The Top 25 BioTech and Life Sciences Executives of 2025

The Healthcare Technology Report is pleased to announce The Top 25 BioTech and Life Sciences Executives of 2025. This year’s awardees represent a cross-section of leaders driving scientific, operational, and technological progress across the life sciences industry. They include founders, CEOs, and senior executives at companies developing next-generation therapeutics, building AI-enabled discovery platforms, advancing high-sensitivity diagnostics, and reimagining clinical development and manufacturing. From early-stage ventures to global biopharmaceutical companies, these individuals are shaping the tools, infrastructure, and therapies that define the future of healthcare.

Among them are executives who have led successful IPOs and acquisitions, overseen breakthrough approvals in gene and cell therapy, and helped scale technologies that accelerate drug discovery and delivery. Many have built and commercialized platforms that support not just a single treatment, but entire pipelines. Others are expanding access to care in historically underserved disease areas. Whether pioneering programmable cell therapies, launching smart manufacturing systems, or applying AI to decode disease biology, this year’s honorees stand out for their ability to translate complex science into meaningful outcomes.

This year’s awardees include Stuart Arbuckle, Former Chief Operating Officer of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, who is recognized for overseeing global commercial functions—including market access, patient support, supply chain, and manufacturing—for therapies addressing cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, and other serious conditions. Marianne De Backer, Chief Executive Officer of Vir Biotechnology, stands out for leading the company’s strategic pivot toward infectious disease and oncology, drawing on decades of experience in R&D, licensing, and global M&A at Bayer and Johnson & Johnson. Meanwhile, Dan Kagan, President and Chief Operating Officer of Scientist.com, is acknowledged for building a widely adopted research outsourcing framework that powers the company’s global marketplace, used by top pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, and the NIH.

Awardees were selected based on their strategic and operational leadership, contributions to therapeutic innovation and platform development, and ability to advance the broader field of biotechnology and life sciences. Please join us in celebrating The Top 25 BioTech and Life Sciences Executives of 2025.

1. Mike Raab
Company: Ardelyx
Title: President and Chief Executive Officer

Mike Raab is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Ardelyx, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing treatments for patients with unmet medical needs in cardiorenal and gastrointestinal diseases. The company has two approved products in the U.S.—IBSRELA® and XPHOZAH®, both based on the same molecule, tenapanor—and has partnered internationally with Kyowa Kirin in Japan, Fosun Pharma in China, and Knight Therapeutics in Canada for commercialization.

Before joining Ardelyx, Raab was a partner at New Enterprise Associates (NEA), where he focused on biotechnology and pharmaceutical investments. Earlier, he spent 15 years in commercial and operational roles in the life sciences sector, including as senior vice president and general manager of the renal division at Genzyme, where he led the launch and growth of sevelamer, which reached over $1 billion in global sales. He also contributed to the global rollout of Genzyme’s therapies for Gaucher disease and held positions at Repligen and Bristol-Myers. Raab holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from DePauw University.

2. Scott Hutton
Company: Biodesix
Title: President, Chief Executive Officer, Director

Scott Hutton is the President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of Biodesix, a diagnostics company focused on improving care for patients with lung disease. Biodesix offers diagnostic tests to support clinical decision-making, including the Nodify Lung® nodule risk assessment and IQLung® cancer treatment guidance tests. The company also provides development services to biopharmaceutical, life sciences, and research organizations for the advancement of diagnostics and therapeutics.

Since joining Biodesix, Hutton has led the company through key milestones, including its IPO on the Nasdaq in 2020 and its continued expansion in lung diagnostics. He previously served as Biodesix’s chief operating officer and brings 25 years of experience across the biotech, diagnostics, and medical device sectors. Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles at Spectranetics, where he was senior vice president and general manager, and at Medtronic, where he served as vice president and general manager of the neurosurgery business unit. Over his career, Hutton has overseen more than 50 product launches across various therapeutic areas.

Hutton earned a bachelor’s degree in health and human sciences from Purdue University and was recently appointed to the Dean’s Leadership Council for the university’s College of Health and Human Sciences. He also serves on the boards of the Coalition for 21st Century Medicine and Eximis Surgical.

3. Kinnari Patel
Company: Rocket Pharmaceuticals
Title: President, Head of R&D and Chief Operating Officer

Kinnari Patel is the President, Head of R&D, and Chief Operating Officer of Rocket Pharmaceuticals, a fully integrated, late-stage biotechnology company advancing a sustainable pipeline of investigational genetic therapies designed to correct the root cause of complex and rare disorders. Rocket’s innovative multi-platform approach allows the company to design the optimal gene therapy for each indication, creating potentially transformative options that enable people living with devastating rare diseases to experience long and full lives.

Patel leads the regulatory, clinical, CMC, quality, development, global program, and alliance management functions at Rocket. She brings over 15 years of experience in rare disease research and development, with expertise spanning regulatory science, pharmacovigilance, policy, and quality compliance. Her prior roles at AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis, Hoffmann-La Roche, and Pfizer included advancing small molecule and biologic programs from Phase I through Phase IV across multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology, immuno-oncology, virology, and metabolism. Her work has contributed to the development and approval of several notable therapies, including Opdivo, Myalept, and Valcyte.

Patel holds dual degrees in biology and pharmacy from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and completed a post-doctoral regulatory affairs fellowship through Rutgers University. She earned an executive MBA from NYU Stern with concentrations in corporate finance, leadership, and strategy, and is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. 

4. Paul Bolno
Company: Wave Life Sciences
Title: President and Chief Executive Officer

Paul Bolno is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Wave Life Sciences, a biotechnology company focused on advancing RNA-targeting therapeutics for both rare and common diseases. Wave’s platform, PRISM®, integrates multiple RNA modalities—including editing, splicing, interference, and antisense silencing—alongside chemistry innovation and human genetics insights. The company’s pipeline includes clinical programs for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Huntington’s disease, and obesity, supported by in-house manufacturing capabilities.

Bolno has led Wave since 2013 and oversaw its initial public offering in 2015. Under his leadership, the company has expanded its development platform and built a diverse portfolio of clinical and preclinical candidates. He also serves as chairman of the board at ExpressionEdits and chairs the Scientific Advisory Group for the Nucleic Acid Therapy Accelerator in the United Kingdom.

Earlier in his career, Bolno held senior business development roles at GlaxoSmithKline, including head of Asia BD and investments and global neuroscience BD. He previously served as director of research at Two River LLC, a healthcare private equity firm. Bolno earned a medical degree from MCP-Hahnemann School of Medicine and an MBA from Drexel University, where he also completed residency training in general surgery and a postdoctoral fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery.

5. David Hallal
Company: Scholar Rock
Title: CEO and Chairman of the Board

David Hallal is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Scholar Rock, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for serious diseases driven by dysregulated protein growth factor signaling. He joined the company in 2017 and has overseen its growth and clinical advancement. Scholar Rock is a leader in targeting the transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) superfamily, with a pipeline aimed at neuromuscular disease, cardiometabolic disorders, cancer, and other conditions. Named for the resemblance between protein structures and naturally occurring scholar rocks, the company is advancing treatments designed to redefine care in areas of high unmet need.

Previously, Hallal was a chief executive officer at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and before that a vice president of sales at Eyetech Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in his career he worked with The Upjohn Company as a sales representative.

6. Marianne De Backer
Company: Vir Biotechnology
Title: Chief Executive Officer

Marianne De Backer serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Director of Vir Biotechnology, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for serious infectious diseases and cancer. Vir Bio’s pipeline includes a registrational program for chronic hepatitis delta, as well as three Phase 1 masked T-cell engagers tackling a range of solid tumors. The company also maintains a preclinical portfolio across a range of infectious and oncologic diseases.

De Backer joined Vir Bio in 2023 and has since led a strategic shift to sharpen the company’s focus on infectious disease and apply its immunology expertise to oncology. She previously held senior leadership roles at Bayer AG, where she led global strategy, business development, and licensing, and oversaw more than 50 external innovation transactions. Earlier in her career, she spent nearly three decades at Johnson & Johnson in roles spanning R&D, corporate development, and global M&A operations.

She holds a PhD in biotechnology and a master’s degree in engineering biochemistry from Ghent University, a master’s degree in molecular biology from Vrije Universiteit Brussels, and an MBA from Erasmus University Rotterdam. She serves on the board of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and the Gladstone Foundation, and has held directorships at several biopharma companies, including Bluerock Therapeutics and Arrowhead Therapeutics.

7. Matt Hill
Company: Elegen
Title: Founder and CEO

Matt Hill is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Elegen, a privately held synthetic biology company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Elegen develops proprietary cell-free technologies for producing high-quality synthetic DNA on accelerated timelines. Its platform enables the construction of longer and more accurate DNA sequences for use in agriculture, chemicals, healthcare, and pharmaceutical applications.

Prior to founding Elegen, Hill was vice president of research and development at Natera, where he co-invented the company’s core technology and led the development and commercialization of five molecular diagnostic products, including its widely used noninvasive prenatal test. Earlier in his career, he held research roles at Monsanto and other organizations. Hill earned a PhD in genetics from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Cornell University.

8. Hans Brok
Company: PHC Corporation of North America
Title: President

Johannes “Hans” Brok is the President of PHC Corporation of North America, a subsidiary of PHC Holdings Corporation of Tokyo, Japan. PHCNA manufactures and markets PHCbi brand laboratory equipment used across pharmaceutical, biotechnology, hospital, clinical, and industrial sectors. Its portfolio includes CO₂ and multigas incubators, ultra-low temperature freezers, cryogenic and biomedical freezers, and high-performance refrigerators.

Earlier in his career, Brok was Vice President at Panasonic and Division President of SANYO Biomedical Division SSME GmbH. He also held research and development roles at Gist-brocades. He holds a master’s degree in psychology, business administration, and business management, along with a post-bachelor’s degree in business administration and sales marketing from NCOI University of Applied Sciences.

9. Dan Kagan
Company: Scientist.com
Title: President and COO

Dan Kagan is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Scientist.com. Scientist.com is the world’s largest marketplace for medical research, dedicated to helping pharmaceutical scientists develop life-saving medicines more quickly and cost-effectively. With a mission to make it possible to cure all human disease by 2050, the company accelerates research by connecting scientists, fostering collaboration, and enabling seamless online transactions. It powers enterprise marketplaces for 20 of the world’s top 30 pharmaceutical companies, 80 biotechnology firms, and the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), helping advance scientific discovery on a global scale.

As President and COO, Kagan helped create an innovative business and legal framework that is now used by most of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations (CROs). Prior to Scientist.com, he advised startups at eBoost Consulting, started a company called ChemoTactics, and was the CTO of the UC-San Diego 100K Entrepreneur Challenge. Kagan received a master’s degree and PhD in bioengineering from Joseph Wang’s lab at the University of California, San Diego.

10. Ken Drazan
Company: ArsenalBio
Title: Chairman, CEO, Co-Founder

Ken Drazan is the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Co-Founder of ArsenalBio. ArsenalBio is a clinical-stage programmable cell therapy company dedicated to advancing solid tumor treatments to overcome cancer. Its discovery platform combines precise CRISPR-enabled genome editing, integrated circuits with logic gates for enhanced tumor targeting, and therapeutic enhancements designed to deliver multiple pharmaceutical functions. 

Drazan first got his start in 1998 as a surgeon specializing in liver transplant at UCLA Health. From there, he went on to Stanford University School of Medicine, before eventually rising to president at GRAIL, Inc., his most recent position prior to joining ArsenalBi . Drazan graduated from the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center School of Public Health with an MD and from Yale University with a bachelor’s degree in economics.

11. Fabian Gerlinghaus
Company: Cellares
Title: Co-Founder and CEO

Fabian Gerlinghaus is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cellares. Headquartered in South San Francisco, Cellares is the first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO), developing and operating technologies to support end-to-end automation of cell therapy manufacturing. The company’s Cell Shuttle™ platform integrates all technologies required for the manufacturing process, while the Cell Q™ platform automates quality control. Cellares is deploying these systems in Smart Factories globally, including its first commercial-scale facility in Bridgewater, New Jersey.

Before founding Cellares, Gerlinghaus was chief innovation officer at Synthego Corporation. He previously worked as a research engineer at Festo. Gerlinghaus holds a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Technical University of Munich.

12. Nello Mainolfi
Company: Kymera Therapeutics
Title: Founder, President and CEO

Nello Mainolfi is the Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Kymera Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering targeted protein degradation to develop medicines for critical health conditions. Kymera advances oral small molecule degraders to address disease targets inaccessible with conventional therapeutics and has progressed multiple first-in-class programs into clinical development.

As CEO, Mainolfi leads the company’s strategic direction, pipeline development, and drug discovery platform, driving innovation and forming strategic collaborations with major biopharmaceutical companies. Under his leadership, Kymera has raised over $1 billion in capital and established a robust pipeline of clinical-stage degrader programs across multiple indications.

Before founding Kymera, Mainolfi was an entrepreneur in residence at Atlas Venture and held leadership roles at Novartis, where he led cross-functional teams to identify several novel investigational medicines, including the FDA-approved factor B inhibitor iptacopan. He earned a doctor of philosophy degree in organic and organometallic synthetic chemistry from Imperial College London and a bachelor’s degree in pharmaceutical chemistry from Queen Mary University of London.

13. Michael Henderson
Company: Apogee Therapeutics
Title: Chief Executive Officer and Board Member

Michael Henderson is the Chief Executive Officer of Apogee Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on developing transformative medicines for patients with immune and inflammatory diseases by leveraging advanced protein engineering and translational science. Apogee is working to redefine the standard of care for inflammatory and immune diseases, driven by the belief that patients living with these conditions deserve the most effective treatments available. Through its innovative scientific approach, the company is exploring therapies with the potential to deliver improved efficacy and longer-lasting results.

Henderson is a proven biotechnology industry leader with expertise in business leadership, drug development, and commercial strategy. He also serves on the Board of Spyre Therapeutics. Prior to joining Apogee, Henderson spearheaded the creation of more than 20 companies, launched 40 drug development programs, and led two teams to FDA approvals. Henderson received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and holds an MD from Stanford University. 

14. Stuart Arbuckle
Company: Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Title: Former Chief Operating Officer

Stuart Arbuckle is the Former Chief Operating Officer of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a global biotechnology company that invests in scientific innovation to create transformative medicines for people with serious diseases and conditions. The company has approved therapies for cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia and acute pain, and it continues to advance clinical and research programs in these areas. 

As Vertex’s COO, Arbuckle oversees Vertex’s global Commercial team, which is responsible for the company’s reimbursement and access, sales, marketing, patient support, market research, as well as commercial manufacturing and supply chain, and other activities that support the approved use of Vertex’s marketed medicines around the world. Arbuckle also oversees the human resources and corporate communications functions.

Arbuckle has more than 30 years of experience leading global sales and marketing efforts at biopharmaceutical companies, including at Amgen and GlaxoSmithKline plc. Arbuckle currently serves as a member of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals and ImmunoGen’s board of directors, as a national board member of the Cancer Support Community, and on the Executive Committee and Health Section Governing Board for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). He is also co-chair of the BIO Standing Committee on Access & Value. Arbuckle earned a degree in pharmacology and physiology from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom.

15. Xiao-Jun Ma
Company: Alamar Biosciences
Title: Chief Technology Officer

Xiao-Jun Ma is the Chief Technology Officer of Alamar Biosciences, a privately held life sciences company developing high-sensitivity proteomics tools for early disease detection. Alamar’s platform includes its proprietary NULISA™ chemistry and the ARGO™ System, which together support automated, high-throughput protein analysis with qPCR and NGS readouts. The NULISAseq Inflammation Panel features over 200 immune and inflammatory markers and is designed for use on the ARGO System with minimal hands-on time.

Ma is a successful R&D leader with more than 20 years of experience in the life sciences and molecular diagnostics industries. Most recently he served as vice president and chief scientific officer in the Genomics Division of Bio-Techne, a pioneer in spatial genomics since its inception as Advanced Cell Diagnostics (ACD). During his 11-year tenure at ACD, Ma led the development of a world-leading portfolio of in situ RNA and DNA detection solutions for the research and clinical diagnostics markets.

Prior to joining ACD, he was vice president of R&D/biostatistics in bioTheranostics. Prior to bioTheranostics, Ma held senior bioinformatics positions at Johnson & Johnson and Monsanto/Searle (Pfizer), where he applied his multi-disciplinary knowledge in molecular biology and bioinformatics to discover novel drug targets and biomarkers. Ma received his doctorate training in biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University and the University of Iowa and post-doctoral training in molecular genetics at the University of California, Los Angeles.

16. Richard Daly
Company: Catalyst Pharmaceuticals
Title: President and CEO

Richard Daly is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals and a member of the company’s Board of Directors. Catalyst is a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing treatments for rare diseases, with a focus on improving outcomes for underserved patient populations.

Daly brings broad leadership experience across commercial-stage and clinical-stage biotech companies, including roles as CEO, COO, and board director. He has led organizations advancing therapies in oncology, central nervous system disorders, and metabolic diseases, and has worked across public and private company settings. His background spans drug development, strategic partnerships, and operational execution. He earned a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

17. Benjamine Liu
Company: Formation Bio
Title: Co-Founder and CEO

Benjamine Liu is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Formation Bio, a pharmaceutical company focused on accelerating clinical-stage drug development through the application of proprietary technology. Formation Bio acquires drug candidates from pharmaceutical and biotech companies and applies its platform to improve trial design, execution speed, and data quality, with the goal of bringing treatments to patients more efficiently.

Liu began his career as a computational biologist, with roles at the Translational Neuroscience and Dementia Research Group and the Chen-Ploktin Lab in the Department of Neurology. He also conducted research in astrophysics at UCLA’s Department of Astronomy. His early work focused on applying machine learning and data science to neurological diseases, which informed his interest in addressing inefficiencies in clinical development.

Liu holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford, a master’s degree in computational biology from the University of Cambridge, and a bachelor’s degree from Yale University. He also serves as an advisor to Harvard Business School’s MS/MBA program in biotechnology.

18. Hetu Kamisetty
Company: Xaira Therapeutics
Title: Co-Founder and CTO

Hetu Kamisetty is the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Xaira Therapeutics, an integrated biotechnology company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Xaira applies advances in artificial intelligence to drug discovery and development, combining machine learning research, large-scale biological data generation, and therapeutic development under one platform to support the creation of new treatments.

At Xaira, Kamisetty and his team are focused on developing state-of-the-art AI models for drug discovery to address unmet clinical needs. Kamisetty has nearly two decades of experience in AI and machine learning. Prior to Xaira, he spent a decade at Meta, where he played a leading role in several AI-related initiatives, including early efforts in Generative AI. 

Before that, Kamisetty was a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. David Baker’s laboratory at the University of Washington, where he pioneered the use of self-supervised generative models of protein families in protein folding and design. Kamisetty holds a PhD in machine learning from Carnegie Mellon University and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from IIT Madras. 

19. Helen Sabzevari
Company: Precigen
Title: President and CEO

Helen Sabzevari is the President and CEO of Precigen, a Maryland-based biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation gene and cell therapies for cancer, autoimmune disorders, and infectious diseases. A member of the Precigen Board of Directors, she leads the company’s efforts to advance a differentiated pipeline through proprietary platforms focused on scalable, cost-effective therapeutics.

Sabzevari brings extensive experience in translating immunotherapy-based treatments from research to clinic. Before joining Precigen, she co-founded and served as Chief Scientific Officer of Compass Therapeutics, and earlier held senior roles at Merck KGaA/EMD Serono, including Global Head of Immunotherapy and SVP of Immuno-Oncology. There, she led the development of several preclinical and clinical programs, including the anti-PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor avelumab. Prior to her industry leadership, she directed the Molecular Immunology Group at the National Cancer Institute, where she focused on novel immunotherapies for human cancers.

She has also served on the boards of other biopharma companies, including Kinnate. Sabzevari earned her PhD in cell and molecular immunology and completed postdoctoral training at the Scripps Research Institute, with research centered on cancer and autoimmune immunotherapeutics.

20. Graciela Racaro
Company: Signant Health
Title: Chief Operating Officer

Graciela Racaro is the Chief Operating Officer of Signant Health, a leading evidence generation company supporting clinical research through software innovation and operational expertise. Signant’s platform enables high-quality data collection across traditional, virtual, and hybrid trials, offering solutions for eCOA, EDC, eConsent, RTSM, supply chain management, and data analytics.

Racaro brings more than three decades of experience in clinical development and operations. Prior to joining Signant, she served as Vice President of Clinical Development at Parexel and held regional leadership roles at Serono International SA. She began her career in experimental pharmacology at Gador. She holds a degree in immunology and microbiology from the University of Buenos Aires.

21. Jamie Coleman
Company: Kailera Therapeutics
Title: Chief Commercial Officer

Jamie Coleman is the Chief Commercial Officer of Kailera Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing clinical-stage injectable and oral therapies for obesity and related metabolic conditions. Its lead candidate, KAI-9531—developed in China as HRS9531—is a GLP-1/GIP receptor dual agonist that has shown positive results in Phase 2 trials for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Based in Waltham, Massachusetts and San Diego, California, Kailera is also advancing a pipeline of programs using multiple mechanisms and delivery approaches, including oral formulations.

As CCO, Coleman leads Kailera’s commercial strategy across its clinical-stage programs targeting obesity and related conditions. She joined the company from Eli Lilly, where she held senior roles in brand strategy, consumer marketing, and global commercialization. Most recently, she served as vice president and U.S. brand leader for Zepbound®, overseeing its launch in the obesity market.

Coleman spent 17 years at Eli Lilly, holding commercial leadership roles across therapeutic areas including obesity, diabetes, and oncology. She previously led U.S. brand strategy for Trulicity®, global strategy for Jardiance®, and global commercialization for Lartruvo®. Earlier in her career, she directed U.S. consumer marketing for oncology products and held roles at Pfizer and ZS Associates. Coleman holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BBA in marketing, international business, and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin.

22. Adam Friedman
Company: Antares Therapeutics
Title: Chief Executive Officer

Adam Friedman is the Chief Executive Officer of Antares Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing precision medicines for cancer and other serious diseases. Launched in June 2025 as a spin-off from Scorpion Therapeutics, Antares is focused on targeting previously undruggable proteins, with several programs advancing through preclinical development. Its lead candidate is expected to enter clinical trials in 2026. The company also retains rights to milestone payments and royalties from two clinical-stage mutant EGFR inhibitors for non-small cell lung cancer, now being developed by Pierre Fabre Laboratories.

Before joining Antares Therapeutics, Friedman was president and chief executive officer at Scorpion Therapeutics and before that president and member of the board of directors at Raze Therapeutics, Inc. Earlier in his career he worked with Boston Medical Center as a resident. Friedman graduated from Harvard Medical School with an MD and a PhD in genetics, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with an MD in health sciences and technology, and from Princeton University with a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology.

23. Nick Goeden
Company: Capsida Biotherapeutics
Title: Co-Founder and CTO

Nick Goeden co-founded Capsida Biotherapeutics and serves as Chief Technology Officer. Capsida Biotherapeutics Inc. is an industry-leading gene therapy platform company creating a new class of targeted, non-invasive gene therapies for patients with debilitating and life-threatening genetic disorders. Capsida’s technology allows for the targeted penetration of cells and organs, while limiting collateral impact on non-targeted cells and organs, especially the liver. This technology allows for the delivery of the gene therapy in a non-invasive way through intravenous administration.

Prior to co-founding Capsida, Goeden led a team developing the novel adeno-associated virus (AAV) engineering technology underlying Capsida’s biologically driven gene therapy platform. During his tenure as a postdoctoral fellow at Caltech, he developed high-throughput methods for screening combinatorial libraries to explore the AAV fitness landscape and engineered novel AAVs with high efficiency and specificity for the rodent and primate brain. During his PhD, Goeden developed a novel organ bioreactor to study real-time metabolomics in diseased states, exploring the relationship between gene expression and the pathophysiology of neurodevelopmental disorders. Goeden holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Caltech and a PhD in neuroscience from the University of Southern California.

24. Stuart Schreiber
Company: Arena BioWorks
Title: Co-Founder

Stuart Schreiber is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Arena BioWorks, a biomedical research institute based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Arena integrates basic biological research and company creation under one roof, with a mission to uncover mechanisms of human disease and translate them into therapeutics. Through a privately funded model, Arena advances platform technologies in drug discovery, gene and cell therapy, and biomanufacturing, enabling seamless transition from scientific insight to clinical development.

A pioneer in chemical biology, Schreiber is also the Morris Loeb Research Professor at Harvard University and a co-founder of the Broad Institute. Over his career, he has founded or co-founded 14 biotechnology companies, contributing to the development of 16 first-in-human approved drugs or clinical candidates. His research has produced foundational advances in areas such as protein degradation, epigenetics, nutrient signaling, and cancer cell vulnerabilities. Notable discoveries include molecular glues, PROTACs, and the co-discovery of mTOR.

Schreiber is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine, and a recipient of the Wolf Prize in Chemistry and the Arthur C. Cope Award. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Virginia and a PhD in chemistry from Harvard University.

25. Ken Song
Company: Candid Therapeutics
Title: President and CEO, Chairman of the Board

Ken Song is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Candid Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing T-cell engager (TCE) therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Founded in 2024 and based in San Diego, the company is advancing two lead B-cell depleting TCE candidates and is exploring a range of B-cell targets and depletion strategies across multiple disease areas.

Song has over 25 years of combined entrepreneurship, investing, clinical medicine, and research experience. Prior to Candid, he served as president and CEO of RayzeBio, guiding the company from its launch in 2020 through its IPO in 2023 and subsequent $4.1 billion acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb in 2024. He has also held leadership roles as CEO or chairman at Ariosa Diagnostics, Omniome, Metacrine, and Ablaze Pharmaceuticals, with outcomes that collectively delivered over $5.5 billion in realized value. He currently serves as executive chairman of Averto Medical and as a board director at both Perceptive Capital Solutions Corp and ElevAAte, a nonprofit supporting East Asian American leadership in biopharma. Earlier in his career, he worked in venture capital at Venrock and as a consultant at McKinsey & Company.

Song earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from MIT and an MD from UCSF. He completed his residency in internal medicine at UCSF, fellowship training in gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of Washington, and was a research fellow at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center.