【Fully booked】LINK-J Conference - R＆D × Investment -2025

Isao Shimizu, 
Executive Officer, Deputy Head of R&D Headquarters (Drug Discovery Research), Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd.

1991: M.S., Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University and joined the former Dainippon Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Engaged in all aspects of drug discovery research, mainly pharmacological and translational research in the field of neuroscience
2014: Senior Director, Drug Development Research Laboratories, Drug Research Division (DRD)
2016: Senior Director, Drug Development Research Laboratories and Preclinical Research Laboratories, DRD
2017: Senior Director, External Innovation, DRD
2020: Executive Officer, Executive Research Director, DRD
2022: Executive Officer, Senior Executive Research Director, DRD
2024: Executive Officer, Senior Vice President, Deputy Head of Research and Development Division (Drug Discovery Research)

Omar Khalil　
Managing Director, Santé Ventures

Omar H. Khalil manages Santé Ventures’ Boston Office and leads the firm’s Biotech investment efforts, where he partners with scientific founders and entrepreneurs across multiple therapeutic areas and odalities. Omar joined Santé in 2007 and rejoined in 2020 after holding various transactional and operational leadership roles within the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. He held senior leadership roles with Baxter International, Baxalta (now part of Takeda), and Kaléo, a commercial-stage biotech company. In these positions, he led and managed businesses ranging from early clinical development to commercial launch, which scaled to more than $3 Billion in annual sales.
Earlier in his career, he worked at McKinsey & Company in the Pharmaceutical & Medical Products Practice, advising leading pharmaceutical and medical device companies on growth and M&A strategies. Omar serves as a board member, advisor, and mentor to several organizations focused on biotech entrepreneurship and is a member of the Leadership Advisory Board at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. He received his MSE and BSE in Biomedical Engineering summa cum laude from the University of Michigan with a concentration in Tissue Engineering.

Dr.PeiSze Ng
Leaps by Bayer, Director, Venture Investments

Pei-Sze is with Leaps by Bayer, the corporate venture arm of Bayer AG. She is responsible for making equity investments in companies in China and Asia-Pacific region. Prior to Leaps, she was the Head of Open Innovation, China & Singapore in Bayer. The innovation centre is part of the open innovation and digital technology function in Bayer with presence in Europe, USA and Asia. Her team is responsible for identifying new opportunities in R&D, establishing and managing collaborations with external partners in the China -Asia Pacific region. She started her career with a MIT spinoff while doing her post doctorate training at MIT. Prior to joining Bayer, she led a team in scanning for innovations in life sciences and establishing research programmes and partnerships with life science companies at the Agency for Science, Technology & Research, Singapore.

Pei Sze was trained as a pharmacist at the National University of Singapore and has a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry from Purdue University, U.S.A.

Expertise
•    16 years industry experience in life sciences
•    Experience working with biotech companies in USA and China
•    Venture investments, external collaborations, business development & licensing

Aiden Aceves
Vice President, Insight Partners

Aiden Aceves is a Vice President on the investments team at Insight. He joined the firm in 2021 to focus on investments in therapeutics and enabling technologies. Aiden was previously an associate at Vida Ventures, where he worked in the firm's LA office making investments in innovative cell and gene therapy companies. Prior to becoming an investor, Aiden worked on founding and operating biotechnology companies in San Diego California, where he is based.

Aiden traces his academic lineage to Caltech, where he earned his doctorate in the lab of Dr. Steven Mayo, a leader in the space of computational protein engineering. Aiden received his B.S. in synthetic chemistry from the University of California, Riverside.

Christine Brennan　
Managing Director, Vertex Ventures

Christine Brennan has over 15 years in the life-science industry including business development, corporate strategy and venture investing. She is currently Managing Director at Vertex Ventures HC (VVHC), based in Boston, leading global healthcare investments in biotech and medtech. Christine serves on the board of directors for Redona Therapeutics and Boundless Bio. She is board observer to Epirium Bio, Matchpoint Therapeutics and Septerna and was formerly board observer on EyeBiotech Ltd. Prior to VVHC, she was a Partner at MRL Ventures Fund from 2017-2021. Prior to MRL Ventures Fund, she was Principal at the Novartis Venture Fund from 2013-2017. She also held positions in business development and marketing at small and mid-size biopharmaceutical companies. Christine received her PhD in neuroscience from Dartmouth Medical School and was a post-doctoral fellow in developmental neurobiology at the National Institutes of Health.

John Gutierrez　
Vice President, Ascenta Capital

John Gutierrez, MD, is a Vice President at Ascenta Capital. He joined Ascenta in 2023 and focuses on discovering and evaluating new biopharma investment opportunities. Prior to joining Ascenta, John was a Senior Associate in the healthcare investment banking group at Goldman Sachs, where he advised biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies on strategic financial transactions, including equity offerings and M&A. John earned his MD from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and an MBA from Columbia Business School. While at Columbia, John was an International Medical Student Elective (IMSE) candidate at St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo. He lived in Tokyo for over a month and engaged in weekly clinical rotations and research projects with physicians in the departments of Radiology, Cardiovascular Surgery, Cardiology, and Pulmonology.