Soleno Therapeutics, Inc. is focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for the treatment of rare diseases.
We are committed to developing safe and effective therapeutic products that improve the lives of patients living with complex, life-threatening rare diseases with unmet medical needs.
Our leadership team works relentlessly to ensure we uphold our commitment to develop safe and effective products that make a difference in healthcare. Meet the team who continues to lead us towards growth and success.
Dr. Bhatnagar was appointed as our Chief Executive Officer in February 2014. Prior to that, he served as our President and Chief Operating Officer. Dr. Bhatnagar joined us in 2006, and has held positions of increasing responsibility since then. Dr. Bhatnagar is a physician with over 15 years of experience in the medical device and biopharmaceutical industries. His experience spans development of biologics, drugs, drug-device combinations and diagnostic as well as therapeutic medical devices. His prior experience includes working at Coulter Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 1998 to 2000 and Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 2000 to 2006. He is the author of several peer-reviewed publications, abstracts and book chapters. He obtained his medical degree at SMS Medical College in Jaipur, India and completed his Residency and Fellowship training in the U.S. at various institutions, including Georgetown University Hospital and the University of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Mackaness joined Soleno as our Chief Financial Officer in November 2019, initially on a consulting basis and most recently on a full time basis. He has been a partner at FLG Partners, a leading Silicon Valley chief financial officer services and board advisory consultancy, since September 2019. Prior to joining FLG, Mr. Mackaness served as Chief Financial Officer for Invuity, Inc (NASDAQ: IVTY) sold to Stryker Corporation. He has also served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of IRIDEX Corporation (NASDAQ: IRIX), Chief Financial Officer of NextHop Technologies, Inc., and Chief Financial Officer of Infogear Technologies Corp. which was sold to Cisco Systems, Inc.. Mr. Mackaness began his career at Ernst & Young LLP., received his B.A. with honors in Psychology from the University of Warwick, England and is a Chartered Accountant.
Dr. Cowen joined Capnia as the Senior Vice President of Drug Development in March 2017, at the time of the Capnia acquisition of Essentialis. Previously, Dr. Cowen was part of the senior management team of Essentialis since its founding in May 2003, functioning first as founding CEO and most recently as President and CSO, directing the product development, finance and business development functions. From 2001 to 2003 Dr. Cowen served as VP for Strategic Development at Epicyte Pharmaceutical, directing the product development, regulatory, manufacturing, business development and HR functions of the company. From 1986 to 2001 Dr. Cowen functioned in various business development and research management roles in Dow Chemical and its subsidiaries, ending as Global Business Leader for biopharmaceuticals and animal health. Dr. Cowen has a PhD from Iowa State University an MBA from the University of Indianapolis, and BS and MS degrees from Michigan State University.
Ms. Yen has over 15 years of clinical research experience in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. She joined the Company 2006, and currently serves as the head of Clinical Operations. Prior to joining the Company, she managed multiple U.S. and global clinical studies in oncology, and held various positions of increasing responsibility at Titan Pharmaceuticals. She began her career in the industry as a clinical employee at PRA International. She has served as a team member and managed clinical studies in neonatology, neurology, pulmonary/allergy, cardiovascular disease, endocrine/metabolic disease, and oncology. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the University of California, Davis, and a Master of Science degree in cell, molecular and neurosciences from the University of Hawaii, Manoa.
Ms. Hirano has over 20 years of regulatory affairs in the biopharmaceutical industry. Her experience encompasses the development of pharmaceuticals, biologics, and drug-device combination products for the treatment of oncology, cardiovascular, neurology, pulmonary/allergy, and endocrine/metabolic diseases. Prior to becoming a regulatory consultant, she held various positions of increasing responsibility at the Company Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc., PRTM (now PWC), CV Therapeutics, Inc. (acquired by Gilead), and Matrix Pharmaceutical, Inc. (acquired by Chiron Corp). She has also been the coordinator of the Bay Area Compliance Discussion Group in 1998. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in physical education from the University of California, Berkeley, and Master of Public Health degree from San Jose State University.
Dr. Woloschak joined Soleno as Vice President Clinical Development in September 2021. He is an endocrinologist with over 24 years of experience in Clinical Development. Prior to joining Soleno, Dr. Woloschak worked for 7 years as Senior Medical Director at Sanofi Genzyme in areas of rare diseases and diabetes. He held previous positions of increasing responsibility at Hoffmann-La Roche and Novartis, supporting numerous development programs in diabetes and obesity. He received his medical degree from the Medical College of Ohio and completed residency and fellowship training at the University of Illinois Medical Center, Chicago and the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda. Through extensive post-doctoral training, he developed further expertise in molecular studies. Prior to joining industry, he served as Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York where he obtained NIH funding to support his research on pituitary tumorigenesis and authored several peer-reviewed publications.
Mr. Madson joined Soleno as our Vice President, CMC in January 2022. Mr. Madsen has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including increasing responsibilities in formulation and process development, clinical and commercial supply chain, and quality control and quality assurance with a focus on small molecule controlled-release formulations. In his most recent role prior to joining the Company, he oversaw manufacturing and supply chain for Adamas Pharmaceuticals and helped achieve an NDA and multiple sNDA approvals as well as a robust supply chain, enabling the successful commercialization of Gocovri™. He is an inventor on six controlled release formulation patents as well as an author of a book chapter on pediatric formulations. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Microbiology and Immunology and MBA Certification from the University of Wisconsin, Supply Chain certification from the University of California, Irvine, and is a Certified CAPA investigator.
Mr. Horn joined Soleno in January 2022 as the Vice President of Quality. He has over 20 years’ experience working for pharmaceutical companies supporting commercial manufacturing and clinical development programs. Prior to joining Soleno Mr. Horn worked at several companies including Gilead Sciences, Novartis and Revance. He has quality operations and compliance experience having previously worked at solid dose, biologic and parenteral manufacturing facilities with global regulatory oversight and distribution. Mr. Horn has a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Redlands, CA.
Developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of rare diseases.