California
Biotech Insights

Subhi Marwari is the founder and CEO of NeuraClick, where she invented the company’s AI and click-chemistry platform for engineering next-generation neuropeptide therapeutics for disorders of dysregulated stress circuitry. A well-recognized expert in CNS drug delivery with more than two decades of experience in neuroscience drug development, she has led programs across the full arc of drug development – from discovery through IND-enabling toxicology and into first-in-human – and has advanced five CNS programs to the clinic. 

Alan H. Cohen, MD is the Chief Medical Officer at Arcturus Therapeutics. He is a board-certified Pediatric Pulmonologist with a longstanding interest in cardio-respiratory illnesses. He has been clinically active for the balance of his 35+ years of practice, with a focus on caring for people with Cystic Fibrosis, as well as previously co-directing the largest and most active pediatric lung transplantation program in North America. In addition to his many years of clinical practice, biomedical and basic science research, and teaching, he has dedicated over 25 of his 35+ year-long professional career to drug discovery, in the Biotech & Pharma clinical/medical research space, at both small, entrepreneurial pre-IPO start-ups, as well as more well-established public companies worldwide. He has most recently worked in the fields of heart failure (amyloid-related) and pulmonary hypertension, respiratory infectious diseases (P. aeruginosa, influenza and RSV), as well as gene editing/gene therapy targeting monogenetically driven conditions, including rare and more common diseases such as alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, amyloidosis, cystic fibrosis, hemophilia and Fabry Disease. 

Dr. Dolca Thomas is a physician scientist, transplant nephrologist/ immunologist with more than 20 years of experience in academia, large pharmaceutical companies, and biotech across multiple diverse therapeutic areas. She is the CEO of Neolaia Bio, venture partner/senior advisor at Samsara Biocapital and is currently an independent board director for UCB, and Ventus Therapeutics. She is also a scientific advisor for First Tracks (previously AnaptysBio). Prior to Neolaia, she was a board director for Chinook (acquired by Novartis 3.2 billion in 2023) and held multiple roles in biotech companies including Executive Vice President, Head of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer at Equillium and the Chief Medical Officer of Principia Biopharma which was acquired by Sanofi September 2020 for 3.7 billion.