specialty-pharmaceuticals
(4)
Kyowa Kirin, Inc. - U.S.
A Japanese fermentation lineage became a U.S. rare-disease business by following biology that larger markets often overlook. Now Kyowa Kirin is testing whether patient-scale focus can coexist with manufacturing-scale ambition.
James O'Mara
James (Jim) O'Mara is the President and CEO of Neurogastrx, a Woburn, Massachusetts specialty pharmaceutical company developing oral therapies for gastrointestinal disorders. A pharmacist by training with decades in biotech, he was one of the original members of the LINZESS team at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, where he rose to Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and drove licensing deals across the U.S., Europe, Japan and China. At Neurogastrx he raised a $60 million Series B and is steering the company's lead candidate, NG101, through clinical studies aimed at the nausea and vomiting that lead many patients to abandon GLP-1 weight-loss and diabetes medicines.
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.
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.