Executive Team

John W. Kozarich, Ph.D.

Co-Founder + CEO

Dr. Kozarich is Chairman of Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (LGND) and an Adjunct Professor in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Texas, Austin. His nearly 50-year career has spanned virtually all aspects of the pharmaceutical enterprise including full professorships at Yale University School of Medicine and the University of Maryland; VP & CSO of Alkermes (ALKS); VP of Research at Merck Research Laboratories (MRK); and Chairman & President of ActivX Biosciences. Dr. Kozarich has served on numerous boards including QLT, Inc., Corium Intl., Poxel SA, and the Board of Trustees of the Gordon Research Conferences. Among his awards over the years, Dr. Kozarich has received the Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry; the Distinguished Scientist Award of the San Diego Section of the American Chemical Society; named a Director of the Year (2014) by the San Diego-based Corporate Directors Forum; and elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2005). He holds a BS (summa cum laude) in chemistry from Boston College, a PhD in biological chemistry from MIT, and was an NIH postdoctoral fellow in biochemistry at Harvard University.

Darwin Richardson, MBA

Chief Operations Advisor

Darwin has more than 25 years of executive management experience in developing strategy and leading companies, manufacturing operations, quality operations, and regulatory compliance in the bio-pharmaceutical industry. He brings a depth of manufacturing expertise in sterile injectables and aseptic processing, as well as a proven track record in modernizing operations, improving compliance, and expanding manufacturing capabilities.

Darwin was the CEO at Benuvia Operations in Austin, Tx. He served as the site head of four US biopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. Recently, as the Site Head and Vice President of Operations at Kindeva Drug Delivery in St. Loius, Mo and the Site Head and SVP of Operations at Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services in SanDiego, Ca. He has also held leadership positions in BPL Plasma, Sanofi Genzyme, and Baxter Bioscience.

Lin Zhi, Ph.D.

Co-Founder + CSO

Dr. Zhi has more than 30 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry in small-molecule drug discovery and development. He has been General Manager and serves on the board of Nucorion Pharmaceuticals since 2016 and developed two innovative programs including CAPE-127. He served as Vice President of Ligand Pharmaceuticals and has been instrumental in producing many of Ligand's development compounds and programs for about thirty years and is the inventor of LTP and BEPro Technology platforms. Dr. Zhi received his B.S. and M.S. from Beijing University. He obtained his Ph.D. in chemistry from Emory University and did postdoctoral training at Stanford University. He is a coauthor of more than 60 publications and an inventor/coinventor of more than 120 issued US patents.

Gus Cardenas

Chief Strategic Advisor

Gus is a senior executive with over 30 years of experience delivering strategic leadership in highly competitive markets. Developing excellent partnerships with external nonprofit/public/private sector partners, both domestically and globally. He is the Austin Healthcare Council's founding CEO and principal co-founder. AHC, which is made up of renowned healthcare leaders/members, acts as an enabler between various organizations to increase collaboration, resulting in business growth prospects and better healthcare delivery.

Most recently, Gus secured the Austin Healthcare Council's selection as one of 140 worldwide programs at the Clinton worldwide Initiative 2022 Summit in New York. Internationally, he was influential in Austin's selection as one of three cities worldwide to participate in the World Economic Forum's Healthy Cities and Communities Initiative. Domestically he has worked in the finance/domestic banking/International banking field for over 23 years.

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Chief Medical Officer

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Chief Financial Officer

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