Nxera Team

Our management team, board and strategic and scientific advisors have vast experience in the global pharma industry and provide a wealth of expertise.

Executive Leadership

Board of Directors

Strategic Advisory Council

Metabolic Advisory Council

Scientific Advisors

Chris was appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer in March 2022.
He joined Nxera Pharma in September 2017 as Head of Investor Relations and Communications and was appointed as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer in November 2018. Prior to this, he gained over a decade’s worth of experience in the global financial services sector and brings an extensive range of healthcare knowledge, financial acumen and market perspective from his previous advisory roles. Chris began his career in the Corporate Finance division of KPMG before spending over eight years in Investment Banking at J.P. Morgan, primarily focused on the UK healthcare sector. Chris received a Bachelor of Business (Banking &amp; Finance) and a Bachelor of Laws from Monash University in Australia.

Mr. Chris Cargill

Chris was appointed as Chairman of the Board in April 2025.
He joined Nxera Pharma in September 2017 as Head of Investor Relations and Communications and was appointed as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer in November 2018. Prior to this, he gained over a decade’s worth of experience in the global financial services sector and brings an extensive range of healthcare knowledge, financial acumen and market perspective from his previous advisory roles. Chris began his career in the Corporate Finance division of KPMG before spending over eight years in Investment Banking at J.P. Morgan, primarily focused on the UK healthcare sector. Chris received a Bachelor of Business (Banking &amp; Finance) and a Bachelor of Laws from Monash University in Australia.

Hironoshin was appointed as Chief Financial Officer in March 2022.　
He joined Nxera Pharma in 2020 as Senior Vice President, IR &amp; Corporate Strategy from Mizuho Securities in Tokyo, Japan, at which he spent over five years and was one of the most experienced and respected research analysts in Japan with a focus on the Japanese biotechnology sector. Previously, Hironoshin spent over five years as a healthcare consultant at the Mitsubishi Research Institute. He received a Master’s degree in Pharmacy from Tohoku University in Japan.

Mr. Hironoshin Nomura

Toshihiro Maeda joins from Bristol Myers Squibb (“BMS”), where he led a Business Unit and was instrumental in the post-merger integration of Celgene’s businesses and commercial strategies for the combined group in Japan. He brings with him a breadth of global management and commercialization experience and a strong background rooted in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to BMS, he worked at Merck &amp; Co in both Japan and the US where he held senior partnering and commercialization roles in its oncology and diabetes business units. He also worked at McKinsey and Company in Japan and the UK where he gained global business experience in healthcare industry. Mr. Maeda holds an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business in the US.
Toshihiro was appointed as Chief Operating Officer of Nxera Pharma in December 2023.

Mr. Toshi Maeda

Dr. Patrik Foerch is an accomplished R&amp;D leader across immunology, oncology and neuroscience. Most recently, he served as CSO at Peptone, contributing to an AI-enabled discovery platform and the buildout of an early pipeline targeting intrinsically disordered proteins. Prior to that, at Sitryx he led multiple programs from IND through first-in-human studies under a collaboration with Eli Lilly. Before that, he spent 15 years at the European pharmaceutical company UCB in R&amp;D roles of increasing seniority. Dr. Foerch is an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Francis Crick Institute in London, holds a PhD from EMBL Heidelberg, and completed postdoctoral training at the same institute.

Dr. Patrik Foerch

Kieran joined Nxera Pharma in September 2017 as Senior Vice President, Group Financial Controller following over 13 years spent in senior financial management, corporate development and compliance roles at GSK in the UK. Before that, he set up a financial consultancy practice following 10 years at KPMG, from which he qualified as a Chartered Accountant.

Mr. Kieran Johnson

Candelle joined Nxera Pharma in April 2018 as Vice President Corporate Strategy and was promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff in March 2023. Candelle has also held interim positions as Head of Human Resources and Head of Site Operations and has managed group strategic projects, corporate finance transactions, internal and external communications and investor relations. 
Prior to joining Nxera Pharma, Candelle spent over five years in healthcare investment banking at J.P. Morgan in Sydney, Australia and in London, UK. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons.) and a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) from the University of New South Wales, Australia.

Ms. Candelle Chong

David is an experienced scientist and physician, with a distinguished career in the pharmaceutical industry, most notably as Senior Vice President and Head of R&amp;D for Pfizer in Europe along with several senior positions at Summit Therapeutics plc, the Francis Crick Institute and Bayer AG.
David is currently CEO of Relation Therapeutics Ltd and Chairman of Centauri Therapeutics Ltd, both UK-based biotechnology companies.
David has a degree in biochemistry from University of London and qualified in Medicine from St George’s Hospital, London. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He is an honorary Professor of Medicine at Swansea University and Professor of Translational Medicine at St George’s. He also sits on a variety of committees at Wellcome, on the UK Biomedical Catalyst Fund and the LEO Foundation prize committee.
David was elected to the Nxera Pharma Board of Directors in June 2018.

Dr. David Roblin

Eiko formerly served (until her retirement in March 2023) as Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs at Bristol Myers Squibb where she oversaw regulatory affairs in over 40 countries. Prior to joining Bristol Myers Squibb in 2007, Eiko held roles at Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Monsanto and Eisai. 
Eiko is a qualified pharmacist and holds an MBA from the University of Wales, Cardiff. 
Eiko joined the Board of Directors of Nxera Pharma in April 2023.

Mrs. Eiko Tomita

Rolf Soderstrom is an Executive Partner and former Chief Financial Officer at Syncona Investment Management Limited and Independent Director of Biopharma Credit plc, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Previous roles include Chief Financial Officer of BTG PLC between 2008 and 2018 where he helped implement and execute a transformational growth strategy culminating in a sale to Boston Scientific for $4.2bn. Prior to this he was Chief Financial Officer at Protherics PLC and held senior finance roles in Cobham PLC, Cable &amp; Wireless PLC and PwC. He received a BA honours degree in History from University College London and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales 
Rolf joined the Board of Directors of Nxera Pharma in March 2020.

Mr. Rolf Soderstrom

Noriaki has over 38 years’ corporate experience, having held several important senior positions at Nomura Holdings Co., Ltd. And Nomura Securities, Co., Ltd., most recently Deputy Chief of Staff, Chief Legal Officer and Senior Corporate Managing Director of both entities.
Noriaki has also served as a Non-executive Director for Japan Securities Depository Center, Inc., and Japan Securities Clearing Corporation and is currently a Professor of Law at Doshisha University.

Mr. Noriaki Nagai

Malcolm has extensive career experience and expertise in drug discovery and development. He was the Head of Biomolecular Structure and then the Molecular Sciences division of GlaxoWellcome with responsibility for 300 people engaged in target validation and lead discovery. During this time, he pioneered the application of structural biology and modelling to drug discovery, resulting in the advancement of clinical candidates to a wide range of diseases.
Malcolm joined the structural bioinformatics and drug discovery company Inpharmatica Ltd as CEO in 2000, growing it from the spin-out stage to a 100-person company which was sold to Galapagos NV in 2006. He then joined MRC Technology in 2006 to establish Heptares Therapeutics Ltd in July 2007, as Co-Founder and CEO.
Malcolm has been Visiting Professor of Biochemistry at Imperial College, London since 1997 and advises on translational sciences and structural biology at the same university. He served on the Council of the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council from 2004 to 2011, and continues to advise the UK Government periodically on biotechnology issues. He received the Malcolm Campbell Memorial Prize 2015, awarded by the UK Royal Society of Chemistry’s Biological and Medicinal Chemistry Sector, in recognition of his contribution to GPCR drug discovery. In 2016, he received an honorary DSc from the University of Hertfordshire for services to research, and is a Trustee of the Biochemical Society. In 2019, he was named as a Honorary Member of The British Biophysical Society (BBS). He has published over 70 papers and patents.

Dr. Malcolm Weir

Richard is a molecular biologist and biophysicist who is distinguished for his contributions to protein crystallography. Richard was the first to solve the structure of a protein found in the membrane of a cell.
Richard has worked at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge since 1973 and was its Director from 1996–2006. He was a founding scientist of Heptares Therapeutics Ltd, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Nxera Pharma. His awards include the 1999 Gregori Aminoff Prize, the 1993 Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine and the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution.

Dr. Richard Henderson

Paul is a medicinal chemistry consultant with &gt;35 years’ experience in major pharmaceutical companies: Smith Kline and French, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Wyeth (USA), AstraZeneca, and GlaxoSmithKline. Since 2014 he has advised pharmaceutical companies, start-ups, and academia. Paul’s drug discovery contributions have been in the cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory and inflammation therapy areas. He has a special interest in compound quality and in 2014 he received the Nauta Award from the European Federation of Medicinal Chemistry. Paul has a PhD from the University of Cambridge and holds an honorary professorship at the University of Nottingham.

Dr. Paul Leeson

John is an experienced scientist and leader with extensive pharmaceutical/biotechnology R&amp;D experience in small molecule- and biologics-based therapeutics for immunological and cardiovascular disorders. John has a strong track record of leading multi-disciplinary global research teams at Vertex, Janssen and Takeda, driving novel therapeutic entities into pre-clinical/clinical development via integrated translational research. 
John is currently an independent consultant in biotech and pharma. He co-founded Estrellita Pharmaceuticals LLC and is a member of the American Association of Immunologists. John holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Bristol.

Dr. John Parkinson

Sheena Radford is the Astbury Professor of Biophysics at the University of Leeds and a Royal Society Research Professor. Following her position as a research fellow with the late Professor Sir Chris Dobson at the University of Oxford, she joined the academic staff of the University of Leeds in 1995. She was Deputy Director of the Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology at the University of Leeds in 2009 – 2011 and its Director in 2012 – 2021. She currently holds a Royal Society Research Professorship at the University of Leeds.
Her work focuses on the question of how proteins fold, and how and why proteins aggregate and form amyloid fibrils linked to human disease. Her group also studies how bacteria fold proteins into their outer membranes to build the cell wall. These research areas have implications for the treatment of diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease and the development of antibiotics targeted against Gram-negative pathogens.
In 2020 Sheena was elected Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to molecular biology. Sheena graduated in Biochemistry at the University of Birmingham in the UK and completed her PhD with the late Professor Richard Perham in Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge, UK.

Prof. Sheena Radford OBE

Professor Duncan Richards is Head of the Department of Medicine at Cambridge University. Prior to this, he was Professor of Clinical Therapeutics at the University of Oxford and Director of the Oxford Clinical Trial Research Unit. Duncan also directed the NIHR Oxford Clinical Research Facility, a newly refurbished 13 bedded facility providing capability across the medical sciences division. 

Prior to this, Duncan spent nearly 20 years working in Pharmaceutical R&amp;D in a number of clinical development roles. Latterly Duncan was head of Clinical Pharmacology and Experimental Medicine for GSK Research and Director of GSK’s phase 1 and experimental medicine unit in Cambridge (CUC).

Prof. Duncan Richards

Angela Russell is a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and holds a joint appointment between the Departments of Chemistry and Pharmacology at the University of Oxford. She gained her MChem degree from the University of Oxford in 2000 and her DPhil in Organic Chemistry in 2004. 
Her research interests are centered around the discovery of new molecules and mechanisms to manipulate cell fate and to translate them into therapeutic agents, particularly for degenerative diseases. She has initiated a number of collaborative research programmes, including a medicinal chemistry approach to the modulation of gene expression to treat fatal rare genetic diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
She co-founded the Oxford spin-out MuOx Ltd, (now part of Summit Therapeutics plc), and co-founded OxStem Ltd in 2016. In 2016, she was named as a ‘Rising Star’ in the BioBeat 50 Movers and Shakers in BioBusiness report. In October 2020 she was awarded a 2021 Harrington UK Rare Disease scholarship in recognition of, and in support of, her work on developing a therapy for DMD.

Prof. Angela Russell

Serena is the Head of Human Genomics and Translational Data at ELIXIR, in the European infrastructure for bioinformatics and life-science data, based in Hinxton, UK. Serena is a member of the ELIXIR leadership team. She develops and implements a programme to construct and operate a sustainable genomics data infrastructure (to facilitate discoverability, access and analysis of data) to support life science research and its translation to medicine. As part of this, she leads multiple large consortia across Europe (grants totalling &gt;50M Euros). 
Prior to joining ELIXIR, she was a Director within the Human Genetics and Computational Biomedicine group at Pfizer. In this role, she led and implemented a genetic and precision medicine strategy to support drug target selection and clinical programmes for the Pain and Sensory Disorders Research Unit. She was also a member of the ABPI Stratified Medicine Working Group. Earlier in her career, she worked within the Toxicogenomics group at GlaxoSmithKline. She gained postdoctoral experience at the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London and a PhD from the University of Cambridge, with a focus on the genetic susceptibility to disease.

Dr. Serena Scollen

Chris is a membrane protein biochemist working at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge who pioneered the use of conformational thermostabilisation for the structure determination of GPCRs. This technology was the foundation of Heptares Therapeutics and Chris was one of the co-founders of the company in 2007. More recently, his lab developed mini-G proteins that have led to structures of GPCRs in the active coupled state by X-ray crystallography and single-particle cryo-EM. Chris was awarded his PhD (1989) by the University of Bristol, after which he worked in the Department of Biochemistry, Cambridge, before moving to the LMB in 1992. In 2019, he was named as a Honorary Member of The British Biophysical Society (BBS).

Dr. Chris Tate

Naoko is a partner at Nishimura &amp; Asahi and has extensive expertise in domestic and international corporate legal affairs and M&amp;A. Naoko was previously a lecturer at Hitotsubashi University in the International Corporate Strategy Department, and now lectures in the Business Law Department. Naoko also serves as an External Director to Tsukishima Holdings Co., Ltd. She holds a Bachelors of Law and a Masters of Law from The University of Tokyo and Stanford Law School, respectively. 
Naoko joined the Nxera Pharma Board of Directors in March 2025.

Ms. Naoko Shimura

Nicola is a partner at Linklaters LLP and has significant experience in the field of employment law, advising on strategic initiatives and transactions related to diversity, workplace culture and remuneration. Nicola also serves as an External Director for Zigup PLC and Kent Football Association. She holds a Law degree from King's College London. 
Nicola joined the Nxera Pharma Board of Directors in March 2025.

Ms. Nicola Rabson

William “Bill” Burns has dedicated his career to Life Sciences. He began at Beecham Pharmaceuticals, including three years in business development in Japan, before joining Roche. At Roche, he held roles in global marketing and regional management, ultimately serving as CEO of the Global Pharma Division. During his tenure, Roche expanded into specialty care and monoclonal antibodies, integrating Syntex, Boehringer Mannheim, and Genentech, and establishing a key partnership with Chugai in Japan. Bill has served as a trustee of the Wellcome Trust and the Institute of Cancer Research in London and held non-executive director roles at Roche, Chugai, Genentech, and Shire (prior to its acquisition by Takeda). He is currently Chair of Molecular Partners (CH), Vestergaard Frandsen Holdings (CH), and the Antimicrobial Action Fund (US/CH), as well as Vice Chair of Mesoblast (AUS/US) and a member of multiple Life Sciences advisory boards. A UK national, Bill holds a BA (Hons) from the University of Strathclyde and resides in Switzerland.

Mr. William Burns

Dr. Morooka is a seasoned physician executive specialized in public policy in healthcare. He has founded/co-founded several companies in recent years, including PH Consulting LLC, a Tokyo based public policy and management advisory firm, and Hedgehog MedTech K.K., a migraine solution SaMD company. Prior to these, he assumed managerial positions of increasing responsibilities at organizations including MSD K.K., Covidien Japan, the International University of Health and Welfare, World Health Organization, and Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan. He holds an M.D. from Kyoto University and MPH from Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Morooka has been registered to practice medicine in Japan since 1994 and is a plastic surgeon by training.

Dr. Takeo Morooka

Mr. Ninomiya has over 30 years of management experience and a solid academic background in science and business with a career spanning both the pharmaceutical industry and corporate investment. He began his career at Astellas Pharma where he played a key role in establishing and driving the growth of its U.S. business, particularly in Marketing and Sales. He then joined AstraZeneca’s Global Headquarters, leading critical international projects for the Executive Vice President, before transferring to AstraZeneca Japan to oversee the entire Primary Care operations. Subsequently, Mr. Ninomiya served as General Manager at Abbott Japan and later joined Novartis Pharma Japan, where he successfully launched several key products as COO and President. He then transitioned to Orix Corporation as Senior Advisor for Business Investment and Development, focusing on the healthcare industry. In addition to his corporate career, he serves as a Professor at The Graduate School of Project Design. Mr. Ninomiya holds a Bachelor's degree in applied science from Waseda University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Mr. Yoshiyasu Ninomiya

Mariko joined Nxera in 2021 as General Counsel having previously worked at Deloitte LLP and Jones Day LLP where she specialised in corporate M&amp;A and private equity. Mariko is a qualified solicitor in England and Wales, having trained at Berwin Leighton Paisner. She holds a political science degree from Richmond, the American International University, a Master's degree in Chinese comparative politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a LLB (law conversion) from the College of Law.

Ms. Mariko Nakafuji

Prof. O’Rahilly is internationally recognized for his pioneering research into the genetic and molecular basis of human metabolic and endocrine diseases. Prof. O’Rahilly currently serves as Professor of Clinical Biochemistry and Medicine at the University of Cambridge, Director of the MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit, an Honorary Consultant Physician at Addenbrookes Hospital and a Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge. He also co-founded Marea Therapeutics, a cardioendocrine biotech company backed by leading international life science investors including Third Rock Ventures, Forbion, Omega, Perceptive Advisors, Sofinnova Partners, and Surveyor Capital, underscoring his long-standing commitment to translating cutting-edge science into real-world therapies.

Prof. Sir Stephen O'Rahilly

Professor Tricia Tan is Chair in Metabolic Medicine and Endocrinology at Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and Director of R&amp;D at NW London Pathology. She has over 20 years' experience in gut hormone research and physiological studies into the impact of gut hormones on appetite and metabolic regulation. She has completed several Phase 1 trials on gut hormone analogs and co-founded the obesity therapeutics spin-out company Zihipp Ltd. (now part of Pfizer). She is the director of the UK Endocrinology Supraregional Assay Service Gut Hormone service, and her clinical research spans from the diagnosis and treatment of neuroendocrine tumours to diagnostic testing in endocrine disorders.

Prof. Tricia Tan

Dr. Mads Tang-Christensen has more than 20 years of leadership experience in obesity and metabolic disease research across the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors. Mads is currently CSO at Antag Therapeutics, Embark Laboratories and Incipiam Pharma. He has held various leadership roles in diabetes and obesity at Novo Nordisk, most recently Corporate Vice President, where he was the Global Head of Obesity and Liver Disease Research. Mads co-founded Gubra Aps and Rheoscience A/S, where he held executive positions. He is currently a Professor of Physiology at Monash University, Melbourne. He has authored close to 50 scientific publications and holds an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the University of Copenhagen.

Dr. Mads Tang-Christensen

Dr Hitesh Sanganee is a strategic drug discovery and development executive with more than two decades of experience across the R&amp;D value chain, from early discovery through to clinical development. He is a part-time Venture Partner at Octopus Ventures, supporting biotech and healthtech founders at the most ambitious frontiers of medical science, drawing on his track record of delivering multiple drug candidates and new therapeutic modalities into the clinic. Previously, Hitesh was Executive Director and Global Head of Emerging Innovations at AstraZeneca, where he led open innovation, drug repositioning and external collaboration initiatives with leading academic and funding partners. A recognised thought leader, he was named among Asia Tech’s Top 100 Innovators, and is widely regarded for his work at the intersection of science, technology and venture investing. Hitesh holds a DPhil and BA in Chemistry from the University of Oxford and an MBA from the University of Cambridge.

Dr. Hitesh Sanganee

Iain has 30 years of global biopharmaceutical industry experience leading programmes from idea through to clinical development across a range of indications and therapeutic modalities. He is currently CEO of Sitryx Therapeutics, a clinical-stage immunology company, and a venture partner with SV Health Investors. He developed as a drug discoverer through a 22-year tenure at Pfizer, starting as an internal industrial postdoc and taking on roles of increasing responsibility, working across the drug discovery paradigm from target identification to leading the early clinical cluster in Rheumatology and Dermatology. Ultimately, Iain served as Vice President Preclinical Sciences in the Inflammation and Immunology Research Unit, where he was responsible for a portfolio of both small and large molecule programmes targeted across rheumatology, dermatology and gastroenterology. Iain moved to biotech in 2018 and joined Atlas Venture as an Entrepreneur in Residence and the Chief Scientific Officer of Quench Bio, before moving to Sitryx Therapeutics in 2021.
Iain graduated with a BA and MA Cantab in Biochemistry from Jesus College, University of Cambridge, UK, before completing his PhD in the Breast Cancer Research Laboratories at the University of Liverpool, UK.

Team

Our management team, board and strategic and scientific advisors have vast experience in the global pharma industry and provide a wealth of expertise.

Mr. Chris Cargill

Mr. Hironoshin Nomura

Mr. Toshi Maeda

Dr. Patrik Foerch

Mr. Kieran Johnson

Ms. Candelle Chong

Ms. Mariko Nakafuji

Mr. Chris Cargill

Dr. David Roblin

Mrs. Eiko Tomita

Mr. Rolf Soderstrom

Ms. Naoko Shimura

Ms. Nicola Rabson

Dr. Takeo Morooka

Mr. Noriaki Nagai

Mr. William Burns

Mr. Yoshiyasu Ninomiya

Prof. Sir Stephen O'Rahilly

Prof. Tricia Tan

Dr. Mads Tang-Christensen

Dr. Malcolm Weir

Dr. Richard Henderson

Dr. Paul Leeson

Dr. John Parkinson

Prof. Sheena Radford OBE

Prof. Duncan Richards

Prof. Angela Russell

Dr. Serena Scollen

Dr. Chris Tate

Dr. Hitesh Sanganee

Dr. Iain Kilty

Dr. Iain Kilty