Guiding InduPro’s Next Stage of Growth

Dr. Hymowitz joined The Column Group in 2021.  Previously, she spent 22 years at Genentech rising to Vice President of Protein Sciences. In this role, she oversaw the large molecule drug discovery portfolio and mentored project teams on the identification and optimization of more than 35 clinical candidates. Earlier, as a member of the Genentech Small Molecule Leadership Team, she supported teams in advancing more than 25 molecules to IND-enabling studies and led a collaboration with AbbVie and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute that resulted in the discovery of Venclexta.  Dr. Hymowitz earned a B.A. in Chemistry from Swarthmore College, followed by a Ph.D. in Biophysics from the University of California, San Francisco prior to joining Genentech in 1999 as a postdoctoral fellow.

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Alex Loftis, Ph.D., is a Principal at Vida Ventures.

Prior to his current role, Alex was a life sciences consultant at L.E.K. Consulting in Boston, where he worked closely with biopharma clients on strategic initiatives, including due diligence, corporate strategy, and market assessments. Before his consulting career, Alex was a Fellow at Vida Ventures in the firm’s Boston office.

Alex earned his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where his research focused on antigen-specific tolerance induction, peptide drug discovery, and protein engineering. As a Biotechnology Training Program Fellow, Alex developed expertise in the intersection of immunology and drug development, working on projects aimed at advancing therapeutic strategies for autoimmune diseases and other immune-mediated conditions.

He graduated summa cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis with an A.B. in Chemistry, where he developed a strong foundation in the principles of chemical biology and molecular science.

Brian Goodman, Ph.D., is a Managing Director at Vida Ventures.

Dr. Goodman has spent the past decade as an entrepreneur and investor in biotech. Before joining Vida, he was a Partner at MPM BioImpact and served on the investment committee of the BioVentures Fund where he focused on company creation as well as traditional venture investments. Dr. Goodman is a co-founder of Aktis Oncology (and currently serves as an Advisor to the company) and ReNAgade Therapeutics (acquired by Orna Therapeutics). He served on the board of directors of Orna Therapeutics, Seawolf Therapeutics, and Antiva Biosciences. Dr. Goodman has played key leadership roles at portfolio companies during the early stages of development, including leading Business Development at Orna and ReNAgade and serving as Chief Operations Officer and Chief Business Officer at Aktis Oncology.

Prior to joining MPM BioImpact, he cofounded Evelo Biosciences (IPO), lead the innovation and technology team there, and was a Senior Associate at Flagship Pioneering. He has worked across a diverse span of science, drug discovery and development including RNA medicines, nonviral nucleic acid delivery, radiopharmaceuticals, the microbiome, and extracellular vesicles and is an inventor on multiple patents.

Dr. Goodman holds a Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology from Harvard Medical School, and B.S. and B.A. degrees in biochemistry and economics, respectively, from Brandeis University.

Craig Parker joined The Column Group in 2024 as a Venture Partner. He is CEO of Surrozen. Mr. Parker brings more than 25 years of science and business experience across leadership positions in both public and privately-held biopharmaceutical companies, as well as within financial organizations. Prior to Surrozen, he was Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Jazz Pharmaceuticals. He previously served as Executive Vice President of Corporate Development and Scientific Affairs at Geron Corporation, as well as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at Human Genome Sciences until the company’s acquisition by GlaxoSmithKline. He began his career in various positions at financial institutions on Wall Street, where he was one of the top-ranked biotechnology research analysts. Mr. Parker serves as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, and chairs the institute’s Leadership Council. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Chicago, an MBA from the University of Michigan and attended the Georgetown University School of Medicine.

Prakash Raman, Ph.D. has over two decades of biopharmaceutical business development and executive leadership experience, blending his scientific background, program and portfolio management and strong business development experience to lead and support biopharma companies. Prakash joined as CEO of InduPro in April 2024 after serving as President and CEO of Ribon Therapeutics, a biotech company focused on first-in-class small molecule drugs for Oncology and Immunology targeting the PARP family of enzymes, from Feb 2022 to March 2024.

Prior to joining Ribon, Prakash served as Senior Partner, Chief Business Development Officer at Flagship Pioneering from October 2019 to February 2022, where he leveraged the platforms and assets in Flagship’s network to generate opportunities for significant value creation. Dr. Raman joined Flagship after spending nearly fourteen years at Novartis, most recently as Vice President, Global Head of Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR) Business Development and Licensing. During his time at Novartis, Dr. Raman was instrumental in forging key collaborations in immuno-oncology, executing many out-licensing opportunities and guiding the acquisitions of Advanced Accelerator Applications, Endocyte, IFM Tre and Selexys. In addition, he has led cross-functional drug discovery and early development project teams that successfully progressed compounds to clinical testing in patients. Prior to Novartis, Dr. Raman spent six years as a Senior Scientist at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and two years as a post-doctoral fellow at The Scripps Research Institute.

Prakash completed his undergraduate work at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and received his Ph.D. in Organic and Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

As President & CEO, Mr. Yoon leads Solasta Ventures (formerly known as Aju IB Investment), one of the leading venture capital firms in South Korea. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Mr. Yoon oversees Solasta’s investments with a focus on U.S. based life science companies and early stage start-ups with novel science. Mr. Yoon also leads multiple cross-border strategic partnerships by leveraging his relationship with top-tier pharmaceutical companies in Korea. Currently, he is involved in multiple overseas venture capital fundraising projects by interacting with Korean governmental institutional funds as well as various private investors in Asia.

Additionally, Mr. Yoon is a board member of Arcellx, EvolveImmune Therapeutics, Maxion Therapeutics and Trefoil Therapeutics, and a board observer at several private biotechnology companies. Prior to Solasta Ventures, he spent more than twenty years in alternative (VC/PE) investments and healthcare corporate banking where he took numerous responsibilities in portfolio management, deal structuring, and fundraising. His previous experience includes venture investment management at Kibo Capital, the first venture fund in Korea; portfolio management with RBS Healthcare Banking Group; and venture accelerator program at Berwind Private Equity, a multi-generational family office located in Harvard, Massachusetts. Mr. Yoon earned his M.B.A. from Babson College, M.S.F. from Boston College and B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea.