation (Director)

Performance Compensation (Director)

Director equity is time-vested (no performance metrics).

Policy highlights:

• Upon appointment: option to purchase 6,000 shares, vesting monthly over 3 years (or equivalent RS/RSUs/cash) .
• Upon election/re-election: option to purchase 3,000 shares, generally vesting on one-year anniversary; prorated if appointed within prior 12 months .
• All equity vests subject to continued service; expenses reimbursed .
• No director performance metrics disclosed; equity awards are service-based .

Other Directorships & Interlocks

• Current public boards: Scholar Rock and Mineralys (biotech). Prior boards: Intercept and Syros .
• Investor nomination rights: As a “lead investor” designee (Securities Purchase Agreement), Akkaraju was nominated alongside Cheong and Phillips; MacAndrews (M&F) designates two directors (Nelson, Al Marzooqi) while lead investors designate three, influencing board composition .
• Related-party oversight: Audit Committee reviews and approves related-party transactions under the company’s Related Person Transaction Policy .

Expertise & Qualifications

Equity Ownership

Additional alignment/controls:

• Securities Trading Policy prohibits short sales and trading in public options/derivatives; requires pre-clearance for directors and blackout period compliance .
• No disclosure of pledged shares for Akkaraju; not indicated in proxy .

Insider Trades and Section 16 Compliance

Governance Assessment

Key findings impacting investor confidence:

• Independence and audit oversight: Akkaraju is an independent director and Audit Committee member, supporting robust financial oversight; the Audit Committee is fully independent and includes a financial expert (Spiegelman) .
• Attendance and engagement: Board met 7 times in 2024; all directors attended ≥94% of aggregate Board/committee meetings, indicating high engagement .
• Shareholder support: 2025 re-election received strong support (2.07M For vs. 116.7k Withheld), broadly consistent with peers in small-cap biotech .
• Ownership alignment: His direct holdings are modest (<0.1%); however, his role as Managing Member of Samsara GP is material, as Samsara is a 9.99% holder with additional pre-funded warrants subject to a beneficial ownership cap—this indicates aligned incentives with a significant shareholder but also potential conflicts to monitor .
• Potential conflicts/related-party exposure: Lead investors (including funds associated with Akkaraju and Cheong) have board nomination rights and protective voting provisions requiring at least five directors for major actions for three years post-Feb-2024 financing. This can both stabilize governance and concentrate influence; the company mitigates related-party risks via Audit Committee review and a formal Related Person Transaction Policy .
• Compensation structure: Director pay skews toward time-vested equity and standard cash retainers; no performance metrics are used for director equity, which is typical for governance independence but provides less explicit pay-for-performance linkage. 2024 director comp for Akkaraju totaled $141,518 (cash $38,138; option/stock value $103,380) .
• Red flags:
  • Section 16(a) tardiness: Two late Form 4 filings for Akkaraju in Dec-2024 and Apr-2025 (administrative errors) warrant attention to reporting controls, though the company disclosed the lapses .
  • Investor influence: Board composition and supermajority-like approvals (five directors) tied to financing agreements could raise minority shareholder concerns if not balanced by independent directors’ oversight .

Overall, Akkaraju brings deep biotech investing and scientific credentials with audit oversight experience; his affiliation with a significant shareholder aligns strategic focus and funding support but should be monitored for potential conflicts around financing, strategic transactions, or related-party considerations. The presence of independent committees and formal related-party policies partially mitigates these risks .