Synopsis:
Ram Aiyar, Ph.D., MBA, is the President & CEO of Korro Bio. Korro Bio harnesses the body’s natural RNA editing machinery to make precise, single-base RNA edits to modulate protein function, addressing the medical needs of patients. Having founded several companies, Ram talks about some of the non-obvious differences in terms of being senior leadership and founder of a company versus being CEO. He discusses his approach to fundraising and how it’s changed over time. He talks about the field of RNA editing, the evolution of that space, and where he sees it heading long term. Finally, he discusses where the company is from a pipeline building perspective and how he thinks about indication selection.
Biography:
Ram Aiyar, Ph.D., MBA, is the chief executive officer and president of Korro Bio and sits on the board of directors.
Ram brings nearly two decades of diverse experience in biotech and pharma, working across all stages of development from launch to clinical to commercialization. He has a long history of launching and building biotech startups, and previously held a wide range of roles in finance, strategy, product development and venture capital. Most recently, he was a co-founder, chief financial officer and chief business officer at Corvidia Therapeutics, and eventually led its acquisition by Novo Nordisk for $2.1B. Prior to Corvidia, he was an entrepreneur-in-residence at BioHealth Innovation (BHI).
Ram started his scientific career in research at Janssen Pharmaceuticals’ immunology group. He has also held leadership roles in corporate development, finance and strategy at FlowMetric Inc., Sofinnova Partners, and J.P. Morgan Chase.
Ram received his M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from Drexel University and an MBA in finance and business strategy from INSEAD (France/Singapore).
Biotech 2050 Podcast