Synopsis:

Mark Litton, Ph.D., is the President and CEO of Athira Pharma, a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing small molecules to restore neuronal health and slow neurodegeneration for those suffering from Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, and more. Mark talks about being a CEO for the first time and what he’s learned. He discusses how the biotech ecosystem and its ability to raise capital for companies has changed over the last couple of years and how that’s informing how he’s operating at Athira. He talks about fundraising strategy and how he communicates with team members who perhaps haven’t been involved in fundraising cycles and value creation at biotech before. Finally, he shares how he thinks about business development and his approach to partnerships.

Biography:

Mark is President and CEO of Athira Pharma, a position he has held since October 2021. Previously, he served as Athira’s COO since July 2019. Prior to joining Athira, Mark served as the President and COO of Alpine Immune Sciences, Inc. Prior to that he spent more than 14 years at Alder Biopharmaceutical Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, which was acquired by Lundbeck A/S. As co-founder and CBO, Mark helped build the business and oversaw finance, investor relations, deal making, business development, alliance management, human resources, and overall corporate strategy. While at Alder, Mark was directly responsible for raising over ~$1B in equity capital and led negotiations for numerous corporate alliances between biotech and pharmaceutical companies.

Mark has a PhD in immunology from Stockholm University, an MBA from Santa Clara University and a BA in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from UC Santa Cruz.

Synopsis:

Ram Aiyar, Ph.D., MBA, is the President & CEO of Korro Bio. Korro Bio harnesses the body’s natural RNA editing machinery to make precise, single-base RNA edits to modulate protein function, addressing the medical needs of patients. Having founded several companies, Ram talks about some of the non-obvious differences in terms of being senior leadership and founder of a company versus being CEO. He discusses his approach to fundraising and how it’s changed over time. He talks about the field of RNA editing, the evolution of that space, and where he sees it heading long term. Finally, he discusses where the company is from a pipeline building perspective and how he thinks about indication selection.

Biography:

Ram Aiyar, Ph.D., MBA, is the chief executive officer and president of Korro Bio and sits on the board of directors.

Ram brings nearly two decades of diverse experience in biotech and pharma, working across all stages of development from launch to clinical to commercialization. He has a long history of launching and building biotech startups, and previously held a wide range of roles in finance, strategy, product development and venture capital. Most recently, he was a co-founder, chief financial officer and chief business officer at Corvidia Therapeutics, and eventually led its acquisition by Novo Nordisk for $2.1B. Prior to Corvidia, he was an entrepreneur-in-residence at BioHealth Innovation (BHI).

Ram started his scientific career in research at Janssen Pharmaceuticals’ immunology group. He has also held leadership roles in corporate development, finance and strategy at FlowMetric Inc., Sofinnova Partners, and J.P. Morgan Chase.

Ram received his M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from Drexel University and an MBA in finance and business strategy from INSEAD (France/Singapore).

Synopsis:

Seemay Chou, Ph.D., is the Co-Founder and CEO of Arcadia Science, a research and development company leveraging the biology of emerging research organisms. Seemay sits down with Alok to discuss her move from academic science into an entrepreneurial role and her advice for others looking to make a similar transition. She talks about Arcadia’s unique model and how they’re pushing the boundaries of open science and innovating at every step in the research, development, and commercialization process. She shares how the company leverages AI and machine learning, the culture they’re building at Arcadia and why it’s such an exciting time to work there.

Biography:

Seemay is the Co-Founder and CEO of Arcadia Science. Arcadia is a science company that applies an evolutionary lens to accelerate purposeful discovery of nature’s greatest innovations. Seemay joined Arcadia from UCSF where she was an Assistant Professor in Biochemistry and Biophysics. She received a PhD in Molecular Cell Biology from UC Berkeley.

Synopsis:

Michelle Werner is the CEO of Alltrna and a CEO-Partner at Flagship Pioneering. Alltrna is the world’s first tRNA platform company to decipher tRNA biology and pioneer tRNA therapeutics to treat thousands of diseases. Flagship Pioneering conceives, creates, resources, and develops first-in-category bioplatform companies to transform human health and sustainability. Michelle discusses her 20+ year career in drug development and the importance of bringing new innovations to people who need them. She talks about her motivations behind going to business school in London and why she felt she needed to supplement her science and math education with the fundamentals of business in order to transition her career to commercial from R&D. She discusses tRNA as a treatment modality and its potential to be a platform technology. Finally, she shares where the company is from a development perspective and fundraising announcements.

Biography:

Michelle C. Werner is a seasoned pharmaceutical executive with more than 20 years in the industry spanning both commercial and research & development (R&D) responsibilities. Most recently, Michelle served as Worldwide Franchise Head, Solid Tumors at Novartis Oncology, where she was responsible for delivering the disease area strategies across multiple tumors and led business development efforts resulting in a doubling of long-term portfolio value for the franchise.

Previous to Novartis, Michelle was a senior leader at AstraZeneca, where she held multiple positions during her five-year tenure. As Global Franchise Head in Hematology, Michelle was critical in launching multiple indications worldwide for CALQUENCE® and was responsible for developing the mid- and long-term strategy for AstraZeneca in hematology. Prior to this role, Michelle served as Head of US Oncology, where she led the business through dramatic growth in both team and revenue through eight-plus product launches as well as Country President for the Nordics and Baltics, where she also served as an elected Board Member to Sweden’s pharmaceutical industry association.

Previous to AstraZeneca, Michelle was with Bristol Myers Squibb for 10 years in various positions of increasing responsibility including roles in sales, marketing, and market access in the US and UK, and above market in Europe (based in France) and global almost exclusively in oncology. Michelle started her professional career in R&D, working hands-on with patients at the Oncology Clinical Trials Unit at Harvard Medical School before moving into industry in clinical operations.

Outside of her corporate responsibilities, Michelle is a wife and mother to three children and is a member of the rare disease community. She is currently serving a Board appointment for the non-profit organization Rare Disease Renegades, a purpose that fuels her passions both personally and professionally.

Michelle holds a B.A. in biology & anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the London Business School (UK). She also completed an Executive Education program for Women on Boards at Harvard Business School in 2018.

Synopsis:

Bernard Coulie is the President and CEO of Pliant Therapeutics, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel therapeutics that seek to halt progression of fibrotic diseases — ultimately preserving organ function. Bernard discusses the arc of his career and shares his perspective on the European biotech ecosystem compared to the United States, and how that’s changed over the last 10 years. He talks about the importance of having access to lots of capital in the early days of starting a company. He discusses fibrotic disease, the high medical need to treat it, and the indications they are pursuing. Finally, he discusses the challenges of focusing on multiple therapeutic areas and the advice he would give to others.

Biography:

Pliant CEO Bernard Coulie, M.D., Ph.D., brings to the company more than 15 years of senior leadership experience and drug development expertise. He joined Pliant from ActoGeniX (acquired by Intrexon Corporation in February 2015), where he was CEO, Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder. In these positions, Dr. Coulie played an integral role in advancing the company’s unique technology platform for oral delivery of biologics from early discovery stage through Phase 2 studies. Prior to ActoGeniX, Dr. Coulie held various positions with increasing responsibilities in drug discovery and clinical development at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development Europe. At Johnson & Johnson, he served as Therapeutic Area Leader Internal Medicine, managing a portfolio of products in GI, metabolic diseases and inflammation/immunology, ranging from early drug discovery through Phase 2 studies. Earlier in his career, Dr. Coulie was a Staff Physician in the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN), Assistant Professor in Medicine at Mayo Medical School and a Mayo Foundation scholar. Dr. Coulie serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of SQZ Biotechnologies, a publicly-traded cell therapy biotechnology company, as Independent Chairman of Dualyx, a privately-held biotechnology company based in Belgium and as an Independent Director at Calypso Biotech, a privately-held biotechnology company based in the Netherlands.

Dr. Coulie holds an M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Leuven, Belgium. He is a board-certified internist and holds an MBA from the Vlerick Management School, Leuven, Belgium.

Synopsis:

Mahesh Karande is the President and CEO of Omega Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of a new class of programmable epigenomic mRNA medicines for unprecedented control of gene regulation and cellular function. Through its OMEGA platform, the company engineers mRNA therapeutics called Omega Epigenomic Controllers™ (OECs), with the goal of treating or curing a broad range of diseases. Mahesh discusses his early years in engineering and consulting before moving into the pharmaceutical industry. He talks about the transition from big pharma to biotech and the lessons he learned from his days in pharma. He discusses being a CEO and how he approaches the role differently the second time around. He talks about company culture and leadership at Omega and how he motivates team members in such a fast paced environment. Finally, he dives into programmable approaches to biology, what it really means, and the intersection of biology and technology.

Biography:

Mahesh Karande joined Omega Therapeutics as President and Chief Executive Officer and brings deep experience in running biopharma businesses across discovery, preclinical development, clinical development, commercialization and product life cycle management stages. His breadth of therapeutic experience spans cardiovascular and metabolic, oncology, neurosciences, ophthalmology, antibiotics, pain, respiratory and rare and genetic diseases, as well as drug and device combinations.

Mr. Karande has been involved with more than 10 product launches in the U.S. and across global markets. He has strong leadership, operational and business-building experiences combined with a global work history spanning the U.S., Europe, Asia and Africa.

Prior to taking the helm at Omega, Mr. Karande was President and Chief Executive Officer of Macrolide Pharmaceuticals, a company he took from discovery into early development. Earlier, Mr. Karande spent several years at Novartis in senior leadership roles: Vice President and Head of U.S. Oncology for solid tumors, President of Novartis Africa and President of Novartis Egypt. He worked for McKinsey & Company prior to joining the bio-pharmaceutical industry. Currently, Mr. Karande serves on the Board of Directors of KSQ Therapeutics and Ashvattha Therapeutics.

Mr. Karande has an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology where he completed his M.S. in Engineering, and the University of Bombay where he completed undergraduate studies in engineering.

Synopsis:

Joseph Payne is the Founder, President and CEO of Arcturus Therapeutics, a global late-stage clinical messenger RNA medicines and vaccines company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapeutics for rare diseases and vaccines. Joseph discusses the founding story behind Arcturus and the impetus behind starting his own company. He talks about fundraising and what he would do differently now, and shares his perspective on the dynamic between entrepreneurs and VCs. He shares his thoughts on the evolution of messenger RNA over the last decade, the challenges the modality has faced and how we've overcome some of those challenges. Finally, he dives into the work Arcturus is pursuing now, where they are from a development perspective, and recent partnerships.

Biography:

Joseph E. Payne, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Arcturus Therapeutics. He serves on Arcturus’s Board since March 2013. He brings with him an exceptional track record of ushering novel therapeutics to the clinic including targeted RNA medicines utilizing lipid-mediated delivery technologies. Joseph’s background includes over 20 years of successful drug discovery experience at Merck Research Labs, DuPont Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Kalypsys, and Nitto as evidenced by over 40 publications and patents, and several investigational new drug (IND) clinical candidates. His academic training includes a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry, magna cum laude from Brigham Young University, a Master of Science in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from the University of Calgary and Executive Training Certification from MIT Sloan School of Management.

Synopsis:

Robert Blum and Fady Malik are the President & CEO and EVP, Research and Development, respectively, of Cytokinetics, ​​a late-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to developing potential medicines that impact the mechanics of muscle and may improve the lives of people living with debilitating diseases. Robert and Fady discuss how they have developed a company culture that embraces some of the learnings that come along with failure and the advice they would provide other leaders. They talk about how the current capital market environment shapes the way the company is operating. They also discuss the cardiovascular market and overall landscape, where Cytokinetics is from a development perspective, and some upcoming milestones. Finally, they each share a piece of advice they wish they could provide to their younger selves knowing what they now know.

Biography:

Robert Blum has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Cytokinetics and a member of our Board of Directors since 2007. Previously, he served as Cytokinetics’ President and held other senior-level positions at the Company overseeing research and development, finance, corporate development, legal, commercial operations, and business development at various times since participating in the launch of Company operations in 1998.

Prior to Cytokinetics, Robert held senior positions in business development and marketing at COR Therapeutics from 1991 to 1998. He also performed roles of increasing responsibility in sales, marketing, and other pharmaceutical business functions at Marion Laboratories and Syntex Corporation beginning in 1981.

Robert previously served on the faculty at the Center for BioEntrepreneurship at University of California, San Francisco, where he taught a corporate finance course to graduate students. He co-chaired the BIO Business Development Committee and is a frequent lecturer on matters of business development and finance in the biopharmaceutical industry. Mr. Blum received B.A. degrees in Human Biology and Economics from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Fady Malik has led Research and Development since 2014 and been with Cytokinetics since its inception in 1998 when he joined its founders to participate in the launch of the company. Early on, Fady recognized the potential therapeutic utility of modulating the sarcomere of cardiac and skeletal muscle and led discovery and development efforts giving rise to Cytokinetics’ current portfolio of early- to late-stage development programs targeting muscle contractility for the treatment of cardiovascular and neuromuscular diseases.

Fady is an internationally recognized cardiovascular physician-scientist, an inventor on more than 20 issued patents, and has authored or co-authored over 60 publications appearing in prominent journals such as Science, Nature Medicine, the Lancet, and the New England Journal of Medicine. He currently holds an appointment in the Cardiology Division of the University of California, San Francisco, as a Clinical Professor of Medicine and until 2019 was an Attending Interventional Cardiologist at the San Francisco Veterans Administration and UCSF Medical Centers.

Fady serves on the Board of Directors for Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT). Fady received a B.S. in bioengineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and a M.D./Ph.D. from the University of California at San Francisco where he also completed an internal medicine residency and fellowship in cardiology.

Synopsis:

James McArthur is the CEO of PepGen, a biotech company creating a pipeline of disease-modifying therapeutics with the potential to safely and effectively target the root cause of serious genetic diseases, with an initial focus on neuromuscular diseases. James talks about his experience on the venture capital side and how that has influenced his management style and overall approach to company building. He shares his advice to others who may be interested in pursuing a leadership role at their company. He discusses drug development in the rare disease space and what motivates him and his team. Finally, he talks about some of the challenges involved in running a rare disease company.

Biography:

James McArthur currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of PepGen and serves on the company’s Board of Directors. James has 25+ years of industry experience, has cofounded 5 biotechnology companies, 3 of which were acquired, and has served as a Director of two companies through successful initial public offerings. He was founding CEO of Imara, a public company developing therapies for sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia, co-founder and President of R&D of Cydan, a rare disease accelerator, and founding CSO of Synovex/Adheron, a rheumatology therapy company acquired by Roche. Prior to these companies, James held senior research leadership roles in several pioneering gene and stem cell therapy companies. He was a Venture Partner at RA Capital and an entrepreneur in residence at HealthCare Ventures. James was previously a post-doctoral fellow at MIT and UC Berkeley working with Drs. David Raulet and Nobel Laureate James Allison, before which he received his PhD in molecular oncology and BSc in biochemistry from McGill University in Montreal.

Synopsis:

Paul Lammers, M.D., is the CEO of Triumvira Immunologics, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing unique, targeted autologous and allogeneic T cell therapeutics that co-opt the natural biology of T cells to treat a broad range of patients with cancer. A Dutch-trained biologist and physician, Paul talks about starting his career in pharma and some of the commonalities between operating in pharma and biotech. He talks about being a CEO and how his approach to running a company has evolved over the years. He discusses the uncertainty in the market and how that’s informing how the company is approaching development activities. He dives into the fundamental challenges and opportunities within cell therapy and the work Triumvira is doing to treat cancer.

Biography:

Paul Lammers, MD, MSc, joined Triumvira Immunologics as President and CEO in January 2018. Before Triumvira, Dr. Lammers served as President & CEO at Mirna Therapeutics, for which company he raised $160 million through venture capital and Federal and State government funding, as well as a public listing on NASDAQ. Previously, he served as Chief Medical Officer and Head of US Product Development for EMD Serono.

During his early industry tenure, Dr. Lammers also held various executive/senior management positions in clinical development, medical and regulatory affairs, at different pharmaceutical companies, as well as at small public and privately held biotech companies. Dr. Lammers serves as Lead Independent Director for publicly-traded Salarius Pharmaceuticals, and as Director for a private biotech company, Immunomet.