Professional Development Courses—Instructor Biographies
Advanced Business Development (June 2-4)
Joseph S. Dillon, PhD, MBA, President & CEO, SynerPhysics, Inc.; President, Dillon Capital Strategies
Joseph S. Dillon, PhD, MBA, is President & CEO of SynerPhysics, Inc. and President of Dillon Capital Strategies, the strategy and business analytics advisory arm of SynerPhysics. Dr. Dillon is a seasoned pharmaceutical executive with over 30 years of experience. He has extensive experience in global pharmaceutical business development, planning and analysis, corporate finance, M&A, licensing, and technology valuations. Dr. Dillon has screened thousands of opportunities, valued over 400 deals and has been involved in over 45 closed transactions over the course of his career. Since forming Dillon Capital Strategies, Dr. Dillon has consulted dozens of companies and held interim senior positions, including CEO and CFO at select clients. Dr. Dillon also provides specialized, strategic and transaction focused training for biopharma professionals. Prior to this, Dr. Dillon held senior positions in pharmaceutical management consulting firms, most significantly as Senior Vice President, Head of Corporate Development Services and Valuations for The Mattson Jack Group (now KantarHealth). Other previous positions include CEO, President, and Director of The Pharmaceutical Development Center (sold to AAI), a pharmaceutical developer and manufacturer; Executive Vice President and CFO of Vail Banks Inc., a multi-bank holding company (IPO, then sold to US Bancorp); CFO and Treasurer of Oread Inc., a contract pharmaceutical developer and manufacturer; and corporate positions with predecessor companies of Sanofi. Dr. Dillon is Past-Chairperson of the Licensing Executive Society Life Sciences Sector. He is a veteran speaker at BIO, LES, WBR, EBD, and other prominent industry organization events. Dr. Dillon holds a PhD in Theoretical Physics, an MBA in International Finance and a bachelor’s degree in Finance.
Lesley Stolz, BSc, PhD, Regional Vice President, Early Innovation Partnering, Johnson & Johnson Innovation
Lesley is Regional Vice President, Early Innovation Partnering at Johnson & Johnson Innovation, California. In this role, she leads identification, incubation, due diligence, negotiation, execution and on-boarding for high-impact partnerships and collaborations in external innovation. Lesley also oversees the regions partnership portfolio and is responsible for a wide range of dealmaking solutions including research collaborations, licensing options, venture investments, new company formations, and incubation to establish value-creating partnerships with promising early-stage innovators. Lesley’s career includes over 25 years of corporate development and organizational leadership in small and large companies in the biopharma industry.
Jenny Davies, MSc, LLB, Life Sciences Partner, Intellectual Property, Gowling WLG (UK)
Jenny is a Life Sciences Partner in Gowling WLG's Intellectual Property team. She provides strategic advice to help her clients protect and exploit their R&D investment in the Life Sciences sector. Jenny's practice ranges from multi-billion dollar collaborations and licensing transactions to complex patent litigation (including cases relating to Humira, infliximab, and escitalopram).
Given the commercial and practical value of the assets Jenny protects, her approach combines precision and detail with a commercial mindset and sector-led solutions.
Her Masters's in Biochemistry, 14 years' experience working across the life sciences sector, and personal touch enable her to get to the heart of her clients' businesses and the commercial and technical challenges they face.
Jenny's practice includes the coordination of international IP enforcement spanning 20 countries, with a particular interest in the Chinese market, from her time as Interim Chief Representative Officer of Gowlings’ office in Guangzhou, China.
Luke Kempton, PhD, Partner, Intellectual Property, Gowling WLG (UK)
With a PhD in biochemistry, it's no surprise that Luke Kempton's main focus is the Life Sciences, a sector he's been active in for around 20 years.
He specializes in transactional work, advising on transactions for 'Big Pharma', universities and small biotech companies. Typical work includes drafting and negotiating licenses, product acquisitions, clinical trial agreements, and manufacturing agreements.
Luke also leads the firm's IP transactional team on a diverse range of other technologies, from hi tech to automotive. Whatever the sector, Luke ensures his clients know what IP they are buying in corporate deals, and drafts and negotiates licenses to help them achieve their strategic objectives, either as part of larger deals or standalone transactions.
Kenneth Krisko, JD, Partner, Cooley, LLP
Kenneth Krisko's practice focuses on the representation of public and private life sciences companies in a broad range of commercial and corporate finance matters. He advises clients regularly with respect to complex commercial transactions designed to maximize the value of pharmaceutical products and technology assets, including technology licenses and acquisitions, research and development collaborations, distribution and manufacturing agreements, and profit-sharing and co-promotion arrangements. Ken also regularly counsels clients on a wide array of corporate and securities matters, including spin-outs, private financings, mergers and acquisitions, public offerings and corporate governance. Ken has been a guest speaker on strategic partnering and corporate issues affecting life sciences companies at various conferences. He also is an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center where he teaches a course on emerging company legal issues and venture capital finance. Prior to attending law school, Ken worked as an engineer for the Department of the Navy.
Applying Game Theory to Negotiations & Strategic Decision-Making (June 4)
Stefanie A. Schubert, PhD, CA-AM, Professor of Economics and Department Chair of International Business,
SRH University Heidelberg
Stefanie A. Schubert is Professor of Economics at SRH University Heidelberg and Consultant for Strategic Management & Negotiations. With her partners, she fosters solutions to decision making problems and influences negotiations on the basis of game theory. Apart from Higher Education, she has experience in Alliance Management and the Biopharma Industry and is active member of the Association of Alliance Management (ASAP) and European Women on Board (EWOB). Her work experience includes the Assistant Professorship of Organization Theory and Management at WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management (Koblenz & Düsseldorf). She has published in distinguished international journals, such as the Journal of Health Economics, Applied Economics and Small Business Economics. Reach out to connect linkedin.com/in/stefanie-schubert
Harm-Jan Borgeld, PhD, MBA, CSAP, Vice President, Head Asia Pharma Partnering Asia, Roche
Harm-Jan Borgeld is leading Roche’s Pharma Partnering team in Asia. He is based in Shanghai. The Asia Partnering team is responsible for seeking and executing partnerships with exciting biotechs and pharma companies working on novel therapies in Japan, China, and South-Korea. Roche Asia Partnering is an integral component of the global Pharma Partnering unit, a team consisting of 120 people based across the globe who are looking for and maintaining lasting partnerships for Roche and Genentech’s R&D unit as well as the broader late-stage pharma division.
Prior to joining Roche, Harm-Jan led the Global Alliance Management Department at Merck Healthcare KGaA. The department was responsible for the commercial, development, and research alliances. Before heading the Global Alliance Management Department, he was leading a project team that worked on developing a novel immunotherapy to treat cancer. He started his work at Merck KGaA in the licensing and business development department. Prior to Merck, he was responsible for Business Development in Europe for the Japanese firm, Kyorin Pharmaceuticals. He received his MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management, the Netherlands / Haas Business School, US, and his PhD from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Nagoya, Japan, and graduated from the Wageningen University, the Netherlands.
BIOBriefing: Biotech for the Non-Scientist (June 4)
Kevin Curran, PhD, Scientific Advisor and Instructor, Biotech Primer
Kevin Curran, PhD provides educational training for the life science community. His focus is on the science of advanced medicines. Kevin received his PhD in Genetics from the University of Washington in Seattle and worked as a post-doctoral neuroscientist at the Salk Institute in San Diego. After his post-doc, Kevin served as a professor at the University of San Diego.
In the past decade, Kevin has worked for biotech companies committed to bringing curative cell and gene therapies to the marketplace. Clients include: Genentech, Sarepta, Bristol Meyers Squibb, J&J, and Caring Cross.
Biotechnology Entrepreneurship Boot Camp (June 4-5)
James (Jim) Jordan, MBA, President & CEO, StraTactic, Inc.
James F. (Jim) Jordan is President and CEO of StraTactic, Inc., which enables both Fortune 500 and start-up companies to develop their go-to market, commercialization, and business development strategies. He is also a Distinguished Service Professor of Health Care and
Biotechnology at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College, where he has published numerous articles and books on innovation, start-ups, intellectual property, and health systems.
Jim is an active industry expert in healthcare and the life sciences. With a life-long passion for learning, Jim’s business accomplishments, combined with his academic achievements, enable him to apply his broad field of knowledge and experience to his clients. A dynamic communicator, Jim is an active author, speaker, and consultant.
Previously, Jim served as President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG), a public-private economic and venture fund owned by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. Jim was at the PLSG from 2005 to 2020 and applied his more than 25 years of experience to work with over 493 life science startup companies, with direct investment in 93 of them.
Prior to joining the PLSG, Mr. Jordan served as Senior Vice President of a $3 billion division of McKesson Corporation and as a Vice President for Marketing at Johnson & Johnson. He has leveraged this experience in several startup ventures and is active on several Boards of Directors. Mr. Jordan’s experience also includes consulting engagements with numerous companies such as Medtronic, Frost & Sullivan, Circuit City, Philip Morris, Northrop Grumman, Schwartz Pharmaceutical and Otsuka Pharmaceutical, among others.
Thani Jambulingam, PhD, Professor, Pfizer Fellow, Arrupe Research Fellow, Department of Pharmaceutical and Health Care Marketing, St. Joseph’s University
Thani Jambulingam is Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing at St Joseph’s University, Erivan K. Haub School of Business, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Dr. Jambulingam teaches both in Executive Pharmaceutical & Healthcare MBA program and undergraduate program in Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing. He has served as the chair of the Department for 8 years and launched the first EMBA online program at SJU in 2002. He is trained at Harvard in case method for teaching. Dr Jambulingam worked in the pharmaceutical industry for several years in marketing before his PhD, at University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA. Dr. Jambulingam’s research interests are in pharmaceutical and healthcare marketing strategy. His work has been published in several refereed academic journals and trade publications in marketing and management. Dr. Jambulingam has served as the external reader for PhD dissertations at Columbia University. Dr. Jambulingam is a visiting Professor for Wharton MBA program in their global programs in India. He is also a faculty at the Biotechnology Entrepreneurship Bootcamp held every year during the BIO International Convention. He has served as a consultant and facilitated educational training sessions in strategy for senior leadership and/or brand teams within several small, mid and large pharmaceutical firms and healthcare systems in the US. Dr. Jambulingam, as a Pfizer fellow spent a year at Pfizer with the Prevnar Global Commercial Team contributing to developing healthy aging platform development, franchise positioning, vaccine business strategy for emerging markets, and pediatric expanded age expansion strategy (life cycle management). He conducted a strategy session for executive leadership within the specialty care division of Pfizer. He also serves as a mentor to several CEOs of start-up companies. Dr. Jambulingam has received several excellence in teaching and research awards at SJU. He was inducted into Rho Chi, the honor society for pharmacy and Beta Gama Sigma, the honor society for business. Dr. Jambulingam serves on the advisory board of two startup biotech/pharma companies, and one went IPO in 2021. Also in 2021, Dr. Jambulingam received the prestigious Tangelmann Award for lifetime contribution to excellence in teaching and outstanding commitment to research at SJU.
Bill Athenson, BS, MBA, CEO, Third Pole Therapeutics
Bill leads Third Pole, bringing over 25 years of experience creating profitable organizations within the pharma, life sciences, medical device, molecular diagnostics and healthcare software markets on a global basis. Most recently, Athenson served as CEO of Three Lakes Partners, conducting impact funding of pioneering drug discovery, diagnostics and medical device-based technologies and collaborations focused on accelerating therapies and improving care for patients living with Pulmonary Fibrosis.
Bill has served on the Board of the Open Source Imaging Consortium, with the goal of leveraging AI to create an imaging biomarker that accurately detects fibrotic disease progression in the lungs. He has extensive experience in building and leading high performing cross functional device development, operations, and commercial groups from product concept through commercial execution across U.S., Europe, and Asia, with American Hospital Supply, Baxter Healthcare, Allegiance Healthcare and Cardinal Health. Bill received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Science degree from Fordham University in New York.
To learn more about Third Pole Therapeutics, visit: https://www.pole3.com/pipeline/
Katherine Bowdish, PhD, President & Chief Executive Officer, PIC Therapeutics, Inc.
Dr. Bowdish joined PIC Therapeutics as its President & CEO in August 2020, bringing more than 20 years of biopharmaceutical business and scientific acumen and leadership to the company. PIC Therapeutics is a pre-clinical company focused on fundamentally changing how we treat cancer by developing a new generation of therapeutics based on the regulation of RNA translation into proteins.
Prior to PIC Therapeutics, Kathy was most recently at Sanofi for a 7-year tenure, where she launched and led Sanofi Sunrise, a venture investment and partnering vehicle to accelerate early stage pioneering science for patient benefit, and later served as Vice President and Head of R&D Strategy.
Prior to her leadership roles at Sanofi, Kathy co-founded or led several early-stage life science companies focused on biological therapies. Kathy’s positions included President & CSO, Permeon Biologics; President & CEO, Anaphore; President, Alexion Antibody Technologies and Senior Vice President, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, and Founder, CEO & CSO, Prolifaron, prior to its acquisition by Alexion.
Kathy currently serves on the PIC Therapeutics Board of Directors and the Adocia Board of Directors [Euronext Paris: ADOC]. Past Board roles include MyoKardia, Warp Drive Bio, Portal Instruments, Thermalin, Permeon Biologics, Anaphore and Prolifaron. Kathy received her Ph.D. in molecular genetics from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, in the City of New York, and her B.Sc. degree in biology from the College of William and Mary.
Benjamin Chen, PhD, Partner, Panacea Healthcare Venture
Benjamin is a scientist, entrepreneur, investor, and merchant banker. He was most recently the CEO of ImaginAb, Inc., a venture-backed company developing a cutting-edge platform to address an urgent unmet need in immuno-oncology. Prior to that, he served as the Chairman and CEO of London-based Immune Targeting Systems, Ltd., leading the immune therapy company through significant strategic growth, innovative product development, and establishing presences in France and North America. Before his return to operational roles, he spent nine years as a Managing Director at Burrill & Company, a global life sciences venture firm where he evaluated investment opportunities and assisted a global clientele in completing licensing, partnering and M&A transactions. He also played a key role in establishing the Malaysian Life Sciences Fund I, and served as a director. Earlier in his career as an R&D executive, he had experience in building talented research teams in immunology, stem cell biology, genomics, gene therapy, and molecular diagnostics in both biotechnology start-ups and multinational pharmaceutical companies, including Roche Diagnostics and Novartis.
Ben received his academic training in Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Stanford University. Questions for Dr. Chen can be sent via email: Benjamin.chen48@gmail.com
Dave Danielsen, BS, MBA, CEO, CairnSurgical, Inc.
Dave Danielsen is CEO of CairnSurgical, a medical device company spun out of Dartmouth College. He has worked for global medical products companies in several functions and at increasing levels of responsibility, including finance, sales operations, product development, strategic development, marketing, and business unit general management. His experience has been focused on developing and launching new technologies and products that help improve clinical outcomes for patients, or the workflow and effectiveness of care delivery for physicians and hospitals. He has developed and managed surgical and minimally invasive devices that brought new cancer therapies to the market, and introduced cancer genetic diagnostic tests and infectious disease diagnostic tests to the market. Dave received a BS in Civil Engineering from the US Military Academy and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
Steven M. Ferguson, MS, MBA, CLP, Special Advisor, National Institute of Health (NIH) Office of Technology Transfer
Steven M. Ferguson currently serves as Special Advisor at the NIH Office of Technology Transfer where he has worked since 1990. The biomedical technology transfer program at NIH is one of the world’s largest with a portfolio that includes about 1700 active licenses with aggregate sales greater than $6B per year that is based upon research that has also generated 34 FDA-approved drugs & vaccines.
A former chemist at the National Cancer Institute and biotech industry product manager, Mr. Ferguson holds Master's Degrees in Business Administration (
A registered Patent Agent and a Certified Licensing Professional (CLP), Mr. Ferguson is faculty and Technology Transfer Department Chair at the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES) Graduate School at NIH and the Biotechnology Industry Organization “BIO Boot Camp”. He also serves as a business reviewer or advisory board member for the US-India Science & Technology Endowment Fund, Maryland Industrial Partnerships, Maryland Innovation Initiative, Virginia Bio-Life Science Gap Fund, the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology and the DOD Congressionally-Directed Medical Research Program.
He has published extensively in the field of technology transfer and has also received the AUTM President’s Award (AUTM Band), the AUTM Volunteer Service Award, the NIH Director’s Award, the FAES Instruction Award, four “Deal of Distinction” awards and the Frank Barnes Mentoring Award from the Licensing Executive Society, six Federal Laboratory Consortium Awards, and fifteen NIH Merit Awards in recognition of his service and activities in technology transfer.
James (Jim) E. Foley, PhD, Managing Director, Aqua Partners LLC
Jim’s career in the pharmaceutical industry began in 1977 at the Squibb Institute of Medical Research (E. R. Squibb and Sons). In 1989, he joined the Department of Licensing and Business Analysis at Squibb and relocated to Tokyo to further establish the company's worldwide pharmaceutical licensing activities in Japan and relationships with Japanese R&D-based pharmaceutical companies. Jim joined SmithKline Beecham's Worldwide Business Development Team in 1991 as Vice President and Director, Business Development- Japan/Asia, and remained based in Tokyo. H was a member of the International Management Committee representing the company's worldwide licensing interests in Japan, Asia, and Australia/New Zealand. He returned to the United States in 1995, where he continued his responsibilities based in Philadelphia. In 2002, Jim returned to Bristol-Myers Squibb as Vice President, Business Development- Japan/International, focused on the identification of strategic R&D collaboration and product licensing opportunities from the Japan, Asia and Australia/New Zealand regions. After retiring from BMS in 2006 through February 2008, Jim was President and CEO of SMART Biosciences, an early-stage discovery biotechnology company focused on neurodegenerative diseases. Jim joined Aqua Partners, a corporate and business development advisory firm focused on strategy development, licensing, M&A and finance for early-stage biopharma companies worldwide, with a special expertise in cross-border relationships and deal making.
Jim serves or has served on the Board of Trustees of St. Peter's School, Philadelphia, the Boards of Directors of SFJ Pharmaceuticals, Traxion, Sosei and Company (Tokyo), the Japan-America Society of Greater Philadelphia and the New York Pharma Forum, and the Advisory Boards of the Haub School of Business (St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia), the Marshall School of Business Global BioBusiness Initiative (University of Southern California, Los Angeles), and Sc Capital I (University City Science Center, Philadelphia). Most recently, he was invited to join the Advisory Council of the Institute of Basic Biomedical Sciences at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Jim co-chaired the TransPacific Health Sciences Dialogue, an annual meeting held in Philadelphia addressing healthcare issues/solutions in the U.S., Japan and Asia for 15 years. A member of the Licensing Executives Society (LES), Jim was honored by the organization with the Frank Barnes Mentorship Award. He was designated a Certified Licensing Professional (CLP™) by LES in 2008. Jim holds a Ph.D. in Physiology from Thomas Jefferson University College of Graduate Studies and received a B.A. (Biology/ Chemistry) from Rutgers University. He was a NIH Post-Doctoral Fellow from 1975 to 1977 in the Department of Pharmacology, Tulane University School of Medicine.
Patrick Gattari, JD, Partner, McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP (“MBHB”)
Pat draws upon his 25 years of intellectual property legal experience serving clients broad in range of bioscience disciplines. He helps bioscience, pharmaceutical, clinical diagnostics and medical device companies and universities build and manage robust U.S. and international patent and technology portfolios. His clients value his comprehensive and practical approach to creating and optimizing the value of intellectual property assets.
Clients draw on his expertise to structure and negotiate their intellectual property transactions, including agreements related to licensing, research, collaboration, commercialization, supply, quality and distribution of pharma and other bioscience assets. This work includes counseling and diligence activities related to intellectual property matters associated with financing, mergers, and acquisitions.
Pat has prosecuted patent applications in over forty countries and regularly counsels clients on freedom to operate, infringement, and enforcement matters, as well as disputes over IP rights. His clients range from seed-round start-ups and universities to multinational corporations.
As an adjunct professor at the IIT-Chicago Kent School of Law, Pat has been teaching IP and Technology Licensing since 2006. He has been a volunteer mentor and advisor to over twenty start-ups throughout Chicago and the Midwest.
Jessica Gibson, BS, MBA, CEO and Co-Founder of Ariel Precision Medicine
Ms. Gibson is CEO and Co-Founder of Ariel Precision Medicine, a fully vertically integrated precision medicine company providing solutions to key stakeholders across the healthcare ecosystem by integrating AI, computational biology and clinical expertise. She led the development and commercial launch of Ariel’s AI fueled ADVANCE® Platform, transforming genetic and clinical data into new insights for early diagnosis and the development of new therapeutics for complex health conditions. She served as Chief Commercial Officer of Ariel Precision Medicine until 2016, bringing over 15 years of leadership and experience in healthcare and biotech from previous roles at Purdue, Shionogi Pharmaceuticals and Gene Wiz Inc. Ms. Gibson earned her Executive MBA from Liberty University and a BS in Emergency Medicine from the University of Pittsburgh and is Certified in Disruptive Strategy from Harvard Business School and AI in Healthcare from Stanford.
Vivian Lee, BS, Managing Director, Aqua Partners, LLC
Vivian Lee has over 30 years of experience in life science consulting, investment and portfolio management, advising biotech, pharma, diagnostics and device companies, investment firms, universities and government agencies worldwide. Co-founder, venture partner and key person of Global Biomedical Partners, managing International Biomedicine Holdings, a $400 million fund based in Basel, Switzerland. Former member of Board of Directors of Innodia, Inc. and Board observer of Syntonix Pharmaceuticals. Business analyst in the corporate venture capital office of WR Grace & Co. A breast cancer survivor since 2000, Vivian applies her personal experience as a patient and professional experience as a life science industry consultant to her cancer advocacy work. Vivian collaborates with research investigators at academic institutions across the US and abroad to provide patient perspective in shaping grant applications to, and research projects funded by, US Department of Defense (DoD), California Breast Cancer Research Program (CBCRP), Susan G. Komen, Sidney Kimmel Foundation, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)’s Conquer Cancer Foundation and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). She is an Advocate Advisor to the University of California’s Athena Breast Health Network, providing patient input for its WISDOM Study on personalized breast cancer screening, for which Athena has been awarded a $14 million Pragmatic Clinical Studies grant by PCORI. Vivian has served as a Consumer Reviewer for the DoD Breast Cancer Research Program, and as a Peer Reviewer for Komen grants on the national and local levels. She has served as an Advocate Observer on the California Breast Cancer Research Program (CBCRP) Community Impact Review Panel. Vivian serves on the Volunteer Leadership Council of the American Cancer Society’s California Chinese Unit and is a member of Bay Area Young Survivors (BAYS), mentoring newly diagnosed patients. Vivian is a member of Komen’s Advocate In Sciences program and a graduate of National Breast Cancer Coalition’s Project LEAD Institute as well as Research Advocacy Network’s Focus on Science scholar program.
Vivian earned her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from Harvard University and conducted research in the Tumor Immunology department of Dana Farber Cancer Center.
David T. Lin, PhD, MBA, President & Principal Consultant, TS Pharma Experts, LLC
Dr. Lin is President of TS Pharma Experts LLC, an independent regulatory CMC (quality) consultant with expertise in FDA requirements for the development of pharmaceutical products. He has over 26 years of pharmaceutical regulatory experience in the technical, quality, GMP and regulatory requirements for chemical (small molecule synthetics), biopharmaceutical (biotechnological and biological) and combination product development. He currently provides regulatory and technical assistance to biotech and pharmaceutical companies that are planning to conduct clinical studies and to obtain approval for the marketing of prescription products (drugs and biologics) in the United States. This includes INDs, NDAs, ANDAs and BLAs (both innovative and biosimilar). He received his PhD in organic chemistry in the area of protein chemistry in 1989 and a MBA in 2002. Dr. Lin’s regulatory product development expertise was developed at FDA while working as a CMC reviewer, CMC Team Leader, acting Deputy Division Director, and acting Division Director in the Office of New Drug Chemistry in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), and in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER).
Novalia Pishesha, PhD, CEO & Co-founder, Cerberus Therapeutics
Novalia (Nova) Pishesha completed her PhD in Biological Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2018. Her thesis focused on engineering red blood cells to treat autoimmune diseases, hyperlipidemia, and biodefense against lethal bioweapons. She was subsequently elected as a Junior Fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows, where she conducted research at Boston Children’s Hospital. There, she developed alpaca-derived single domain antibody fragment (nanobody)-based platform to create innovative therapeutics for immune modulation, including the treatment of various autoimmune diseases and applications in vaccines.
She is the co-founder and current CEO of Cerberus Therapeutics, a biotech company that utilizes this nanobody-based technology. She was named a member of the 2021 MIT Technology Review (TR) Innovators under 35 Asia Pacific and The Boston Globe’s STAT+ Wunderkinds.
Murray Robinson, PhD, CEO, Rubik Therapeutics, Inc.
Currently CEO at cell therapy startup Rubik Therapeutics, Dr. Robinson is a biotechnology executive with a distinguished career discovering and developing cancer therapeutics. Dr. Robinson’s experience spans from gene discovery to NDA filing, having developed small molecule, antibody, protein and cell therapy modalities in kidney, breast, lung and other tumor settings.
At Amgen, Inc. (1991-2003), Dr. Robinson founded and led Amgen’s cancer research effort, developing clinical stage programs comprising small molecule, antibody and protein therapeutic candidates. In 2003 Murray joined the executive team at start-up AVEO Pharmaceuticals (2003-2013), building the translational team and platform, playing key roles in business development and licensing, as well as working with the Clinical team to design and implement clinical studies for AVEO’s lead program Fotivda, a potent small molecule VEGFR inhibitor now approved for kidney cancer. In 2013 Murray leveraged his expertise in computational discovery to found and build Molquant, Inc., a translational genomics company with a unique computational platform to generate actionable insights from multi-omics data. In 2018, Dr. Robinson joined CAR-T startup Medisix as CSO, targeting blood cancers using technology from CAR pioneer Dario Campana. In 2021, Murray founded Rubik Therapeutics, combining computation and cell engineering to build a platform targeting solid tumors. Murray received his bachelor’s degree at the University of California at San Diego and his Ph.D. at the California Institute of Technology.
Stephen M. Sammut, DBA, MBA, Senior Fellow, Health Care Management and Lecturer, Entrepreneurship, Wharton School (1992 – present); Visiting Professor, Strathmore University, Nairobi (2011 – Present); Chairman, Industry Advisory Board, Alta Semper Capital, London, Cairo, Lagos, Casablanca, Nairobi
Dr. Sammut is Senior Fellow, Health Care Management and Lecturer, Entrepreneurship at the Wharton School. During his 30 years teaching at Wharton and other business schools in India, Israel, Kenya, Portugal, and Russia, he has created over a dozen courses that he has taught to over 13,000 students. These courses include Venture Capital and Entrepreneurial Management; Private Equity in Emerging Markets; Strategic Management of Intellectual Property; Comparative Health Care Services Systems (India and African venues), Health Care Entrepreneurship; and, the Role of the Private Sector in Global Health among others. His research focuses on international development, and health care and biotechnology capacity development in emerging economies, as well as adoption of precision medicine. He has published articles in Nature Biotechnology, the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology and has authored numerous book chapters on health care and biotechnology. Dr. Sammut puts his research findings into practice through the International Institute for Biotechnology Entrepreneurship, an organization which he founded and manages, that has offered over 55 intensive training programs in 14 countries to over 2500 entrepreneurs.
In his private sector work over the last 50 years, Dr. Sammut has founded, managed, or financed nearly 50 companies in life sciences and IT globally. He recently founded Pangea University for the Health Sciences in Bangalore, India, an international platform for medical, nursing and health technology education for the emerging and frontier markets. Over the last several decades he has been a partner or adviser to numerous health care and impact-oriented venture capital and private equity firms internationally and has also founded health care management MBA programs in India and throughout Africa.
He is visiting faculty and served as a founder of the Indian School of Business healthcare program and is Visiting Associate Professor at the Strathmore University Business School in Nairobi where he founded the first Healthcare Management MBA program on the African continent, as well as founding the African Institute for Healthcare Management, an organization focused on developing faculty and teaching materials to advance health services. He is currently co-developing a School of Global Public Health at Strathmore University in partnership with NYU, as well as health care management MBA programs at the Lagos Business School and the KNUST School of Business in Ghana. His board memberships have included HealthRight International, Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, BioEthics International, Pandorum Technologies, the Africa Health Fund, Alta Semper, the Russian Foundation for Cancer Research and numerous other profit and non-profit organizations in the US and the emerging markets.
Dr. Sammut was a Venture Partner at Burrill & Company, a biotechnology and health care venture fund, where he focused on the development of international venture funds, until 2008. He has consulted for the IFC/World Bank on PE/VC, technology transfer and program assessment, and investments in Fintech for economic development. Similarly, he has advised the governments of Brazil, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan among others in the development of policies to promote venture financing of their biotechnology industries.
Earlier in his career he was VP, SR One, the venture capital arm of GSK, and VP for Development and Private Equity at Teleflex Incorporated. He has also been Managing Director of Technology Transfer at the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jefferson University. He began his career as co-founder and CEO of the Philadelphia transplant organ bank the largest in the United States. He holds graduate and undergraduate degrees from Villanova University, an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and engaged in special studies in medicine and epidemiology at Hahnemann Medical college for two years. He holds a doctorate from the Fox School of Business at Temple University where his dissertation research focused on organizational aspects of precision medicine implementation. He holds certificates in precision medicine from Harvard, fintech from Oxford and global health innovation from IESE. He is a Knight of Malta through which he is engaged in hospital development in Kenya and management of Hansen’s Disease in Somalia.
Maria Shepherd, MBA, President and CEO, Medi-Vantage
Maria Shepherd launched Medi-Vantage in 2007 with the goal to help her medical device clients grow profitably by applying her strategic expertise in the marketing, commercialization, and product development of medical devices. Since then, Medi- Vantage has worked with over 250 medical device companies performing strategy research to support (or decline) acquisitions, determine pricing strategy, commercialize disruptive new medical device technologies, or assist product development teams in the design or re-engineering of medical devices.
Prior to launching Medi-Vantage, Maria developed her experience in the medical device industry as a business leader in a variety of large and start-up organizations. In her last industry role, Maria was vice president of marketing for Oridion, a start-up company acquired by Medtronic. Maria also served as director of marketing for Philips, serving the critical care patient monitoring division in new technology development and acquisitions and at Boston Scientific in senior management roles. Maria has direct industry experience as a subject matter expert in 12 medical specialties.
In addition to leading her team at Medi-Vantage, she serves on the board of MedExecWomen, with responsibility for its P&L. MedExecWomen is an organization focused on empowering female medtech executives to accelerate the positive impact of medical devices, diagnostics, drug delivery and digital healthcare around the world.
Maria holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Babson College, magna cum laude, and Bachelor of Arts in biology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Robert Wanerman, JD, Partner, Epstein Becker Green
Rob Wanerman is a health care regulatory attorney at Epstein Becker Green in Washington DC. His clients include biotech companies, medical device manufacturers, diagnostics manufacturers and suppliers, companies integrating artificial intelligence into diagnostics and treatments, Medicare and Medicaid providers (hospitals, home health, hospice), precision medicine/genomics companies, and health care startups.
Rob has extensive experience advising innovators on coverage, coding, and reimbursement for new technologies and related procedures, as well as on general compliance with health care laws. Clients also rely on Rob for advice on matters arising under the False Claims Act, clinical research rules, grant administration rules, the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark Law, HIPAA, and EMTALA. In addition, Rob represents clients in government audits, investigations, litigation, and appeals involving the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Rob is a graduate of The University of Chicago, New York Law School, and the Columbia University School of Public Health. He writes and lectures frequently on health care regulations and innovation, and is a member of the editorial advisory board of the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology. This is his 11th presentation at the Biotechnology Entrepreneurship Boot Camp.
John M. York, PharmD, MBA, Principal & CEO, Akita Biomedical; Lecturer, Rady, IGE/Jacobs (UCSD), Orfalea College of Business, Cal Poly, SLO; Adjunct Professor, Ernest Mario (Rutgers University); Doctoral Candidate, Cranfield School of Management
John M. York, PharmD, MBA brings 35 years in the biopharmaceutical business. After receiving his doctorate in pharmacy from the University of Michigan, York was the first graduate of the Rutgers Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowship program. He also completed his MBA at Kelley School of Business (Indiana University) and certificates in Life Science Business Management and Marketing through UC Berkeley. His industry career included increasing roles of responsibility at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Amgen, Allergan, and HDI. York has started three businesses: Akita Biomedical, MD Eyecare, and Ophthalmic Research and Education Consultants. His firm Akita, a 20-year-old medical communications and strategy firm, has engaged with various life science firms (from startups to large multinationals) via publication programs, advisory boards, education programs, market research, and business planning. He has taught at the Orfalea College of Business (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo), the Rady School of Management and Jacobs School of Engineering at UC, San Diego, and the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy. York has served in faculty and mentor roles at Ahmedabad University (Amrut Mody School of Management), the University of Tsukuba, the ANHS ScaleUp HealthCare Academy, the Global Entrepreneurship Accelerator program for Korea, and the National Science Foundation I-CORPS™ program at UC, San Diego, and the Arab Academy program at Cal Poly. His current teaching responsibilities include being the co-director of the capstone projects class for the translational medicine certificate program, lead instructor for the Institute for the Global Entrepreneur at UC, San Diego, and adjunct faculty at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy Rutgers Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowship program. He currently serves on the scientific board for JD Biosciences. He has authored over 43 publications (with 31 in business and entrepreneurship) personally, with over 160 (including 14 translational medicine articles) for various clients. His case study on CVS Health and the Amazon/PillPack challenge received an Emerald Publishing Literary Award for outstanding publication in 2022. A past associate editor of Cancer Control, he serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Commercial Biotechnology and Archives of Business Administration. As invited faculty, York has presented this last year at R&D Pharma, Bio International, MBC Labs, Rutgers University, and the University of Tsukuba/Kyoto Workshop. His Bio Startup Bootcamp presentation ended up as his fifth in the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology, and his Tsukuba/Kyoto workshop as two new submissions to this journal. Finally, York continues to pursue his doctorate in business administration at the Cranfield School of Management in the United Kingdom, focusing on entrepreneurship and strategy.
Kristina Zakurdaeva, MD, PhD, Founder & Chair of the Board at Foundation for Cancer Research Support Consulting Medical Director
Dr. Zakurdaeva is an accomplished biopharmaceutical professional with an international interdisciplinary background in clinical studies and scientific research, as well as business development. She holds an M.D. degree in Internal Medicine & Hematology and a Ph.D. in the Genetics of Acute Leukemia.
Upon completion of her training, Kristina worked as a Scientific Advisor for Oncology at Bristol-Myers Squibb and later headed Oncology and Immunology R&D projects in the Biomed Cluster of the Skolkovo Foundation where she successfully launched the Cancer Center of Excellence. Subsequently, as a Chief Medical Officer at Gero, a drug discovery company focused on oncology, neurology, and aging, Dr. Zakurdaeva developed and executed clinical strategy for the company’s pipeline. Further on, she served as a Chief Executive Officer of Incuron, a drug development company in oncology. Kristina’s main goal at Incuron was to accelerate the strategy and move the company’s assets through clinical trials. In addition, she has served as an external expert at several companies and funds.
Dr. Zakurdaeva is an ASCO mentor and a speaker at clinical trial workshops. Kristina has authored numerous, recent, peer-reviewed publications and co-authored a scientific discovery in genetics. Dr. Zakurdaeva continues her research activities in oncology and hematology via collaborations with academia. In 2017, Kristina created the Foundation for Cancer Research Support in Russia which aims to back research projects in oncology. Currently, she serves as the Chair of the Foundation Board.
Business Development Fundamentals (June 2-4)
Patricia Sinatra, Head of Licensing and Portfolio Strategy, Atomic AI
Patricia has over 25 years of licensing and commercial strategy experience where she has been responsible for leading business development and alliance management activities in the biopharmaceutical industry and has held both full-time executive and interim management roles for a variety of companies in the U.S. and, recently, China. She is currently Head of Licensing and Portfolio Strategy for Atomic Artificial Intelligence (Atomic AI), which is focused on developing RNA therapeutics, and is Managing Director of Vector Strategic Advisors, a licensing advisory firm. Her expertise entails both in/out licensing, product acquisitions and assessments, and portfolio strategy with a focus on novel technologies and platforms.
Patricia has been the organizer and an Instructor for the BIO Business Development Fundamentals course since 2010 and has served on several educational committees. She also mentors start-up ventures through the UCSF entrepreneurship program and California Life Science Institute’s FAST program. She received her undergraduate degree in biology from SUNY and conducted post-graduate doctoral studies in microbiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical in Dallas, Texas.
For more information, please see www.linkedin/in/patriciasinatra and www.vstratadvisors.com.
Véronique Riethuisen, MS, Managing Director, VR Strategic Advisors LLC
Véronique is a global executive with extensive experience in company building, value creation strategies, financing, BD and M&A. She has negotiated over 100 transactions throughout her career both on the buy-side and the sell-side in the field of pharmaceuticals, biosimilars, diagnostics and digital health. She helped reshape R&D pipelines and develop strategic options for large and mid-size biopharmas as well as small biotechs. Véronique is currently providing strategic advisory services to several privately-owned biotechs to help them to secure financing as well as non-dilutive strategic partnerships.
Until December 2022, Véronique was CBO & Head of Finance at Cedilla Therapeutics, a venture-backed series B biotech focused in precision oncology. At Cedilla Véronique was responsible for developing and implementing its corporate BD strategy as well as managing capital allocation, and fundraising. She helped secure $25 million in additional capital in Oct 2021 and repositioned Cedilla corporate messages in line with its new strategy.
Prior to Cedilla, Véronique was SVP Global BD and Alliance Management at IPSEN where she oversaw all global BD efforts necessary to augment Ipsen’s pipeline in oncology, rare diseases and neurosciences. She delivered with her team on the vision to create a Rare Disease franchise with the acquisition of Clementia and a licensing deal with BluePrint. While at IPSEN, Véronique also renegotiated the global contract with long-time partner Debiopharm for Decapeptyl® optimizing both partners’ revenues for the next 15 years. An achievement recognized with the 2020 Award for “Long-Established Alliance” from the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals.
Prior to IPSEN, Veronique held various BD, M&A and Alliance Management roles of increasing responsibilities at Pfizer, Takeda, Teva, BMS and Monsanto.
Véronique currently also serves on the Board of Directors of Persephone Biosciences Inc., is an Executive Coach since 2018 for the MassNextGen program mentoring first-time female CEOs; and an Executive Advisor for the Life Sciences program by Springboard Enterprises coaching women CEOs seeking funding, networking and strategic partnerships.
Véronique holds a BS and a MS in Economics from Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium.
Anjan Aralihalli, BSc, MBA, MSc, Founder, Raya Therapeutic, Inc.
Prior to starting his own company Raya Therapeutic in 2019, Anjan worked at a variety of biotechs and pharma companies and is a venture partner at CTI Life Sciences (Canada). He has 25+ years of international experience across several functions including investor relations, corporate development, venture and angel financing, in & out-licensing, sales, marketing, & clinical trial management. He continues to provide strategic advice to various biotech companies.
Based in the Princeton, New Jersey area, Anjan is also a steering committee member of a NYC-based angel investment group called Mid-Atlantic Bio Angels (MABA). He received his BSc from Concordia University, MBA from Queen's University, and MSc in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University.
Anjan is a corporate fundraiser for Wings Over Wall Street, a NYC based ALS charity, the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins University, and a member of the board of directors of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) in the United States.
Sadhana Chitale, PhD, MBA, Senior Director for Life Sciences/Technology Transfer, New York University
Dr. Sadhana Chitale is the Senior Director for Life Sciences/Technology Transfer at New York University and is in charge of overseeing commercialization of life science technologies from all of NYU’s campuses. She is responsible for overseeing NYU’s activities in technology management, marketing, licensing, and outreach to support NYU’s goals in commercializing technologies, promoting start-ups, and building partnerships.
Previously, Sadhana was a Licensing Manager at the Weill Cornell Medical School, where she also did a post-doctoral fellowship; Sadhana holds a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Mumbai and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a registered patent agent and a certified licensing professional.
Mark Cooper, JD, Principal, Faber Daeufer & Itrato PC
Mark is an accomplished and versatile corporate and transactional lawyer who has advised clients in the life sciences industry for almost 30 years. Mark represents companies in structuring, drafting and negotiating strategic transactions at all stages of the product lifecycle - from research and development through commercialization, frequently involving cutting-edge technologies, including RNAi, cell therapy, gene therapy, multi-specifics antibodies and CRISPR, as well as devices, device-drug combinations and diagnostics.
Mark knows that every deal is different, often posing challenges demanding bespoke solutions across disciplines. Mark’s business acumen, deep industry knowledge and broad transactional experience enable him to translate complex scientific and IP concepts into practical business solutions for his clients.
Mark began his career as an attorney at a top-tier international law firm in New York, working in M&A and securities law, and structured finance. He then spent over 17 years in-house at Pfizer, where he handled several high-profile business transactions; advised C-suite executives and senior leadership teams for the company’s R&D organization; and for over a decade led a team of attorneys focused on sophisticated and complex life sciences transactions. Queries for Mark can be sent to: mark.cooper@faberlawgroup.com
Patrik Frei, PhD, CEO and Founder, Venture Valuation AG
Dr. Patrik Frei is the founder and CEO of Venture Valuation AG, Switzerland, the company he started in 1999 based on a collaboration with the Novartis Venture Fund, which became his first client. Since then, he has been involved in over 800 valuations around the globe for investors as well as Biotech, Pharma, and Medtech companies. Venture Valuation runs two additional services/businesses: 1) Biotechgate, a global business development database. 2. HelloPartnering, a leading one2one partnering software, including the Biotechgate Digital Partnering event (www.digitalpartnering.com). Patrik graduated from the Business University of St. Gallen in Finance and completed his PhD thesis at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, EPFL in Lausanne. Patrik has experience as a board member of public and private companies, published numerus articles, and provides valuation workshops around the world.
Wyatt Gotbetter, MPA, Senior VP/ Worldwide Head, Parexel Access Consulting, Parexel International
Wyatt is a seasoned life sciences executive and strategy consulting leader experienced in asset and franchise growth strategy and mergers and acquisitions/ transaction advisory support. He currently leads the Market Access and Health Economics business for global CRO Parexel, where he was previously a Partner for consulting subsidiary Health Advances. Prior to this, Wyatt was with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the head of New Product Commercialization for Biogen. He has led domestic and global teams in marketing strategy, portfolio management, new product commercialization, and market access. He offers expertise in strategy development, life cycle management, valuation, diligence, and digital health, and has advised or supported the integration of >$40B in life sciences transactions. Wyatt is also an independent Board member of Diceros Therapeutics. Queries for Wyatt can be sent to: wyatt.gotbetter@parexel.com
Robert Silverman, PhD, JD, Founder & CEO, Revere Pharmaceuticals
Dr. Silverman is the founder and CEO of Revere Pharmaceuticals, an oncology-focused biotech company based in Boston. Prior to Revere, he was the General Counsel of Concert Pharmaceuticals from 2007 to 2017, helping the company become public in 2014. He currently serves as an advisor for Concert and on the advisory board for Larmor Biosystems. Previously, Dr. Silverman was Associate General Counsel at Millennium Pharmaceuticals (now Takeda) where he led the company’s chemical patent practice. Prior to Millennium, he served in various legal roles at Vertex Pharmaceuticals and FMC Corporation.
Dr. Silverman started his career as a research chemist. He has over 20 US patents. Dr. Silverman received his BA degree from Lehigh University, his PhD from the U of New Mexico and did post-doctoral training in organic chemistry at Stanford University. He received his JD from Rutgers Law School.
Kate Skrable, MBA, MS, Vice President, Strategic Alliances, Seagen
Kate Skrable is an expert in the field of alliance management, specifically complex collaborations and international partnerships. Since 2000, she has been a member of Seagen leadership as the Vice President of Strategic Alliances. Prior to her time at Seagen, she spent close to 10 years at Genentech/Roche as a leader in alliance management, asset management, and bio-analytics. She also has held a number of roles at Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Connetics Corporation and Dow Pharmaceuticals. Kate is well-versed in mergers/acquisitions, licensing (both sell and buy-side), and strategic alliances. She holds an MBA from Santa Clara University and a Master of Science from the University of Arizona.
Christiana X. Zhang, PhD, Partner, Intellectual Property and Information Technology Practice Group, McCarter & English LLP
Dr. Christiana Zhang is a partner in the Intellectual Property and Information Technology Practice group at McCarter & English, LLP. She has more than fifteen years of experience in patent prosecution and management. Her practice focuses in the area of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Prior to joining McCarter, Christiana was an in-house patent counsel at a medium-sized biotechnology company in the Boston area, where she was responsible for designing patent strategy and overseeing patent prosecution. She has extensive experience in U.S. and foreign patent preparation and prosecution, patent validity, and freedom-to-operate opinions, as well as due diligence and patent landscape analysis.
Christiana received her Ph.D. in Chemistry at the Johns Hopkins University. She then went on to post-doctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she studied the mechanism of cisplatin and other platinum-based anti-cancer drugs. After post-doctoral research, Christiana conducted independent research as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She has published a number of scientific articles in journals such as the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Product & Company Valuation (June 4)
Patrik Frei, PhD, CEO and Founder, Venture Valuation AG
Dr. Patrik Frei is founder and CEO of Venture Valuation AG, Switzerland, the company he started in 1999 based on a collaboration with the Novartis Venture Fund, which became his first client. Since then he has been involved in over 800 valuations around the globe for investors as well as Biotech, Pharma and Medtech companies. Venture Valuation runs two additional services/businesses: 1) Biotechgate, a global business development database. 2. HelloPartnering, a leading one2one partnering software including the Biotechgate Digital Partnering event (www.digitalpartnering.com). Patrik graduated from the Business University of St. Gallen in Finance and completed his Ph.D thesis at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, EPFL in Lausanne. Patrik has experience as a board member of public and private companies, published numerus articles and provides valuation workshops around the world.
Gergely Ivanyi, PhD, Senior Consultant, Venture Valuation AG
Dr. Gergely Ivanyi joined Venture Valuation in 2020 as a Business Analyst and presently works as a Senior Consultant, managing valuation projects, business research and is responsible for the financial modeling of valuation projects. During his time at Venture Valuation, he has worked with top management of Fortune 500 companies, established biotech firms as well as small innovative companies supporting their fundraising, licensing, and M&A activities. Gergely holds a Pharm.D. degree (Semmelweis University, Budapest) and an M.Sc. degree in Bioentrepreneurship (Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm).
Raising Early Capital and Retained Ownership (June 3–4)
Andy Meyerson, Managing Director, Locust Walk
Andy is a Managing Director and the Global Head of Strategic Transactions at Locust Walk, where he advises life science companies on all forms of corporate transactions, including collaborations and M&A, whether as a buyer/licensor or seller/licensee. In addition, Andy is actively involved with the Locust Walk’s Capital Markets and Strategy and Analytics groups and has extensive experience advising life science companies across all aspects of their corporate development and executing high-value transactions.
Prior to joining Locust Walk, Andy was an associate at Gunderson Dettmer, one of the nation’s leading business law firms for entrepreneurs, emerging growth companies and venture capitalists. Andy’s legal practice encompassed all areas of general corporate and securities law, with extensive experience in corporate financings, including public and private offerings of equity and debt, licensing transactions and mergers and acquisitions. Andy also represented life sciences companies in all stages of their lifecycles, from start-ups to public companies. Andy was also previously an associate in the Corporate and Financial Services group at Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
Andy holds a MBA from New York University Stern School of Business, a JD from New York University School of Law and a BSE in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering from Duke University.
Daniel Brog, Senior Vice President, Locust Walk
Daniel brings broad life sciences experience across corporate development and strategy, financing, and company building to Locust Walk. With the firm, he has worked on private financing, sell-side, buy-side, IPO advisory, and strategy consulting engagements for life sciences clients as well as company creation for Locust Walk Founded companies. Daniel brings deep experience in oncology/immunology, neurology, and regenerative medicine therapeutic areas with a special focus on advanced modalities including gene and cell therapies.
Prior to Locust Walk, Daniel was a team leader at Health Advances, a global healthcare management and strategy consulting firm, where he led projects with biopharmaceutical, medical technology, and private equity clients. His work encompassed multiple strategy engagement types across a range of companies from startups to large biopharma, with significant functional experience in portfolio and transaction strategy, asset and M&A due diligence, and asset forecasting, and valuation.
Daniel holds an MS in Biotechnology and a BS in Biology and Business from Brandeis University. He enjoys skiing, hiking, cooking, and weightlifting in his free time and co-organizes an LGBTQ beer club in Boston.
Nishanth Krishnamurthy, PhD, Senior Associate, Locust Walk
Nishanth helps life science companies across various stages of their development cycle maximize value through his broad experience across modalities, therapeutic areas, and healthcare sectors. At Locust Walk, he has worked on private financing, strategic licensing deals, M&A, as well as company creation for Locust Walk Founded companies. Nishanth brings therapeutic area expertise in oncology and neurology with a focus on advanced modalities (e.g., gene and cell therapies) and the application of AI/ML in therapeutic development in these areas.
Prior to Locust Walk, Nishanth was an Engagement Manager at Health Advances, where he advised biopharma, diagnostics, digital health and AI companies develop growth and commercial strategies. He brings extensive experience in market and revenue forecasting, market access, and transaction support. Nishanth’s doctoral dissertation in Biomedical Engineering at Tufts was on developing non-invasive techniques to develop biomarkers for monitoring breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and patients progressing post traumatic brain injury.
Rene Veloso, Vice President, Locust Walk
Rene brings over 20 years of experience in US and international life sciences M&A, strategy, and venture capital at both publicly listed and private equity-backed companies. As a venture investor at Ivy Capital Partners, he participated in $200M of financings and successfully exited 4 portfolio investments via strategic sales. Rene worked at Integra LifeSciences as Senior Director of Corporate Development where he led both buyside M&A and licensing deals. Prior to joining Locust Walk, he also held roles at Merrill Lynch Healthcare Investment Banking, Monitor Group and the Hospital for Special Surgery. Rene has extensive domain expertise in orthopedics, regenerative medicine, behavioral health, and oncology.
Rene holds a MBA from the Ross School of Business, a JD from the Pritzker School of Law, and a BA with Honors from Washington University in St. Louis. In his free time, he enjoys riding Peloton, attending original theater productions, and hosting dinners with friends, family and his labradoodle Murphy.
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