About Us
Board of Directors
Our bold strategy to address under-innovated markets in aesthetics and dermatology is supported by renowned pharmaceutical industry leaders.
Amanda Birdsey-Benson, PhD
Dr. Birdsey-Benson is currently a Managing Director and Senior Analyst for the healthcare-focused Averill investment strategies at Suvretta Capital Management, LLC, which attempts to identify companies that are disruptive to the healthcare industry. Prior to joining the Firm, Dr. Birdsey-Benson was the lead Research Analyst – Biotechnology at Mellon, where she worked with portfolio managers across market caps to identify biotech stocks that fit their strategy, and was responsible for making buy/sell decisions.
Prior to Mellon, Dr. Birdsey-Benson was a Vice President of Research at Tekla Capital Management, where she focused on public and private companies across biotechnology, pharma, and specialty pharma. Prior to Tekla, Dr. Birdsey-Benson was an Analyst at RA Capital, covering venture and small-and-mid cap companies.
Dr. Birdsey-Benson earned a BS degree in Biology from the University of Connecticut, received a PhD in Biochemistry from Dartmouth College, and was a post-doctoral fellow of MIT McGovern Institute for Brain Research
John W. Childs
Mr. Childs is the chairman of J.W. Childs Associates, L.P., a private equity and special situation investment firm founded in 1995, currently focusing on life sciences, real estate, and consumer brand investments. Previously, Mr. Childs was Senior Managing Director of the Thomas H. Lee Company from 1987 to 1995, where he had broad responsibilities for originating, analyzing, negotiating, and managing leveraged buyout transactions, such as Snapple and General Nutrition Company. For 17 years, Mr. Childs held various executive positions in the investment area at the Prudential Insurance Company of America, ultimately serving as Senior Managing Director in charge of the Capital Markets Group. Mr. Childs currently is a Director of Realm, LLC, a premium Napa Valley wine company, Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Pyramid Biosciences, Veradermics, OMAX Health, and Basin Holdings. Prior to their sale, he was Chairman of the boards of Kosta Browne, Sunny Delight, and CHG Healthcare Services. He is also on the Board of Delta Waterfowl, Waterfowl Research Foundation, and the Wild Salmon Center, focusing on wildlife conservation. Mr. Childs served as a 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and has a BA from Yale College and an MBA from Columbia University.
Vlad Coric, MD
Dr. Coric’s leadership as CEO of Biohaven is characterized by his unwavering commitment to underserved patients, relentless pursuit of a bold scientific vision, and an unparalleled drive to innovate and create value. Dr. Coric navigated Biohaven’s landmark FDA approvals for its migraine drugs, Nurtec® ODT and Zavzpret™ Intranasal, and spearheaded the acquisition of Biohaven’s CGRP portfolio by Pfizer in May 2022 for approximately $13 billion in total consideration.
Under Dr. Coric’s stewardship, Biohaven operates with urgency and intention in applying cutting-edge science to advance an innovative therapeutic portfolio of programs, spanning from early to late-stage clinical development. The company is advancing a broad portfolio of product candidates, primarily focused on neuroscience, immunology, and oncology across five proprietary platforms for a range of rare and common diseases with high unmet medical needs.
Since July 2001, Dr. Coric has served as an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Coric earned his MD from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and was an honors scholar in neurobiology and physiology at the University of Connecticut, where he received his BS degree. He was named one of Connecticut’s Top 25 Healthcare Technology Leaders for 2022 and 2023 by The Healthcare Technology Report, listed in PharmaVoice 100 Standout Executives in 2023, and recognized as the EY Entrepreneur of the Year® 2018 Award in the New York region.
Patrick Enright
Patrick Enright is a Managing Director and Founder of Longitude Capital. Prior to Longitude Capital, Mr. Enright was a Managing Director of Pequot Ventures, where he co-led the life sciences investment practice. Prior to Pequot, he was a Managing Member of the Delta Opportunity Fund, and he began his investment career at PaineWebber Development Corporation.
Mr. Enright also has significant life sciences operations experience, including senior executive positions at Valentis (VLTS), Hoffman – La Roche, and Novartis. Mr. Enright currently serves on the boards of BioAge Labs (BIOA), CuraSen Therapeutics, Endeavor Biomedicines, Epirium Bio, Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ), Opna Bio, Orbus Therapeutics, Vera Therapeutics (VERA), Veradermics, and Zenas BioPharma (ZBIO).
Selected prior board memberships include Aimmune (AIMT, acquired by Nestlé), Codexis (CDXS), Corcept Therapeutics (CORT), Esperion Therapeutics (ESPR), Horizon Pharmaceuticals (HZNP, acquired by Amgen), InfaCare Pharmaceutical (acquired by Mallinckrodt), MAP Pharmaceuticals (MAPP, acquired by Allergan), Prestwick Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Lundbeck), Sequenom (SQNM, acquired by LabCorp), Rivus Pharmaceuticals, Threshold Pharmaceuticals (THLD), Vaxcyte (PCVX), as well as the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). Mr. Enright holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Biological Sciences from Stanford University.
Jane Grant-Kels, MD
Dr. Grant-Kels is an internationally renowned dermatologist and dermatology researcher. She has served as the founding Chair of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Connecticut.
She has also been on the Board of Directors of the Women’s Dermatology Society, the American Academy of Dermatology, and the Association of Dermatology Program Directors. Her research prowess has resulted in her serving as the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Clinical Medicine the founding Co-Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Women’s Dermatology, Deputy Editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, and the Associate Editor for Dermatology for the Annals of Medicine. She has published over 475 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 157 chapters, guest edited 24 journals, and edited or co-authored eight books. She has delivered hundreds of invited lectures throughout the U.S.
Katarina Pance, PhD
Katarina Pance is an investor at SR One, based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She brings a strong background in antibody therapeutics and targeted protein degradation, with experience spanning early-stage drug discovery, oncology, and immunology. Katarina serves on the boards of Topo Therapeutics and Palleon Pharmaceuticals, and is an observer for Phylaxis Biosciences, Renalys Pharma, Rezo Therapeutics, and Biotheryx. Her other investments include Avalyn Pharma, Alumis (Nasdaq: ALMS), and Oruka Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ORKA).
Prior to joining SR One, she co-founded EpiBiologics, a company advancing bispecific antibody platforms for extracellular protein degradation, where she led discovery biology efforts. She earned her PhD in Chemistry and Chemical Biology from the University of California, San Francisco, where she trained with Dr. Jim Wells, and her BA in Biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania.
Reid Waldman, MD
Dr. Waldman is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Veradermics. Under his stewardship, he has positioned Veradermics for rapid growth by implementing a differentiated strategy centered on advancing first-in-class therapeutics for under-innovated markets in aesthetics and dermatology. He has also successfully led the company through four equity financings raising proceeds of more than $113M and has advanced Veradermics lead asset, VDPHL, a non-hormonal oral therapeutic for androgenetic alopecia into Phase 3 trials.
Dr. Waldman is a board-certified dermatologist with more than 10 years of clinical experience. Prior to founding Veradermics, Dr. Waldman was a prolific researcher authoring more than 100 publications including a textbook titled, “Dermatology for the Primary Care Provider.” He has been the recipient of numerous accolades including the American Academy of Dermatology’s “Excellence in Patient Care” award. He earned his BA and his MD degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City 6 Year BA/MD Program and completed his dermatology residency with a “Distinction in Clinical Trials” at the University of Connecticut.
