Board of Directors

Peter Kiener

Chair

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.

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.

Niall O'Donnell

Director

Niall O’Donnell, Ph.D., is a managing director of RiverVest Venture Partners, a leading venture capital firm building life science companies to address significant unmet needs of patients and deliver consistently strong results to investors.

Since joining RiverVest in 2006 as a Kauffman Fellow, Niall has been instrumental in developing and shaping the firm’s successful biopharmaceutical strategy. He has founded or co-founded five biopharmaceutical companies, directed clinical strategy, co-founded key patents, and helped to raise over a billion dollars in venture capital for early-stage companies addressing significant unmet medical needs. Niall is currently chairman of the board of Avalyn Pharma and a board member of Engrail Therapeutics, Sparrow Pharmaceuticals, and Glycomine.

As a portfolio company founder, Niall served as interim CEO of Reneo Pharmaceuticals and interim chief medical officer at Lumena Pharmaceuticals prior to its 2014 acquisition by Shire (now part of Takeda America Holdings). In 2018, Niall helped spin the Lumena assets out of Takeda and drove the creation of Mirum Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MIRM), which has become an established leader in the development and commercialization of life-changing rare disease medicines.

Niall also helped found and develop the clinical strategy for RiverVest portfolio companies Curzion Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Horizon Therapeutics in 2020) and Excaliard Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Pfizer in 2011). He was a member of the boards of directors of Amplyx Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Pfizer in 2021) and Spruce Biosciences and the scientific advisory board of Ziarco (acquired by Novartis in 2016).

Prior to joining RiverVest, Niall was an immunologist at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development in San Diego, where he was part of a successful cross-disciplinary team of chemists and biologists that drove small-molecule anti-inflammatory drugs into clinical trials.

Niall earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Dundee, Scotland, and an M.A. in Biochemistry from Pembroke College, Oxford. He completed his postdoctoral work at the University of California, San Diego, and later earned an MBA from the University of California, San Diego – Rady School of Management.

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

Bosun Hau is a General Partner, Co-Founder, and Head of Tybourne Strategic Opportunities Fund (TSOF), a family of dedicated pools of capital for private global growth equity investments managed by Tybourne Capital Management in Hong Kong. 

With over 20 years of global investment experience spanning the US, EU, Asia and MENA in both public and private markets, Bosun was previously a Partner at Sailing Capital, a Hong Kong and Shanghai based global private equity firm, and MVM Partners LLP, a Boston and London based healthcare investment firm. Bosun also has been a management consultant with McKinsey & Company in Southeast Asia, and an early stage biotechnology investor with S.R. One Ltd, GlaxoSmithKline’s corporate venture group. Earlier in his career, Bosun was an equity research analyst covering the medical device and pharmaceutical industries for Prudential Securities, Inc. and JP Morgan Securities, Inc. Bosun started his career in sales and marketing at Eli Lilly & Company.

He has served as a Board Director for >25 publicly listed and private companies in the Healthcare, TMT, Fintech, and Consumer sectors. Bosun’s involvement extends to roles as a Board Advisor to John’s Hopkins Technology Ventures and as a Board Overseer of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a prominent teaching hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School. 

Bosun holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, a Master’s Degree in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University, and triple bachelor’s degrees from the University of Arizona.

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.

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