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How 24 Insurance Firms Merged Into One and Skipped the Awkward Small-Talk Phase
Twenty-four independent agencies merged on the same January morning in 2017. Nine years and roughly 130 acquisitions later, Alera Group is a $1.5 billion insurance and wealth firm - and it is still shopping.
TerSera Therapeutics
TerSera Therapeutics is a privately held biopharmaceutical company based in Deerfield, Illinois, focused on acquiring, developing, and commercializing specialty medicines in oncology, rare disease, and non-opioid pain. Launched in 2016 with backing from private equity firm GTCR, TerSera builds its portfolio through targeted acquisitions of approved and late-stage assets, including ZOLADEX, XERMELO, PRIALT, and VARUBI, with a stated mission of building 'the new cornerstones of care' for patients with limited treatment options.
Ahsan Arozullah
Ahsan Arozullah, MD, MPH is Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer at TerSera Therapeutics, a Deerfield, Illinois specialty pharmaceutical company focused on oncology, CNS disorders and rare disease. A Northwestern-trained physician with a Harvard MPH, he spent over 15 years at Astellas, rising to Senior Vice President and Head of Oncology Development, where he helped validate claudin 18.2 as a cancer target through the pivotal SPOTLIGHT trial of zolbetuximab. He pairs two decades of clinical research with academic roots in health literacy at the University of Illinois and serves on the board of Darul Qasim College, working at the intersection of medicine and Islamic bioethics.
Heidi Gillmore
Heidi Gillmore is a commercial leadership executive at TerSera Therapeutics, the Deerfield, Illinois specialty pharmaceutical company she helped build from its 2016 inception. Across roles spanning marketing, strategy, business development and running TerSera's US oncology business, she has helped turn a portfolio of 'one-and-only' therapeutics, including the prostate and breast cancer drug Zoladex, into a durable commercial enterprise. A University of Northern Iowa graduate with a University of Chicago credential, she sits on the board of the Illinois Biotechnology Innovation Organization and has spent her career taking specialty and orphan medicines from acquisition to market.