opioid-alternative
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Shashi Kori
Shashi Kori is a neurologist and neuro-oncologist turned biotech founder, and the co-founder and CEO of Novilla Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge-based company using a proprietary AI model to design transdermal formulations that deliver drugs to the site of action while minimizing systemic effects. Before Novilla, he spent decades building pain programs at Duke and the University of South Florida and led clinical development at GlaxoSmithKline, Allergan, MAP Pharmaceuticals and Autonomic Technologies. He partnered with Dr. Eric Fossel in 2019 to merge their drug-delivery innovations into Novilla's pipeline, led by lead candidate NOV-1776.
Frank D. Lee
Frank D. Lee is the Chief Executive Officer and Board Director of Pacira BioSciences, a specialty pharmaceutical company pioneering non-opioid pain management solutions. A 30-year industry veteran who immigrated to the United States from South Korea, Lee built his career across Eli Lilly, Janssen, Novartis, and a 13-year tenure at Genentech where he oversaw $11 billion in global product sales. Before joining Pacira in January 2024, he led Forma Therapeutics through a transformative journey from drug-discovery startup to clinical-stage biotech, culminating in a $1.1 billion acquisition by Novo Nordisk in 2022. At Pacira, Lee is executing the '5x30' strategy - five bold objectives to transform the company into an innovative biopharma powerhouse by 2030, including advancing the PCRX-201 gene therapy for knee osteoarthritis, which has already earned FDA Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation.