# Shilpa Sambashivan

> Shilpa Sambashivan is the CEO and a co-founder of Nura Bio, a South San Francisco biotech building brain-penetrant small molecules that aim to stop nerves from dying. A protein biochemist by training, she helped spin the company out of academic labs in 2018, built its R&D engine as Chief Scientific Officer, and was elevated to CEO in September 2024 alongside a $68M Series A extension that pushed total funding past $140M. Her lead drug, NB-4746, blocks the SARM1 enzyme that triggers axon self-destruction.

- **Role:** CEO at Nura Bio
- **Organizations:** Nura Bio, Amgen, NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Stanford University, UCLA
- **From:** India
- **Nationality:** Indian-American
- **Education:** B.S. (Honors) in Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), India, Graduate degree in Molecular Biology and Protein Biochemistry (research under David Eisenberg), University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Genentech Foundation Bio-X Postdoctoral Fellowship, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Nura Bio in 2018 and built its bespoke R&D engine and differentiated small molecule pipeline, Promoted from Chief Scientific Officer to CEO in September 2024, Helped raise a Series A totaling over $140 million, including a $68M extension led by The Column Group

## Career timeline

- **pre-2018** — Spent nearly a decade at Amgen and NGM Biopharmaceuticals across neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation and metabolism
- **2018** — Co-founded Nura Bio, spun out of research from Marc Freeman (Vollum Institute, OHSU) and Steven McKnight (UT Southwestern)
- **2018-2024** — Built Nura Bio's R&D engine and small molecule pipeline as founding scientific leader and Chief Scientific Officer
- **2024** — Promoted to CEO and Board Member of Nura Bio alongside a $68M Series A extension (Sept 16, 2024)
- **2025** — NB-4746 advancing toward Phase 1b/2 patient trials

## Achievements

- Co-founded Nura Bio in 2018 and built its bespoke R&D engine and differentiated small molecule pipeline
- Promoted from Chief Scientific Officer to CEO in September 2024
- Helped raise a Series A totaling over $140 million, including a $68M extension led by The Column Group
- Advanced lead candidate NB-4746, a brain-penetrant SARM1 inhibitor, through a successful Phase 1 trial with no serious adverse events
- Genentech Foundation Bio-X Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford

## Latest updates

- **2024-09** — Named CEO and Board Member of Nura Bio as the company closed a $68M Series A extension, bringing total raised past $140M.
- **2025** — NB-4746, the brain-penetrant SARM1 inhibitor, advancing toward Phase 1b/2 patient trials.

## Links

- Website: https://nurabio.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shilpa-sambashivan-75b187b/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/nurabio_

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/shilpa-sambashivan
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-05