About Us

Mr. Basta has more than 25 years of leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries. Before joining Phathom, he served as CEO of SaNOtize, a company developing and commercializing nitric oxide–based anti-infective therapies, where he oversaw the launch of novel topical infection products in the United States. Prior to that, he was CEO of Mahana Therapeutics, which launched the first FDA-cleared digital therapeutic for irritable bowel syndrome and developed a novel digital therapy for tinnitus.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Basta held CEO roles at Menlo Therapeutics (now VYNE Therapeutics), AlterG, BioForm Medical, and its successor Merz Aesthetics. During his tenure at BioForm and Merz, he built a leading global medical aesthetics business, driving innovation in product design, new clinical applications, and commercial strategy.

He currently serves on the boards of DermBiont, Inc. and VYNE Therapeutics.

Mr. Basta earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

Sanjeev Narula most recently served as Chief Financial Officer at Intra-Cellular Therapies, where he oversaw finance leading up to its $14.6 billion acquisition by Johnson & Johnson and played a key role in capital strategy, M&A, and financial planning. He previously served as CFO of Viatris and CFO of Upjohn, a former Pfizer division, where he gained extensive global experience across commercial, R&D, Information Technology, and global supply functions.

During his 16 years at Pfizer, he held senior finance roles, including CFO for Pfizer’s Essential Health Business and CFO of the Primary Care Business Unit, then the company’s largest commercial division. Earlier in his career, he held leadership positions at American Express and Xerox.

Mr. Narula earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting and economics from the University of Delhi and is a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

Anne Marie Cook brings over 30 years of experience providing counsel to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. She was most recently with Sage Therapeutics, Inc. where she served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary from 2015 to 2024. Prior to joining Sage, Ms. Cook served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and before that role was a partner with Boston-based law firm Choate Hall & Stewart LLP (Choate), where she represented life science companies in structuring and negotiating strategic transactions and provided general legal support in connection with the research, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. Ms. Cook’s past experience also includes roles as Senior Vice President, Business & Corporate Development, General Counsel at ViaCell, Inc., and Chief Corporate Counsel at Biogen.

Ms. Cook received her J.D. from Notre Dame Law School and her B.S. in biology from Tufts University.

Nancy Phelan is a recognized leader in pharmaceutical commercialization, customer engagement, and omnichannel marketing, with over 25 years of experience leading marketing for blockbuster products at global organizations, including Novartis, Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer, and Schering-Plough.

At Schering-Plough (now Merck), Ms. Phelan led the Claritin prescription-to-over-the-counter (OTC) switch and oversaw the brand’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) organization, launching some of the first digital and consumer education programs in the industry. She later held senior commercial leadership roles at Novartis, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Pfizer, where she led digital transformation initiatives and drove strong commercial performance across therapeutic areas.

Most recently, Ms. Phelan served as Senior Vice President and Head of Customer Engagement at Trinity Life Sciences, where she led a commercial consulting team focused on digital innovation, analytics, and omnichannel strategy. Her leadership has been recognized with numerous industry honors, including MM+M Woman of Distinction, DTC Hall of Fame, PM360 ELITE Digital Crusader, Pharmaceutical Executive 40 Under 40, and Working Mother Cover Mom.

Ms. Phelan serves on the Boards of Directors for Achieve Life Sciences (Nasdaq: ACHV) and Medexus Pharmaceuticals and earned her bachelor’s degree from Franklin and Marshall College with honors.

Eckhard Leifke is the former Chief Medical Officer at Omeros. Prior to Omeros, he held executive roles at Sanofi, including Global Head/Vice President of Early Project & External Opportunities – Cardiovascular and Metabolism and Global Head/Vice President of Late Stage Development – Diabetes.

Dr. Leifke has built global teams at pharmaceutical companies including Bayer and Takeda and led the global development of multiple early- and late-stage small molecule and biologic drug candidates to successful marketing authorizations worldwide.

Dr. Leifke holds an M.D. from the University of Freiburg, Germany and is board-certified in internal medicine and endocrinology.

Paul Cocja is the former Vice President, People and Organization for Novartis’ U.S. Pharmaceutical Division and most recently led their U.S. Transformation Office. He has over 35 years of Human Resources (HR) experience, the majority of which has been in the biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to his time at Novartis, Mr. Cocja served as Vice President, Human Resources at Celgene Corporation, leading HR teams supporting multiple global divisions.

In addition to leading many HR organizations in the U.S. and globally, Mr. Cocja has developed significant expertise in leadership development, organizational effectiveness and culture optimization.

He currently serves on the Board of Community Hope, NJ’s largest non-profit providing social, housing and support services to individuals suffering from mental illness as well as U.S. veterans in need. Mr. Cocja holds a Master’s Degree in Education with a concentration in adult learning theory from Seton Hall University and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Drew University.

Bill Aprea’s experience as an attorney within the biopharma industry spans 20 years with positions at multiple U.S. and international innovator companies. Mr. Aprea previously served as Executive Director, Senior Franchise and Compliance Counsel at Celgene Corporation which was acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2019.  His experience in the industry has been focused on managing legal support for biopharma companies and building effective and fit-for-purpose legal and compliance teams and programs. His expertise includes corporate and securities law, corporate governance, intellectual property, food and drug laws, regulations and guidance, anti-bribery and fraud and abuse and other laws, industry codes and guidelines. He began his career as a corporate and securities attorney in private law firm practice.

Mr. Aprea earned his J.D. degree from Rutgers School of Law-Newark and has a Bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Rutgers University.

Jonathan Bentley is the former Vice President of Sales at Intra-Cellular Therapies, where he led multiple national field organizations from initial commercial buildout through the company’s acquisition by Johnson & Johnson for $14.6 billion. He also brings deep gastrointestinal expertise from his tenure at Salix Pharmaceuticals, where he held key sales and operations leadership roles contributing to the company’s acquisition by Bausch Health for $11 billion.

Mr. Bentley holds a bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point and is a former U.S. Army officer.

Robert Breedlove is the former Senior Manager at van den Boom & Associates, an accounting and finance consulting firm. In this role, he oversaw the development of several finance and accounting departments at clinical and commercial stage life sciences companies. Previously, Mr. Breedlove served as the Manager of Financial Reporting and Compliance at Neogenomics and prior to that held numerous roles of increasing responsibility at Ernst & Young.

Mr. Breedlove is a Certified Public Account and earned his B.A. and M.A. in accountancy from the University of San Diego.

Jay Buchanan, Pharm.D., has over 30 years of operations experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and is the former Vice President of U.S. Operations and External Supply at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for overseeing supply chain, manufacturing, CMC science and labeling functions supporting the U.S. pharmaceutical and biologics market.

Dr. Buchanan also held multiple positions of increasing responsibility over 16 years with Abbott Laboratories Global Pharmaceutical Operations organization managing sterile/non-sterile pharmaceutical, nutritional and device operations.  He was the Head of Latin American Operations where he was responsible for the management and strategic direction for manufacturing sites in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico including the construction of a new integrated site in Mexico with manufacturing, packaging and laboratory operations.  In addition to manufacturing and supply chain, he also held roles in formulation development at Abbott and before joining industry, Dr. Buchanan was a staff pharmacist at the University of Illinois at Chicago responsible for the investigational drug service.

Dr. Buchanan holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Mark Devlin is the former Senior Vice President of Market Access at Allergan, where he led a team of over 130 colleagues in account management, strategic pricing, payer marketing, contracting and trade sales. In this role, Mr. Devlin led the portfolio pricing and market access strategies for a $12B U.S. pharmaceutical portfolio of approximately 40 brands in seven therapeutic markets. After departing Allergan, Mr. Devlin founded a pharma consulting business and helped over a dozen clients navigate through diverse business issues. Mr. Devlin started his career in sales at Forest Laboratories where he progressed through numerous commercial leadership roles over 28 years.

Mr. Devlin earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry at Fairleigh Dickinson University and attended the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College.

Mr. Basta has more than 25 years of leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries. Before joining Phathom, he served as CEO of SaNOtize, a company developing and commercializing nitric oxide–based anti-infective therapies, where he oversaw the launch of novel topical infection products in the United States. Prior to that, he was CEO of Mahana Therapeutics, which launched the first FDA-cleared digital therapeutic for irritable bowel syndrome and developed a novel digital therapy for tinnitus.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Basta held CEO roles at Menlo Therapeutics (now VYNE Therapeutics), AlterG, BioForm Medical, and its successor Merz Aesthetics. During his tenure at BioForm and Merz, he built a leading global medical aesthetics business, driving innovation in product design, new clinical applications, and commercial strategy.

He currently serves on the boards of DermBiont, Inc. and VYNE Therapeutics.

Mr. Basta earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

Mike Cola previously served as Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors at Avalo Therapeutics, Inc.

Prior to joining Avalo, Mr. Cola served as President and CEO of Aevi Genomic Medicine since September 2013.  Prior to joining Aevi, he served as President, Specialty Pharmaceuticals at Shire plc. Previously, Mr. Cola served as President of the life sciences group for Safeguard Scientifics, where he also served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Clarient and Chairman of Laureate Pharma. In addition, Mr. Cola has held senior positions at AstraMerck and AstraZeneca where he played a key role in the development and commercialization of both PRILOSEC® and NEXIUM®.

Mr. Cola received a B.A. in biology and physics from Ursinus College and an M.S. in biomedical science from Drexel University. He also serves on the Board of Directors at Sage Therapeutics and Vanda Pharmaceuticals.

Frank Karbe brings more than 25 years of experience across finance and the life sciences and currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of Cidara Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: CDTX).

Previously, Mr. Karbe was President and Chief Executive Officer of Better Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: BTTX). Before that, he served as President and Chief Financial Officer of Myovant Sciences (NYSE: MYOV). Earlier in his career, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEL), where he played a key role in the company’s transformation from a discovery-focused organization into a fully integrated commercial biopharmaceutical company.

Mr. Karbe began his career as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs & Co., advising life sciences companies on corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. He has also served on the boards of directors of Aduro Biotech, Arbutus Biopharma Corporation, and Kolltan Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Mr. Karbe holds a Diplom-Kaufmann (MBA) from the WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management in Koblenz, Germany.

Heidi Kunz retired as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Blue Shield of California.

She previously served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Gap, Inc., Chief Financial Officer of ITT Industries, Inc., and Treasurer of General Motors.

Ms. Kunz holds a B.S. from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. from Columbia University. She also serves on the board of Agilent Technologies and Avanos Medical.

Dr. Parikh, M.D., Ph.D., is the President and Chief Executive Officer of MOMA Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company discovering the next generation of precision medicines by targeting molecular machines that underlie human disease.

Previously, Dr. Parikh served as senior vice president and head of the Gastrointestinal Therapeutic Area at Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Parikh earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry and his M.D. from Vanderbilt University, and was a resident in internal medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He then completed subspecialty training in gastroenterology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, with postdoctoral work in cancer biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also remains actively engaged in the practice of gastroenterology and internal medicine as a part-time coverage staff physician at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Mr. Schroeder served as Chief Executive Officer of Nabriva Therapeutics from 2018 to 2023 and as a director until March 2025, following Nabriva’s acquisition of Zavante Therapeutics, where he was co-founder, President, and CEO. Prior to that, he co-founded Cadence Pharmaceuticals and served as President and CEO until its $1.4 billion acquisition by Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals in 2014. Earlier in his career, he held senior leadership roles at Elan Pharmaceuticals, Dura Pharmaceuticals, and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Mr. Schroeder currently serves on the Board of Directors of Cidara Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CDTX) and has previously served on the boards of several public and private life sciences companies, including Otonomy, Collegium Pharmaceutical, Hyperion Therapeutics, Incline Therapeutics, and Trius Therapeutics. He is also a former Chairman of Biocom California and the Antimicrobials Working Group. In 2014, he was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year for the San Diego region and was recognized as a national finalist.

He holds a B.S. in Management from Rutgers University.

Mr. Stenhouse has over thirty years of biopharma industry experience and currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Prometheus Biosciences, a biotechnology company focused on GI diseases. Prior to joining Prometheus Biosciences, Mr. Stenhouse served as General Manager of the Screening Business Unit at Exact Sciences where he led the Cologuard^® commercial functions including sales, marketing, market access, commercial operations, and medical affairs.

Prior to Exact Sciences, Mr. Stenhouse spent nearly thirty years at Abbott Laboratories/AbbVie, most recently as Vice President, U.S. Immunology. In this role, he led the U.S. sales and marketing teams responsible for HUMIRA^®. While at Abbott Laboratories/AbbVie, he held various sales and marketing roles of increasing responsibility, many relating to gastroenterology. Mr. Stenhouse holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the College of Charleston.

Jamie is a Managing Partner at Frazier Life Sciences and has led many of the firm’s successful investments, including Acerta Pharma BV (sold to AstraZeneca), Amunix Pharmaceuticals (sold to Sanofi), Calistoga Pharmaceuticals (co-founder, sold to Gilead Sciences), Mavupharma (sold to AbbVie), and Portola Pharmaceuticals (co-founder, sold to Alexion). In addition to Phathom, he currently represents Frazier on the boards of Alpine Immune Sciences (NASDAQ: ALPN), AnaptysBio (NASDAQ: ANAB), Enlaza Therapeutics, Lassen Therapeutics, and Seraxis. Jamie also serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Frazier Lifesciences Acquisition Corporation (NASDAQ: FLAC). In addition, he is a board observer for Alcresta Therapeutics.

Prior to joining Frazier, Jamie was the head of cardiovascular R&D at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and ran Millennium San Francisco (formerly COR Therapeutics). Before the merger of COR and Millennium, he served as the Vice President of Biology at COR and was responsible for all research activities. He served on the medical school faculties at Stanford and Harvard Medical School prior to joining COR.

Jamie received his M.D. and Ph.D. in Biophysics from Stanford and holds a B.S. from the University of Michigan. He did his postgraduate training in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He has authored over 50 publications and was the recipient of a Howard Hughes Scholars Award while on the faculty at Stanford.

June 1945 – August 2021

Dr. Yamada was a renowned pioneer in drug and vaccine development and an extremely accomplished leader in the gastrointestinal space. The team at Phathom would not be here without Dr. Yamada, and Phathom is proud to continue his legacy through our work to change the landscape of GI treatment.

Dr. Yamada served as a Venture Partner with Frazier Healthcare Partners and served as a Director of Agilent Technologies, CSL, and a number of private life sciences companies. As a member of the Frazier Life Sciences team, Dr. Yamada focused on both creating companies as well as providing strategic guidance to existing portfolio companies.

Prior to his role at Frazier Healthcare Partners, Dr. Yamada served as Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Officer at Takeda Pharmaceuticals and was a member of the company’s Board of Directors. In this role, Dr. Yamada was responsible for all of Takeda’s research and development activities and a budget of nearly $4 billion. Prior to Takeda, Dr. Yamada was President of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Health Program in Seattle, where he oversaw over $9 billion in grants for applying technologies to address major health challenges of the developing world.

Before joining the Gates Foundation, he was Chairman of Research and Development at GlaxoSmithKline and a member of the Board of Directors. Dr. Yamada was the Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and the Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Dr. Yamada earned his M.D. from New York University School of Medicine and a B.A. in History from Stanford University. He authored more than 150 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and was the editor of The Textbook of Gastroenterology.

David Socks is a Managing Partner at Mountainfield Venture Partners. Previously he was the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer of HilleVax, Inc. Mr. Socks is also a co-founder of Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and served as a member of the board of directors from January 2018 until June 2025.

Mr. Socks previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Phathom from January 2018 until his appointment as interim Chief Financial Officer, a position he held from December 2019 until July 2020. Since July 2020, Mr. Socks has served as a Strategic Advisor to Phathom Pharmaceuticals.

From August 2014 to September 2021, Mr. Socks was a Venture Partner at Frazier Healthcare Partners. In this capacity, he co-founded Arcutis, HilleVax, Passage Bio, Phathom Pharmaceuticals, and multiple private companies for which he served as Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining Frazier, Mr. Socks co-founded Incline Therapeutics, Inc. in 2010 and served as its President and Chief Operating Officer from 2010 until its sale to The Medicines Company in 2013. He also co-founded Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in 2004 and served as its Vice President of Business Development and then as its Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy from 2004 until 2010. From 2000 to 2004, Mr. Socks was a Venture Partner at Windamere Venture Partners, a venture capital firm founded and invested in early-stage life science companies, where he co-founded multiple biopharmaceutical companies.

Mr. Socks holds a B.S. from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. from Stanford University.

Azmi Nabulsi, M.D., is a Phathom co-founder and former Chief Operating Officer.

Dr. Nabulsi is the former Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Global Development at Takeda Pharmaceuticals. In these roles, he led all global research and development, medical, regulatory, operations, and data analytics functions. In addition, he led research and development portfolio management strategy and planning, focusing on enhancing the company’s pipeline and productivity.

During his 14-year career at Takeda U.S. and Japan, Dr. Nabulsi oversaw global drug development for both early and late-stage product candidates, and he was responsible for bringing the majority of Takeda’s 21 new drugs in multiple therapeutic areas and countries to market. He was also responsible for the design and execution of the company’s major research and development transformation, utilizing industry-leading approaches to drive innovation. Dr. Nabulsi has led or directed partnerships and alliances in gastroenterology, oncology, immunology, cardiovascular medicine, and metabolism. Prior to Takeda, he held leadership positions at Abbott Laboratories, including Head of Immunology and Oncology Ventures. He previously served on the Board of Directors for ReAlta Life Sciences, Inc. from 2020-2023.

Dr. Nabulsi has an M.D. from Ain-Shams University in Cairo and an M.P.H. from the University of Minnesota.

Aditya Kohli, Ph.D., is a Venture Partner with Frazier Life Sciences, where he focuses on company creation. Since joining Frazier in 2016, he has co-founded six companies including HilleVax (NASDAQ: HLVX), and Scout Bio (Acquired by Ceva). He served as Chief Business Officer of Phathom Pharmaceuticals from 2019-2021 and Chief Operating Officer of HilleVax from 2020 to 2024. He previously served on the Board of Scout Bio and currently serves on the Board of HilleVax.

Prior to Frazier, Aditya was an Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Company, where he served biopharmaceutical companies on business development, research and development, and marketing/sales strategy.

Dr. Kohli received his Ph.D. from the UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco joint graduate program in bioengineering and holds B.S. and M.Eng. degrees in biological engineering from MIT.