Our Team

Managing Director

Nishan de Silva, M.D., M.B.A. has more than 25 years’ experience in strategy, finance and operations spanning management consulting, private equity investing and C-suite operational and Board of Director roles in public and private venture capital-backed biopharmaceutical businesses. 

Dr. de Silva began his career as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, where most recently as an Engagement Manager he led project teams in addressing critical strategic issues facing senior management in Fortune 500 healthcare companies. He then spent eight years as a private equity investor at Warburg Pincus, the oldest private equity firm in the country. Dr. de Silva most recently served as Principal, negotiating, structuring, evaluating and leading multiple $30-100M investments in biopharmaceutical companies, with a focus on oncology, and serving on their Boards of Directors. For the next 12 years, he held C-suite executive roles in public and private, venture-capital-backed small-medium biotechnology companies. His positions include Chief Financial Officer and Head of Strategy for a $2B market cap public biotechnology company (Ligand Pharmaceuticals), and Chief Executive Officer and Acting Chief Financial Officer for two private venture capital-backed companies (Radionetics Oncology and AFYX Therapeutics). 

Two of Dr. de Silva’s operating companies have been acquired, including Poseida Therapeutics (by Roche for up to $1.5B), where Dr. de Silva started as the second employee and served as President & Chief Operating Officer, overseeing all operations outside of early-stage research.  Ligand grew from $200M to $2B market capitalization during his tenure and remains a successful ~$2B+ market capitalization public company.  Radionetics Oncology announced a strategic agreement with Eli Lilly for a $140M upfront payment and exclusive acquisition right for $1B. 

He currently focuses on leveraging his diverse set of experiences to advise small-medium life science businesses on management, growth and exit strategy. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Cartesian Therapeutics, a public late-stage biotechnology company, where he is a member of the Audit and Compensation Committees, and a previous member of the Science & Technology Committee. He also serves as an Advisor and Investment Advisory Group member for Desert Forge Ventures, an early-stage focused venture capital fund.

Dr. de Silva graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Harvard University, and received his M.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, as well as an M.B.A. degree with Distinction from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. 

Senior Advisor

Rami is a strategy advisor and corporate development expert with a certification in business and

executive coaching. Rami specializes in helping pharmaceutical and biotech executives accelerate

and amplify their results, identify and overcome obstacles to enhance their performance and

contribute to the growth of their companies.

Rami is a seasoned biotech executive with nearly 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and

biotechnology industries. He managed businesses with large P&Ls, has taken businesses through

scale ups and fast growth. Led private and public companies and managed VC owned companies

and has raised substantial and transformational capital.

Rami served as the Chief Executive Officer of ImStem Biotechnology, a clinical stage biotechnology

company focused on stem cell research and development of treatments targeting autoimmune,

degenerative, and rare orphan diseases. Prior to joining ImStem Rami was the President and Chief

Executive Officer of Saniona, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering,

developing, and commercializing innovative therapies for rare disease patients. At Saniona Rami

raised transformational capital in a private placement, initiated three clinical trials and transformed

the company from a research organization into a fully integrated company with newly established

headquarters in the US. Prior to joining Saniona, Rami served as President of Sobi Inc., the North

American affiliate of international rare disease company Sobi. At Sobi, Rami was a member of the

Executive team of the company. He built and led the North American organization from infancy to a

team of over 300 employees generating over half a billion USD in annual revenue. Rami’s

experience in mergers and acquisitions resulted in the successful acquisitions of Gamifant, the first

FDA approved treatment for primary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (pHLH), and Synagis, the

only FDA approved prophylaxis for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) at the time. Under his

leadership, the Sobi team built and grew the Canadian aHiliate, launched Gamifant and integrated

the entire Synagis sales and medical organizations. Prior to joining Sobi, Rami held commercial

leadership roles of increasing strategic importance for over 16 years at Merck Serono in several

countries, including the U.S., Sweden, Switzerland and Israel and prior to that at Schering AG.

Rami earned his MBA from the Recanati Business School at Tel Aviv University in Israel, majoring in

International Marketing, and has a BSc in Biology from Tel Aviv University.