At COO (Boardroom Media) we track over 1,000,000 startups and over 5,000,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United States based COO’ operating in the Biopharma space. If you think a COO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on [email protected].
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Don Calabria
COO of Endonovo Therapeutics
Don Calabria Chief Operating Officer brings over seventeen years of leadership and experience in national business operations to emerging growth companies, mergers and acquisitions, finance, and business development. Mr. Calabria has a deep level of experience in analyzing companies, determining the operational efficiencies, and conducting operational due diligence on targeted acquisitions. Previously, Mr. Calabria served as President of Gemini Consulting Group, Inc., a boutique consulting firm which specialized in providing consulting services to companies in multiple marker segments with a core focus directed towards capital structuring and investments, brand strategy and marketing, M&A activities, and operational efficiencies. Prior to this, Mr. Calabria was the VP of Operations for TrinTel Communications; the largest privately held Infrastructure Company in the wireless telecommunications industry. As part of the Company’s initial Senior Management team, which grew the company to a $350+ million valuation in under three years, Mr. Calabria specialized in managing joint venture agreements and strategic alliances as well as directing all subsidiary operations including regional sales, marketing, and business development practices. Prior to this, as the Director of Operations for Wireless Solutions, LLC, he helped facilitate the sale of the company to TrinTel Communications. Mr. Calabria holds an MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University and a BS in Management from Arizona State University.
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About Endonovo Therapeutics: Endonovo Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing off-the-shelf regenerative products.
Kristin Brief
Co-Founder and COO of Virex Health
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About Virex Health: Virex is a biotechnology firm that enables widespread testing in life, homes, workplaces, schools, and public spaces globally.
Kyle Giffin
Co-founder, Chief Operating Officer of LatchBio
Kyle Giffin is a Co-founder at Latch Bio.
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About LatchBio: Latch Bio builds and disseminates free to use data infrastructure for the the biocomputing revolution.
George Hillman
COO, VP & Co-Founder of Viracta Therapeutics
George Hillman is the Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer, and Vice President of Viracta Therapeutics.
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About Viracta Therapeutics: Viracta Therapeutics is a precision oncology company focused on new treatment of virus-associated malignancies.
Badreddin Edris
COO of SpringWorks Therapeutics
Badreddin Edris, Ph.D., is a co-founder of Edgewise Therapeutics and continues to serve as a board observer and strategic advisor after having been the company’s founding Chief Operating Officer.
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About Edgewise Therapeutics, SpringWorks Therapeutics: SpringWorks Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing medicines for patients with severe rare diseases and cancer.
Nico Anthony
Chief Operating Officer of ADM Labs
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About ADM Labs: ADM Labs’ specific focus is on extraction, manufacturing/processing and wholesale of extract-based products from industrial hemp & CBD.
Alexander Casdin
Chief Operating Officer & Chief Financial Officer of Epirium
Alexander Casdin is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Epirium Bio. He has broad financial and operational expertise, with more than 20 years of experience as a healthcare executive and investor. Prior to joining Epirium, Mr. Casdin was founder, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and portfolio manager of Reneo Capital Management LP, a successful healthcare investment fund. He previously served as CFO of Sophiris Bio, Inc. and Vice President of Finance for Amylin Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Casdin was a founder and senior advisor at Casdin Advisors, LLC; CEO and portfolio manager at Cooper Hill Partners, LLC, a healthcare investment fund; and portfolio manager of Pequot Capital Management’s healthcare fund. Earlier, he worked at the Dreyfus Corporation as a senior managing analyst covering pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical devices. Mr. Casdin has been on the board of directors for multiple life science companies including Erasca, Inc., Dusa Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Ignyta, Inc. Mr. Casdin received an M.B.A from Columbia Business School and a B.A. in political science from Brown University.
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About Epirium, Epirium: Epirium Bio is a clinical stage bio pharmaceutical company.
Jay Scherer
Chief Operating Officer of Conversant Bio
Jay has 17 years of software development and management experience in the defense, telecommunications, and biotechnology industries. From 2000 through 2009, he worked at ADTRAN where he most recently served as Engineering Manager in support of network management solutions for the SMB market. Prior to joining ADTRAN Jay worked for Davidson Enterprises, Nichols Research, and ADDI supporting defense, healthcare and corporate software development efforts. Jay holds a B.S. in Information Systems from Northwestern State and an MBA from Florida Tech.
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About Conversant Bio, Discovery Life Sciences, Discovery Life Sciences: Conversant Bio serves as a trusted partner to many of the top biotech and pharma groups.
Stelios Tzannis
Founder and COO of Aeovian Pharmaceuticals
Stelios Tzannis is the Founder and COO of Aeovian Pharmaceuticals.
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About Aeovian Pharmaceuticals, Delos Pharmaceuticals: Aeovian Pharmaceuticals aims to discover, develop, and commercialize therapeutics for the treatment of rare and age-related diseases.
Suma Krishnan
Founder & Chief Operating Officer of Krystal Biotech
Suma Krishnan is the Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Krystal Biotech. She earned a degree of Master of Science in Organic Chemistry from Villanova University.
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About Krystal Biotech, Light Matters Foundation: Krystal Biotech provide significant clinical benefit for patients suffering from rare debilitating disorders..
Taneli Jouhikainen
COO & President of Savara Pharmaceuticals
Dr. Taneli Jouhikainen is a co-founder of Savara, has served as Chief Operating Officer since October 2009. From October 2006 until September 2009, he served at Akela Pharma Inc., a public clinical stage specialty pharmaceutical company focused on orphan drugs and inhalation products, first as Head of Corporate Development, and subsequently as interim CEO until the company’s merger with Nventa Biopharmaceuticals. From January 2004 to September 2006 he served as President of LAB Pharma Oy, and Head of the Drug Development Business Unit of its parent company, at LAB International, Inc., a public clinical stage specialty pharmaceutical company. From January 2001 to January 2004 he served at Focus Inhalation Oy, a clinical stage specialty pharmaceutical company focusing on inhaled products, first as Vice President of Business Development & Strategy, and subsequently as President & CEO, until the merger of Focus Inhalation with LAB International, Inc. From May 1994 to December 2000, he served at Schering AG, a global pharmaceutical company, first as Research Manager, and subsequently as Head of Clinical Development. Dr. Jouhikainen holds an MD degree, and a Ph.D. degree in hematology and immunology from the University of Helsinki, and an MBA from the Helsinki School of Economics.
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About Savara Pharmaceuticals: Savara Pharmaceuticals develops an inhaled antibiotic for MRSA infection in cystic fibrosis.
Andrew Cittadine
Chief Operating Officer of Monopar
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About MATTER, Monopar, Northwestern University – Kellogg School of Management: Monopar Therapeutics is an emerging biopharmaceutical company focused on developing orphan oncology compounds.
Brendan Delaney
Chief Operating Officer of Aadi Bioscience
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About Aadi Bioscience, Constellation Pharmaceuticals: Aadi Bioscience develops a potentially mTOR inhibitor for targeted patient populations in oncology and cardiovascular diseases.
Marc S. Hanover
President and Chief Operating Officer of GTx
Marc Hanover is the Founder & Operating Partner at Union Main.
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About GTx, Union Main: At GTx, They focus on the development of small molecules that selectively modulate the effects of certain hormones produced by the body.
Babar Ghias
Chief Operating Officer of Castle Creek Biosciences
Babar Ghias is the Chief Operating Officer at Castle Creek Biosciences.
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About Castle Creek Biosciences: Castle Creek Biosciences is focused on developing commercializing novel, personalized gene therapies for rare skin disorders.
Keita Funakawa
COO of Nanome
As a scientifically minded artist, Keita grew up in Tokyo then moved to Honolulu where he attended middle and high school. As the lead programmer for his high school robotics team, he led his team to two time (2009,2010) state championships at the East Oahu VEX robotics competitions. As an award winning filmmaker, his film Foliage: Roots of the Tree Barrel won the 2014 HIFF (Hawaii International Film Festival) student showcase and was named San Diego Surf Film Festival’s Emerging Filmmaker. During my undergraduate career, after reading about Mt.Gox in late 2013, I found a new passion for cryptocurrencies and blockchain which made me switch my degree from Computer Science to Management Science (Quantitative Economics). Being the Assistant Curator for the UC San Diego Film Festival, I was exposed to VR since 2014. When I first experienced the google cardboard and the HTC vive, I decided that I could no longer be a painter when photography just got invented, sort of speak. This led me to learn as much as I could about VR. At the Festival I met Steve, who told me about his idea for Nanome (formerly NanoVR) in April 2015. Nanome is a software company that democratizes Science to accelerate innovation using Virtual Reality and Blockchain Technologies.
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About Nanome: Nanome is a virtual reality software company that offers a collaborative XR software platform for molecular design.
Kristy Campbell
Chief Operating Officer of Rev1 Ventures
Kristy Campbell has dedicated her 20+ year career to working with – and within – tech startups to help them build their brand, grow revenue and scale. As the Chief Operating Officer at leading venture development fund, Rev1 Ventures, Campbell supports the company’s mission to help entrepreneurs build great companies. Tapping into her longevity in the industry, she helps guide startups in their critical first phases of growth to expedite their success and ensure they are poised for scalable growth. Kristy has a BS in Journalism from Ohio University and an MBA from Ashland University.
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About Rev1 Ventures: Rev1 Ventures is an investor startup studio that combines capital and strategic services to help startups scale and corporates innovate.
Jeff Anderson
COO of Manus Bio
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About Manus Bio: Manus Bio makes nature accessible and affordable for a growing society.
James Tripp
CEO, COO & Director of Rasna Therapeutics
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About Rasna Therapeutics, Tiziana Life Sciences: It is a development stage biotechnology company
Michael McElhaugh
Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Arbutus Biopharma
Mr. Michael J. McElhaugh, also known as Mike, co-founded Arbutus Biopharma Inc. in 2012 and serves as its Chief Operating Officer. Mr. McElhaugh has over 15 years of combined scientific and business experience. Prior to co-founding OnCore Biopharma, Inc., he was most recently Director of Hepatitis C Worldwide Commercialization at Bristol Myers Squibb where he was responsible for global hepatitis C commercialization. Prior to Bristol Myers Squibb, he was Director, Business Development and Market Analytics at Pharmasset, Inc., where he was an integral contributor to corporate strategy, strategic marketing and business development efforts. He played a key role in the sale of Pharmasset to Gilead Sciences, leading all diligence efforts and commercial analyses. Prior to joining Pharmasset, he held roles of increasing responsibility in Market Research at Viropharma, Inc., and at Merck and Co, Inc. and Thomas Jefferson University as a bench scientist. He holds a B.S. in Psychology from the Saint Joseph’s University, a M.S. in Microbiology from Thomas Jefferson University and an MBA from Cornell University.
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About Arbutus Biopharma: Arbutus Biopharma Corporation is a publicly-traded biopharmaceutical company.
Josh Stahl
COO & CSO of ArcherDX
Joshua Stahl is the Chief Scientific Officer and GM at ArcherDX.
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About ArcherDX: ArcherDX is a biotechnology firm specializing in cancer research.
David G. Watumull
Chief Operating Officer of Cardax Pharma
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About Cardax Pharma: Cardax Pharma offers small molecule therapies for unmet medical needs such as hepatitis, arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, and more.
Raksha Shah
COO of Lipidio Pharmaceuticals
Raksha Shah is the Chief Operating Officer at Lipidio Pharmaceuticals.
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About Lipidio Pharmaceuticals: Lipidio Pharmaceuticals focuses on advancing a molecule to treat diseases associated with excess body fat.
Connie Lebakken
Founder ,President & COO of Stem Pharm
Connie Lebakken is the Founder & President of stem pharma.
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About Stem Pharm: Stem Pharm’s synthetic biomaterials support the optimization of cell expansion.
Willis C. Lee
Chief Operating Officer of Emmaus Medical
Mr. Lee has more than 25 years of management and consulting experience with influential companies in the semiconductor and healthcare industries. Prior to joining Emmaus, Mr. Lee led worldwide sales and business development of Yield Dynamics’ product group at MKS Instruments. He joined the Comapany in 2009 and has served as Chief Operating Officer since May 2011. He has held various managerial and senior positions at companies including HPL, Syntricity and Reden & Anders, a subsidiary of United Healthcare that provides actuarial services including capitation and risk assessment analyses for healthcare insurance carriers. Mr. Lee received his B.S. and M.S. in Physics from University of Hawaii and University of South Carolina, respectively. He was a member of the American Physical Society, completed TQM/SPC programs, and has published papers in Nuclear Instruments and Methods.
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About Emmaus Medical: Emmaus Medical is a pharmaceutical company developing new treatments for rare diseases and conditions.
Nicholas Cucinelli
COO of iReprogram
Nicholas Cucinelli currently works as the COO for iReprogram.
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About iReprogram: iReprogram is a cell regeneration lab that aims to expedite the delivery of next-generation personalized medicine.
Douglas Bonhaus
Chief Operating Officer of Neuropore Therapies
Chief Executive Officer at Neuropore Therapies, Inc.
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About Neuropore Therapies, Neuropore Therapies: San Diego-based Neuropore, a biopharmaceuticals firm developing treatments for Parkinson’s disease.
Douglas Bonhaus
Chief Operating Officer of Neuropore Therapies
Chief Executive Officer at Neuropore Therapies, Inc.
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About Neuropore Therapies, Neuropore Therapies: San Diego-based Neuropore, a biopharmaceuticals firm developing treatments for Parkinson’s disease.
Kartik DB
President and Chief Operating Officer of CorEvitas
Kartik DB is the president and COO at Corrona.
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About CorEvitas: CorEvitas delivers real-world evidence through syndicated registry data and analytics services to help biopharmaceutical companies.
Nicholas Hodge
President & Chief Operating Officer of SeaChange Pharmaceuticals
Nick Hodge received a Ph.D. in Organic and Analytical Chemistry from Cornell University. He has held senior leadership positions at DuPont Merck, Caliper Technologies, Amphora Discovery (founder) and Ruga. Inventions from his corporate R&D labs include drugs for human clinical trials in several therapeutic areas, computational methods for drug design, and biological screening technology. Nick has extensive experience in the conception and execution of platform drug discovery startups, including commercialization strategy, fund-raising, business development, sales and management.
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About SeaChange Pharmaceuticals: SeaChange develops chemoinformatic and statistical methods to uncover links between drug molecules and the biological targets.
Nicholas Hodge
President & Chief Operating Officer of SeaChange Pharmaceuticals
Nick Hodge received a Ph.D. in Organic and Analytical Chemistry from Cornell University. He has held senior leadership positions at DuPont Merck, Caliper Technologies, Amphora Discovery (founder) and Ruga. Inventions from his corporate R&D labs include drugs for human clinical trials in several therapeutic areas, computational methods for drug design, and biological screening technology. Nick has extensive experience in the conception and execution of platform drug discovery startups, including commercialization strategy, fund-raising, business development, sales and management.
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About SeaChange Pharmaceuticals: SeaChange develops chemoinformatic and statistical methods to uncover links between drug molecules and the biological targets.
Dylan Orlady
Co-Founder and COO of Khona Scientific
Dylan Orlady is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Khona Scientific.
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About Khona Scientific: Khona Scientific is a biotechnology company that focuses on a proprietary method of biosynthesis production.
Christopher Pirie
Co-Founder & COO of HDT Bio
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About HDT Bio: IMMUNE THERAPY FOR ALL: We’re transforming inventive immunotherapies for oncology and infectious disease.
Jonathan Freeman
COO of Anthos Therapeutics
Jonathan Freeman currently works as the COO for Anthos Therapeutics.
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About Anthos Therapeutics: Anthos Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company that specializes in the treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
Carolyn Durham
Chief Operating Officer of ProPharma Group
Carolyn Durham is the Chief Operating Officer at ProPharma Group.
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About ProPharma Group: ProPharma Group is the independent, single-source provider of regulatory, compliance, pharmacovigilance, and medical information services.
Scott Carmer
COO of NexImmune
Scott Carmer is the Chief Operating Officer at NexImmune.
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About NexImmune: NexImmune is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel immuno-therapeutics based on the proprietary artificial immune technology.
Alfred Altomari
COO of Barrier Therapeutics
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About Agile Therapeutics, Barrier Therapeutics: Barrier Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization.
Toshi Maruyama
Founder and COO/CSO of Abwiz Bio
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About Abwiz Bio, Chiba University: We provide researchers world-wide with top-quality monoclonal antibodies