Board of Directors

Mark Alles

Chair

Mark Alles is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Celgene Corporation. During his 15-year tenure at Celgene, Mr. Alles executed on several multi-billion-dollar company and asset acquisitions, helped to build a broad portfolio of globally marketed medicines and high-potential cancer therapeutics, and led the expansion of Celgene from a US-based organization of 500 employees to a global company with more than 8,800 employees serving patients across the world. Mr. Alles’ leadership at Celgene ultimately led to the company’s acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb for $74 billion in 2019. Prior to joining Celgene in 2004, Mr. Alles served as Vice President of the U.S. Oncology business unit at Aventis Pharmaceuticals, where he held additional senior management roles. He began his career in industry at Bayer and Centocor prior to its acquisition by Johnson & Johnson.
 
Mr. Alles has served on the Boards of several biopharmaceutical companies and industry groups, including at Turning Point Therapeutics (acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb for $4.1B in 2022) where he served as Chair, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), and Gilda’s Club NYC (non-profit helping families of people living with cancer). He is also a former member of the Trustees for the Healthcare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ).
 
Currently, he is a member of the Board of Directors of multiple public and private biotechnology companies, including BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Syros Pharmaceuticals, PIKSci Inc, and TORL BioTherapeutics, and serves on the Board of Trustees for Misericordia University. 
 
Mark holds a B.S. from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania and served as a Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Kumar Srinivasan

President & Chief Executive Officer

Kumar Srinivasan, Ph.D., MBA,  in his most recent  role served as executive vice president and chief business officer at Turning Point Therapeutics with responsibility for corporate strategy and business development, including collaborations and alliances where he successfully lead the sale of the company to Bristol Myers Squibb for $ 4.1 billion.

Dr. Srinivasan has over 25 years of experience in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, most recently as vice president and global head of business development for the BioPharmaceutical business unit of AstraZeneca.

During his 9+-year tenure at AstraZeneca, Dr. Srinivasan was responsible for all in- and out-licensing, business development and alliance management activities within several therapeutic areas. During the pandemic Dr. Srinivasan lead the licensing and global supply agreements for the AstraZeneca’s vaccine and mAb cocktails and contributed significantly to the success of both these programs which made a tremendous impact on global health.

Earlier in his career Dr. Srinivasan held senior business development roles at Wyeth; Vivoryon (formerly known as Probiodrug), a publicly traded biotech based in Germany; and Torrey Pines Therapeutics. 

He has a Ph.D from Case Western University in chemistry, did his postdoctoral work at Caltech and has an MBA with a concentration in finance and strategy from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. 

Natalie Mount

Director

Dr. Mount was the Chief Executive Officer of Adaptate Biotherapeutics from inception until its recent acquisition by Takeda. Adaptate specialized in the discovery and development of novel therapeutic antibodies to modulate gamma delta (γδ) T cell mediated immune responses. Prior to Adaptate, Dr. Mount was Chief Scientific Officer of GammaDelta Therapeutics (acquired by Takeda), where she was a founding member of the management team and led the company’s research and development operation to build its allogeneic cell therapy platform. Prior to GammaDelta, she was the Chief Clinical Officer at the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult where she was responsible for translational, regulatory, and clinical development activities across a broad portfolio of cell-based therapies. Dr. Mount began her career at Pfizer, where she spent 16 years leading development activities across various therapeutic areas, including Pfizer’s late pre-clinical and clinical portfolio of cell therapies. Dr. Mount has previously served on the Boards of several cell and gene therapy companies and is currently an Independent Director at Rinri Therapeutics.

She holds a first-class degree in natural sciences from the University of Cambridge and a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from University College, London.

John McKearn

Director

Dr. McKearn has three decades of drug development and investing experience in life sciences. John joined RiverVest in 2008 focusing on early-stage biotechnology start-ups. Prior to this, Dr. McKearn was President and CEO of Kalypsys. Before Kalypsys, he held positions of increasing responsibility, which included Global Head of Research at Searle/Pharmacia (1987-2003). Prior to 1987, Dr. McKearn was a senior scientist at DuPont, a member of the Basel Institute for Immunology and a research associate at Washington University in St Louis. Currently, Dr. McKearn serves on the boards of Allakos (NASDAQ: ALLK), OncoResponse, Good Therapeutics, Arch Oncology, Adarza BioSystems and OxaluRx. He previously served on the boards of Lumena Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Shire), Otonomy (NASDAQ: OTIC) and ZS Pharma (NASDAQ: ZSPH; acquired by AstraZeneca). 

Dr. McKearn holds a Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Biology from the Northern Illinois University. He has co-authored more than 70 peer-reviewed scientific papers and holds more than 50 patents and numerous patent applications, primarily in the areas of cancer treatment and inflammatory disease.

Drew Dennison

Director

Drew Dennison is Managing Director at Lightchain Capital, LLC, the family office for Scottrade Founder and former Chief Executive Officer Rodger Riney. At Lightchain, Mr. Dennison is responsible for venture capital investments in the life science and technology sectors. He also assists the Riney Foundations with their philanthropic endeavors. Previously, Mr. Dennison served as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Scottrade Financial Services, Inc. He led the Company’s operations, technology, operations, finance, and strategic planning functions and worked at the Company for over a decade. Mr. Dennison led the sale of Scottrade to TD Ameritrade, then co-led the integration project, successfully combining the two companies. In addition, Mr. Dennison serves as Chairman of the Board of CareVet Holdings and as a Board Member of FinTech Studios.

Drew Dennison received his BBA in accounting from University of Iowa – Henry B. Tippie College of Business where he graduated Cum Laude. He also is a graduate of the Wharton School’s Securities Industries Institute Executive Education Program.

Kevin Li

Director

Kevin Li is a Managing Partner at LYZZ Capital, a healthcare-focused venture capital/PE fund investing globally in leading biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Kevin has been an active biotech investor in the US and China for more than 15 years. Prior to co-founding LYZZ, he was a partner at DT Capital and HBM BioMed China. Earlier in his career, Kevin was involved in the building and management of several successful biotech companies, including GenoSpectra, Fountain Medical Development, and Amazin Biotech. Dr. Li received his Ph.D. in Biology from Indiana University and was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Dr. Li has been an investor and board member of a number of successful biomedical companies in China and the US, such as Nuokang Biopharma, Cathay Industrial Biotech, Xili Pharma, Wuhan Hiteck Biopharma, Chipscreen, Alpha Biopharma, Neurelis, Qpex, iGenomX, and Jumpcode, among others.

Bali Muralidhar

Director

Dr. Muralidhar is a Managing Partner at Abingworth, a leading transatlantic life sciences investment firm. He has 15 years professional experience in healthcare across a range of functions including venture investing, R&D, clinical practice and teaching. He works with the Abingworth team in the London, Boston and Menlo Park offices to source and evaluate new investment opportunities and support existing venture investments through to exit. He represents Abingworth on the boards of Exicure Inc. (XCUR), NuCana (NCNA), Spruce Biosciences (SPRB), Reneo Pharmaceuticals (RPHM), Glycomine and Gynesonics.

Prior to joining Abingworth, Bali was a senior partner at MVM Partners LLP in London where he completed investments in and served on the boards of several companies, both public and private. Two of these were Wilson Therapeutics and Valneva, both also Abingworth portfolio companies. In 2018, Bali was named among Financial News’ Rising Stars in Private Equity, which celebrated 25 men and women under the age of 40 standing out in the European private equity industry. Before MVM, Bali was a member of Bain Capital’s healthcare deal team.

Dr. Muralidhar obtained a degree in clinical medicine from the University of Oxford and practiced general surgery at the John Radcliffe and Addenbrooke’s Hospitals in Oxford and Cambridge, respectively. He has a PhD in translational cancer research from the MRC Cancer Cell Unit, University of Cambridge, and has published over a dozen peer reviewed papers. He was also a Bye-Fellow in Medical Sciences at Downing College, Cambridge where he taught pathology, surgery and medicine.

Bosun Hau

Director

Mr. Hau currently is a managing director and co-head of private investments at Tybourne Capital Management, a Hong Kong based global public and private equity investment management firm. Previously, Mr. Hau served as a managing director and partner at Sailing Capital, a Hong Kong and Shanghai based global private equity firm. Mr. Hau also has served as a partner of MVM Partners LLP, a Boston and London based healthcare investment firm, as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company in Southeast Asia, and as an early stage biotechnology investor with S.R. One Ltd, GlaxoSmithKline’s corporate venture group. Earlier in his career, Mr. Hau served as an equity research analyst covering the medical device and pharmaceutical industries for Prudential Securities, Inc. and JP Morgan Securities, Inc. Mr. Hau started his career in sales and marketing at Eli Lilly & Company.

Mr. Hau currently is a member of the boards of directors of Exicure, Inc., and of several private life sciences, fintech, consumer, and TMT companies. Mr. Hau has served as a director or observer to more than 20 publicly listed and private companies. Mr. Hau also is a Board Overseer of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, a major teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, and a Leadership Fellow of The Johns Hopkins University.

Mr. Hau received a B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology, a B.S.H.S. in Physiological Sciences and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Arizona, an M.Sc. in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University and an M.B.A in Finance and Health Management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Peter Kiener

Director

Dr. Kiener is currently a Venture Partner at ICG Life Sciences. Peter is an industry veteran with extensive experience in both biologics and immunotherapy, and across the entire value chain of biopharmaceutical research and development. Peter was the former Chief Scientific Officer at Sucampo, until the company’s acquisition by Mallinckrodt in February 2018 . Prior to joining Sucampo, he served as CSO of Ambrx Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of antibody-drug conjugates. Prior to Ambrx, Dr. Kiener was President and Co-founder of Zyngenia Inc., an early-stage biopharmaceutical company. He also held executive leadership roles at MedImmune LLC, the global biologics arm of AstraZeneca, including Executive Vice President and Global Head of Biologics Research and Development, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Research, and Vice President of Research. He also worked on biologics for Bristol-Myers Squibb prior to his work at MedImmune. Peter has led or contributed to the development and approval of multiple drugs including antibodies, fusion proteins and vaccines. Dr. Kiener is a member of the Board of Directors of Cue Biopharma and Pieris. 

Dr. Kiener earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Lancaster, UK and a doctorate of philosophy in biochemistry from the University of Oxford. He has published more than 120 papers in peer-reviewed journals and is an inventor on more than 40 patents and patent applications.

Sunny Reddy

Observer

Sunny joined Aisling in 2019 and serves as a Principal. Prior to Aisling, Sunny was at Leerink Partners, a healthcare-specialist investment bank, focusing on biopharma/therapeutics. Prior to SVB Leerink, Sunny was a Quantitative Analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch specializing in credit derivative products. He was also a research scientist working in oncology drug development prior to his careers in finance and investing.

Sunny currently serves as a board observer and Aisling representative for Garuda Therapeutics, a stealth CDMO company, Antios Therapeutics, and Wugen. His prior board service includes Monte Rosa Therapeutics (observer) and he has led multiple investments across Aisling’s life sciences portfolio.

Sunny received his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology with high honors and was a HOPE and Zell Miller Scholar recipient.

 

Court Turner

Observer

Court Turner is cofounder and Executive Chair of Onchilles and a partner of LYZZ Capital. Mr. Turner has more than 20 years of experience in founding, operating, fundraising for, and exiting life science companies.

Before joining Onchilles, Court Turner was a venture partner at Avalon Ventures. During his time at Avalon, he served as the founding CEO and director of both Synthorx, Inc. (acquired by Sanofi) and Cellular Approaches, Inc. Prior to those roles, he was the founding chairman and CEO of RQx Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Genentech). He also served as a member of the executive management teams at both Kalypsys, Inc. and Aurora Biosciences (acquired by Vertex Pharmaceuticals).

Court Turner received his J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law and a B.S. in psychology from San Diego State University.

Dave Johnson

Observer

Dave Johnson is currently a General Partner at Velosity Capital and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and founder of Solve Therapeutics an oncology focused biologics company. In his most recent previous executive role, Dave was CEO of VelosBio. Velos, an oncology- focused clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focused on novel antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) and bispecific antibodies (BiAbs) targeting the oncofetal antigen ROR1 utilizing technology licensed from Tom Kipps, MD PhD and UC San Diego. Dave founded Velos in 2017, built a world-class leadership team, and raised approximately $200M in capital from a top-tier syndicate of life science investors to advance the company’s programs. Under his leadership the company filed an IND for its lead ROR1-directed ADC VLS-101 in Q4 2018, started enrolling patients in the Phase 1 first-in-human clinical trial in Q1 2019 and in December 2020 the company was acquired by Merck for $2.75B.

Prior to VelosBio, Dave was CEO at Acerta Pharma, where he led the company through a critical phase of growth from approximately 40 to 150+ employees and from a signal-seeking first-in-human trial for acalabrutinib to more than 20 active clinical studies. Dave’s tenure included the regulatory negotiation and launch of three registration-directed trials, including two global Phase 3 trials for acalabrutinib, and culminated in the execution of a strategic transaction with AstraZeneca valued at up to $7B. Dave’s early experience spans from pre-clinical development to all phases of clinical development through product launch. He has extensive experience in fundraising and deal making and has made significant contributions to drugs ultimately garnering NDA/sNDA approval including acalabrutinib, idelalisib, romidepsin, and bortezomib. Dave is a co-author on numerous publications and holds a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University.