About

Michelle Arkin, Ph.D., is Professor and Department Chair of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco and an adjunct professor at the Buck Institute of Research on Aging. Her lab focuses on developing first-in-class compounds for novel targets in diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and cancer, with a particular interest in protein-protein interactions and protein-degradation networks. Michelle is a leader in academic drug discovery, with leadership roles at the UCSF Small Molecule Discovery Center, the international Academic Drug Discovery Consortium, the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS), the National Cancer Institute’s Chemical Biology Consortium and the Accelerating Therapeutics for Opportunities in Medicine (ATOM) consortium. Prior to her role at UCSF, Michelle was a founding scientist at Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, where she helped discover potent inhibitors of IL-2 and the anti-inflammatory drug Lifitegrast (Novartis), and to develop the anti-cancer experimental therapeutic vosaroxin. Michelle earned her Ph.D. with Jackie Barton at Caltech and held a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation postdoctoral fellowship with Jim Wells at Genentech.

Roel Bulthuis is a Managing Partner and Head of Healthcare Investments at INKEF Capital. Roel combines close to 20 years of experience across venture capital, pharma business development and healthcare investment banking. Prior to joining INKEF, he was SVP and Managing Director of M Ventures, which he created and developed into a leading CVC platform with four funds investing in therapeutics, life science technologies, advanced materials, and technology-enabled healthcare. Prior to that, he served in senior positions in global business development and M&A at Merck Serono and in the healthcare investment banking team at Fortis Bank. Roel is a Kauffman Fellow and holds a MSc in Biopharmaceutical Sciences from Leiden University and an MBA in Finance from the Helsinki School of Economics.

Margarita is Managing Director at AbbVie Ventures. Margarita has led investments in more than a dozen biotech companies in the United States and Europe. She is responsible for AbbVie Ventures’ investments in Alector, Morphic Therapeutics, CARISMA Therapeutics, Jnana Therapeutics and more. Margarita brings more than 20 years of experience with over a decade of biotech licensing, IPOs, and acquisitions. As a Director with Abbott’s Global Pharmaceutical Licensing & Acquisitions, she was involved in the in-licensing of Elagolix, the acquisition of Solvay and Immuven and the acquisition of the Lupron franchise. Before joining Abbott, Margarita practiced as a corporate and securities lawyer in Silicon Valley with Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison. Margarita received her BS from Santa Clara University and her JD from Santa Clara University School of Law.

Scott Clarke brings with him more than 20 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. He most recently served as CEO of Trishula Therapeutics. He was responsible for launching Trishula as a stand-alone company focused on developing Tizona Therapeutics’ lead program following its acquisition by Gilead Sciences. Previously, Scott served as Tizona’s Chief Executive Officer. Under his leadership, Tizona’s two lead programs advanced into the clinic and the company built out its preclinical portfolio. He continues to serve on the Board of Directors of Trishula. Prior to Tizona, Scott served as Global Head of Oncology Partnering and Head of Asia and Emerging Markets Partnering at Roche. In this role he was responsible for licensing, clinical collaborations, and acquisitions in oncology, and for sourcing opportunities across all indications from Asia. Scott has also held multiple positions at BioMarin, including serving as the Senior Vice President of Product Development, responsible for advancing its portfolio of clinical and late preclinical product candidates through approval. Prior to this role, Scott was Vice President of Business Development and Scientific Licensing overseeing all preclinical and early clinical licensing and M&A. Scott earned a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, a MSc in Biotechnology at Northwestern University, and an MBA from London Business School.

Peter Dudek, Ph.D., has more than 13 years of experience in the life sciences industry spanning research, company building, as well as corporate and traditional venture capital, across a broad range of therapeutic areas and modalities. He currently serves as President and Managing Partner of Merck’s MRL Ventures Fund and is responsible for its investments in Carisma, HotSpot, Kymera, Imago, Xilio and Caraway Therapeutics. Prior to MRLV, he was a Principal with Wellington Partners, a Munich and London based European venture fund, and was involved in investments across a broad range of life science companies including Middle Peak Medical, Atopix, Optinose, Prosonix, iOmx, Imevax, Oxagen and Vasopharm. He has also held roles at Entrepreneurs Fund and at the corporate venture arm of Novartis. Peter holds a BS with Honors from the University of British Columbia, obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Geneva and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oxford.

Melissa McCracken, Ph.D., joined Nextech Invest Ltd. in 2019. Melissa is a scientist by training with a passion for emerging technologies in cancer therapies. Melissa is a board member of TYRA Biosciences (NASDAQ: TYRA) and Ambagon Therapeutics, board observer of IconOVir Bio and a previous board member of ImaginAb and board observer of Silverback Therapeutics. Melissa is a current Kauffman Fellow.

Prior to Nextech, Melissa was a senior associate at Third Rock Ventures focusing on scientific due diligence, partnership development and new company formation in oncology and immunology. Melissa helped build and launch Celsius Therapeutics, a company focused on discovering precision therapeutics for oncology and autoimmune. Melissa has also worked within larger biotech organizations completing multiple internships in research and development at Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN).

Melissa holds a B.S. in biochemistry and molecular biology from University of California, Davis, a Ph.D. in molecular and medical pharmacology from University of California, Los Angeles with her research focused on engineered immunity for cancer. Melissa also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University where her research focused on immuno-oncology.

Outside of Nextech, Melissa enjoys volunteering with youth organizations including Big Brother, Big Sister.

Janwillem Naesens is Managing Partner of DROIA Ventures, an investor group specializing in early-stage oncology drug development companies. At DROIA, he focuses on early-stage investments and company developments. Janwillem currently serves on the board of directors of Cyteir Therapeutics, Highlight Therapeutics, Octimet Oncology, Convert Pharmaceuticals, NormOxys, Black Belt Therapeutics, and Frontier Medicines. Janwillem holds a MSc in engineering from the University of Leuven and an MBA from INSEAD, Fontainebleau.

Adam Rosenberg, JD, is a Venture Partner at RA Capital Management. Adam was most recently President, CEO and member of the board of directors of Rodin Therapeutics until its acquisition by Alkermes in 2019. Adam has more than 20 years of industry experience in building healthcare and technology companies, including as CEO and co-founder of Link Medicine, a company focused on developing disease-modifying neurodegenerative therapies and as CEO and co-founder of Teleos Therapeutics, an innovative neuroscience drug discovery platform company. Adam has led and advised companies in diverse areas such as digital health, materials and diagnostics, and has served as a director on the boards of multiple venture-backed companies. Adam was also an advisor and investor in “A Late Quartet,” an entrepreneurial feature film centered on a cellist diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener and Christopher Walken. Adam received his JD from the University of Virginia School of Law and his BA from Whittier College.