Lorena Riol-Blanco

Provide strategic R&D guidance to biotech startups, refining experimental designs and translational roadmaps for fundraising and partnerships.

Mentor early-stage biotech founders on converting scientific concepts into fundable business plans and optimizing proof-of-concept studies.

Key member of the Executive Leadership Team, translating scientific vision into a public-market pipeline. - Fundraising & IPO: Contributed to securing $115M in Series C financing and the 2025 IPO success by shaping the scientific narrative and aligning the corporate strategy with clinical value drivers. - Executive Communication: Represented the scientific portfolio and corporate strategy to the Board of Directors, investors, analysts, Key Opinion Leaders and Pharma companies. - Pipeline Execution: Spearheaded drug discovery and translational strategies and contributed to the launch of four Phase 2 clinical trials within two years, including the development of EVO756 (MRGPRX2 inhibitor) and EVO301 (IL-18 fusion protein). - Business Development & Strategy: Led the scientific due diligence and acquisition of EVO301 from April Bio. Partnered with Corporate Strategy to evaluate lifecycle management and market positioning for clinical assets. - Organization: Scaled a high-performing Biology team, fostering alignment between Research, Clinical, and Commercial functions.

Built a Silicon Valley network for Spanish female executives. Lead initiatives to promote diversity and inclusivity in biotech leadership.

Led therapeutic strategy by applying rigor to big data, using human genetics to de-risk discovery. - Strategy: Spearheaded disease strategy by integrating human genetics, computational biology, and functional genomics. - Clinical: Directed translational/biomarker strategies for two clinical-stage programs and supervised successful IND filings. - Partnerships: Served as principal scientific liaison for Pharma partnerships, translating technical data into business propositions.

Developed foundational expertise in drug discovery and development execution. - Clinical Success: Advanced two small molecule candidates into clinical trials in <5 years. - Due Diligence: Served as a strategic member of diligence teams assessing external assets and licensing opportunities. - Innovation: Championed the integration of novel pharmacodynamic biomarkers (e.g., cough monitoring) into clinical development. - Leadership: Co-led disease strategies for Asthma and COVID-19, consolidating partnerships across Human Genetics and Clinical Sciences.

-Designed and initiated a new project studying the role of peripheral nerves in the initiation and modulation of the skin inflammation in psoriasis. -Independently selected, wrote and obtained funding from the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) and the Charles A. King Trust Research Program. -Responsible for reporting project to NPF and Charles A. King Trust through regular contact, platform presentations and written reports. -Project leader: designed implemented and supervised research of a team of 3 people. -Responsible for IACUC animal protocols and grant writing. -Selected, established and maintained collaborations with leaders in needed fields of expertise: psoriasis (HMS), neurobiology (BWH) and pathology (HMS). -Supervising technicians and undergraduate students. Mentoring graduate students on independent projects.

-Investigated the role of Th17 and gamma delta T cells during Multiple Sclerosis and bacterial infections using the Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE) and Listeria Monocytogenes mouse model. -Selected, wrote and obtained funding from the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), Human Frontier Science Program (HSFP) and Fulbright program. -Responsible for design and execution of experiments, both independently and within collaborations. -Collaborated on a project with scientists at Harvard School of Public Health. -Regularly presented projects progress and results, both internally and externally. -Strong development of peer-review and writing skills. -Supervised technicians and undergraduate students.