Satinder Rawat, PhD, MBA

Satinder has an extensive background in business development, licensing, and strategic partnerships, with a particular focus on gene therapies, rare diseases, neurology, ophthalmology, and oncology. He has led licensing deals for gene therapies, antisense oligos (ASOs), miRNA/siRNA and antibody technologies and has built and managed diverse portfolios of cutting-edge technologies foundational to innovative startups including Voyager Therapeutics, Generation Bio and Villaris Therapeutics. His work with Ionis therapeutics resulted in the first approved treatment for spinal muscular atrophy as well as his contributions to the development of treatments for diseases such as Canavan’s disease, ALS, and ulcerative colitis. He also established and managed alliances with major biopharma companies including Pfizer, Astellas, Sarepta and BridgeBio. Prior to joining Akamis, Dr. Rawat held roles of increasing responsibility at UMass Medical School, Taysha Gene Therapies and Excision Biotherapeutics. Satinder holds a B.S. in Biochemistry from Delhi University, an M.S. in Biotechnology and Ph.D. in Life Sciences from Jawaharlal Nehru University, and an M.B.A. from Isenberg School of Management, UMASS (Amherst).  He has co-authored 33 scientific publications.