gilead-sciences
(5)
Arcellx
Arcellx rebuilt a crucial part of CAR-T therapy with a compact synthetic binder. Its lead treatment is now under FDA review - and the company behind it has become part of Gilead's Kite.
Lina Yao
Lina Yao is a pharmaceutical scientist and the founder of Teon Therapeutics, a Redwood City, California biotech developing first-in-class, orally administered small-molecule cancer drugs that target G-protein coupled receptors to reverse tumor-driven immune suppression. A molecular pharmacologist by training with an MD and PhD and more than two decades in drug discovery, she built her career at CV Therapeutics and Gilead Sciences before launching Teon in 2018. She led the company through an oversubscribed $30 million Series A in 2021 and into the clinic with two novel programs: TT-702, an adenosine A2B receptor antagonist, and TT-816, a cannabinoid CB2 receptor antagonist being studied in combination with Merck's KEYTRUDA.
John McHutchison
John McHutchison, AO, MD is the CEO and Chairman of Tune Therapeutics, a pioneering epigenome editing company based in Durham, NC. An internationally acclaimed hepatologist and drug developer, McHutchison spent nearly a decade at Gilead Sciences as Chief Scientific Officer, where he led the development of transformative hepatitis C cures used by over 3.2 million people worldwide, including Sovaldi and Harvoni. Now at Tune, he is steering the company's TEMPO epigenome editing platform toward a new era of precision medicine for chronic and complex diseases.
Michael Bigham
Michael F. Bigham is a veteran biopharmaceutical executive and investor who spent nearly a decade as Chairman and CEO of Paratek Pharmaceuticals, guiding the company through the FDA approval and commercial launch of NUZYRA (omadacycline) - a novel tetracycline-class antibiotic tackling drug-resistant bacterial infections. A Stanford MBA and CPA with roots in Gilead Sciences' early days, he has built, funded, and led companies across the full arc of drug development. He now operates as founder and managing director of Firebrand River Capital.
Jung Choi
Jung Choi is the President and CEO of Alterome Therapeutics, a clinical-stage precision oncology company pioneering mutation-specific cancer drugs. With over 20 years in biopharmaceutical leadership - spanning Gilead Sciences, InterMune, Chimerix, and Global Blood Therapeutics where he led a $5.4B Pfizer acquisition - Choi brought deal-making, strategy, and operational depth to Alterome when he was appointed CEO in April 2025. Under his leadership, Alterome has advanced two first-in-class inhibitors into Phase 1/1b trials targeting KRAS and AKT1 E17K oncogenic drivers, backed by $231M in total funding including a $132M Series B.