ASLAN Pharmaceuticals
ASLAN Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ASLN) is a clinical-stage, immunology-focused biopharmaceutical company developing innovative treatments to transform the lives of patients.
ASLAN is developing eblasakimab, a potential first-in-class monoclonal antibody targeting the IL-13 receptor subunit of the Type 2 receptor, a key pathway driving several allergic inflammatory diseases. By blocking the Type 2 receptor, eblasakimab prevents signaling through both interleukin 4 (IL-4) and interleukin 13 (IL-13) – the key drivers of inflammation in AD. ASLAN reported positive topline data from a Phase 2b dose-ranging study in moderate-to-severe AD in 2023.
ASLAN is also developing farudodstat, a potent oral inhibitor of the enzyme dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) as a potential first-in-class treatment for alopecia areata (AA) in a Phase 2a proof-of-concept trial with an interim readout expected in mid 2024.
ASLAN’s Senior Management, medical and scientific teams have extensive history and experience in the development of leading immunology and dermatology products.
Our Team
- Management Team
- Board of Directors
- Scientific Advisors
Our Team
- Management Team
- Board of Directors
- Scientific Advisors
Management Team
Carl Firth
Chief Executive Officer
Dr Carl Firth is Chief Executive Officer of ASLAN Pharmaceuticals, a US-listed clinical-stage immunology focused biopharmaceutical company developing innovative treatments to transform the lives of patients.
Prior to founding ASLAN, Carl was Head of Asia Healthcare at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, supporting public and private financing of healthcare companies and advising on M&A transactions. Before joining the banking industry, Carl worked for AstraZeneca across various commercial and R&D roles, including Regional Business Development Director, Asia Pacific, and Director of New Product Development, China.
Carl holds board positions at various biotechs, including JAGUAHR Therapeutics and DotBio. Previously, Carl served as an independent director of A*ccelerate, the commercialisation arm of Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), an independent director of Hong Kong listed Uni-Bio Sciences, a commercial stage Chinese pharmaceutical company, and was a member of Singapore's Health and Biomedical Sciences International Advisory Council.
Carl is an Adjunct Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School. He has a PhD in Molecular Biology from Cambridge University (Trinity College), an Executive MBA from London Business School; and a BA in Molecular Biology from Cambridge University. Carl is also the Founder of Pink Lions, a group for LGBTQ+ professionals working in healthcare and life sciences in Singapore.
Stephen Doyle
Chief Business Officer
Mr Stephen Doyle is Chief Business Officer at ASLAN Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining us, Stephen was the Vice President and Head of Specialty Care for China at Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH. Stephen also previously served as the Vice President of Oncology, Hematology and Transplantation Business Unit with Sanofi SA in Shanghai as Regional Commercial Director for Oncology for Asia Pacific, Russia and India with Sanofi-Aventis in Singapore, and as Director and Head of Scientific Communications, Global Marketing, Oncology Franchise with Sanofi-Aventis in Paris. Stephen holds a MS in Clinical Pharmacy from the University of Derby in the United Kingdom, and a BS in Pharmacy from The Robert Gordon University in the United Kingdom.
Kiran Asarpota
Chief Operating Officer
Mr Kiran Asarpota is Chief Operating Officer, at ASLAN Pharmaceuticals.
Prior to joining us, Kiran was Group Finance Director at Global Brands Group Holding Limited, a public branded apparel company, where he was responsible for the group’s corporate and commercial finance functions.
Kiran received his MBA from London South Bank University in the United Kingdom, and a BBM from Oxford Brookes.
Dr Alex Kaoukhov
Chief Medical Officer
Dr Alex Kaoukhov is Chief Medical Officer of ASLAN Pharmaceuticals. Dr Kaoukhov has more than 20 years of global drug development experience in the US and Europe. He most recently served as Head of Clinical Development, Senior Vice President at Bioniz Therapeutics where he established and managed a team responsible for the development of therapeutic assets for the treatment of skin and gastrointestinal autoimmune diseases.
Prior to joining Bioniz, Dr Kaoukhov was Head of Global Development at Almirall where he oversaw global clinical and non-clinical development programs in addition to contributing to business development activities such as the in-licensing of lebrikizumab for Europe. Prior to Almirall, Dr Kaoukhov served as Head of Global Development at Allergan in the US, where he oversaw the medical dermatology pipeline, and has held senior clinical development roles at Novartis and Galderma.
During his career, Alex has designed and led large clinical trials, secured several product approvals for global programs and has led the development of numerous innovative early-stage programs. Dr Kaoukhov earned an MD Degree with Honors from First Moscow State Medical University and was trained in dermatology at Saint Louis Hospital in Paris.
Ben Goodger
General Counsel
Mr Ben Goodger is General Counsel of ASLAN Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining us, Ben was the Partner and Head of Intellectual Property (IP) Licensing and Transactions with Osborne Clarke in the United Kingdom, a multinational law firm. Ben also previously served as Partner, Head of IP Commercialisation, at Edwards Wildman in the United Kingdom, a multinational law firm, as Executive, Head of IP Commercial, at Rouse & Co. International in London, Oxford, and Shanghai, a multinational law firm, and as the President of Licensing Executives Society, a not for profit, non-political, umbrella organisation. Ben received his MA in English Literature & Language from Oxford University (Exhibitioner, Keble College) and he is a Solicitor of England & Wales, enrolled October 1986.
Board of Directors
Andrew Howden
Chairman, ASLAN Pharmaceuticals
Mr Andrew Howden is a senior pharmaceutical executive with more than 35 years of experience in Asia Pacific and Europe. He is currently the Executive Chairman of First Pharma P/L, an Australian pharmaceutical company.
Previously, Mr Howden served as CEO of iNova Pharmaceuticals, a global pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing drugs across a range of therapeutic areas, and Chairman of True Origins Company P/L, an Australian company involved in the marketing of infant formula in China and Asia.
He also served as Regional Vice President of Asia Pacific at AstraZeneca, President of Asia Pacific at IMS Health, and held senior executive roles at Quintiles. Mr Howden holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Commerce from the University of New South Wales, Australia.
Carl Firth
CEO, ASLAN Pharmaceuticals
Dr Carl Firth is Chief Executive Officer of ASLAN Pharmaceuticals, a US-listed clinical-stage immunology focused biopharmaceutical company developing innovative treatments to transform the lives of patients.
Prior to founding ASLAN, Carl was Head of Asia Healthcare at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, supporting public and private financing of healthcare companies and advising on M&A transactions. Before joining the banking industry, Carl worked for AstraZeneca across various commercial and R&D roles, including Regional Business Development Director, Asia Pacific, and Director of New Product Development, China.
Carl holds board positions at various biotechs, including JAGUAHR Therapeutics and DotBio, and is a member of Singapore’s A*STAR Enterprise Portfolio Management Committee. Previously, Carl served as an independent director of Hong Kong listed Uni-Bio Sciences, a commercial stage Chinese pharmaceutical company, and was a member of Singapore’s Health and Biomedical Sciences International Advisory Council.
Carl is an Adjunct Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School. He has a PhD in Molecular Biology from Cambridge University (Trinity College), an Executive MBA from London Business School; and a BA in Molecular Biology from Cambridge University.
Dr Kathleen M. Metters
Dr Kathleen M. Metters has 30 years of experience in novel drug discovery and development. She is currently Non-Executive Director of Hemoshear Therapeutics and Pharmaxis Ltd., as well as Senior Advisor and Scientific Advisory Board Chair at Bridge Medicines.
Previously, Dr Metters served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Lycera Corp and Senior Vice President, External Discovery and Preclinical Sciences at Merck & Co. Prior to that, she was Senior Vice President, Head of Worldwide Basic Research at Merck & Co from 2005 to 2011. Other leadership positions held at Merck & Co include Vice President, Site Head at Merck Frosst Canada, Basic Research Head of the Respiratory Franchise and Chair of the Respiratory Worldwide Business Strategy Team.
Dr Metters holds a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Manchester, and a PhD from Imperial College of Science and Technology in London. She received her post-doctoral training at the C.N.R.S. in France and the Clinical Research Institute of Montréal. Previously, she was an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at McGill University.
Dr Neil Graham
Dr Neil Graham has 30 years of experience in global drug development and commercialization. He currently serves as the Non-Executive Director of Pharmaxis and ZuraBio.
Dr Graham previously served as the Chief Medical Officer at Tiziana Life Sciences. Prior to that, he was the VP of Strategic Program Direction, Immunology and Inflammation at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 2010 to 2020. He also held roles as CMO at Trimeris Inc. and XTL Biopharmaceuticals and was Director of HIV Medical Affairs at Glaxo Wellcome.
Dr Graham began his career as an Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He earned his MD, MPH and MBBS from the University of Adelaide.
Robert E. Hoffman
Mr Robert E. Hoffman has more than 20 years of experience in leading and managing global biotechnology companies, and working with a number of public, late-stage oncology companies. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Kintara Therapeutics (Nasdaq KTRA), and Board member & Audit Committee Chair at Kura Oncology (Nasdaq KURA) and Antibe Therapeutics (TSX ATE).
Mr Hoffman has previously served as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, Finance of Nasdaq-listed Heron Therapeutics (Nasdaq HRTX). He has also served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Innovus Pharmaceuticals and Chief Financial Officer of AnaptysBio. He was part of the founding management team of Arena Pharmaceuticals from 1997 until 2015.
Mr Hoffman received his BBA from St. Bonaventure University.
Scientific Advisors
Reynold Panettieri Jr, MD
Reynold A Panettieri Jr, MD, is the inaugural Director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Science and Vice Chancellor for Translational Medicine and Science at Rutgers University.
Dr Panettieri has served as the Director of the Airways Biology Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania, and chairperson of the NIH Lung Cellular, Molecular and Immunobiology Study Section. He is currently a member of the NIH Distinguished Editorial Panel. His lab focuses on the immunobiology of airway smooth muscle, impact of environmental toxins on airway hyperresponsiveness and identification of novel targets and platforms for therapeutic approaches in asthma and COPD.
Dr Panettieri has authored over 400 publications and undertook his medical training at the University of Pennsylvania.
Ramaswamy Krishnan, MS MPhil PhD
Ramaswamy Krishnan, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
His laboratory focuses on lung mechanics and mechanotransduction, with an emphasis on how airways contract and relax. He has invented a suite of technologies to measure airway cell and tissue contraction, relaxation, force transmission, and force transduction. These technologies have not only enabled the discovery of new drug candidates for COPD and asthma in his own laboratory but are also being utilized worldwide as translational approaches for assessing bronchoprotective and bronchodilatory function of pending candidate medications.
Dr Krishnan has published over 75 articles, reviews, editorials and chapters, many in renowned peer-reviewed journals including Nature Cell Biology and Nature Materials. Dr Krishnan received his PhD in mechanical engineering from Columbia University and undertook his postdoctoral research in lung physiology at Harvard.
Lawrence Eichenfield, MD FAAD
Lawrence Eichenfield, MD FAAD, is Chief of Pediatric and Adolescent Dermatology at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, Distinguished Professor of Dermatology and Pediatrics and Vice Chair of the Department of Dermatology at University of California San Diego School of Medicine.
Dr Eichenfield has served as lead author and co-chair of the committee for the American Academy of Dermatology Guidelines for Atopic Dermatitis, past president of the Society for Pediatric Dermatology, a founder and past President of the Pediatric Dermatology Research Alliance (PeDRA) and as past board member of the American Academy of Dermatology.
He sits on the editorial boards of multiple journals and periodicals and has authored over 400 publications on inflammatory skin disease. Dr Eichenfield received his MD from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, was a pediatric resident and chief resident at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and completed his dermatology residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Eric Simpson, MD MCR
Eric Simpson, MD MCR, is a Medical Dermatology Professor and the Director of Clinical Research at the Oregon Health and Science University Clinical Research Centre.
Dr Simpson has served as Chair of the National Eczema Association (NEA) Research Advisory Committee and member of the NEA Scientific and Medical Advisory Council. He currently Serves on the Executive Committee of the Harmonizing Outcome Measures in Eczema (HOME), a patient advocacy group.
He has authored over 200 publications on inflammatory skin disease in several high-impact peer-reviewed journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet. Dr Simpson received his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and completed his dermatology residency at Oregon Health & Science University.
Melinda Gooderham, MSc MD FRCPC
Melinda Gooderham, MSc MD FRCPC, is the Medical Director at the SKiN Centre for Dermatology and is an Investigator with Probity Medical Research, Ontario, Canada. She is an Assistant Professor at Queens University and a Consultant Physician at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre.
Dr Gooderham is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and Vice President of the Dermatology Association of Ontario. She is actively involved in teaching and provides medical students, medical residents, nurse practitioners, and physicians with both didactic lectures and hands-on clinical training.
She has authored over 160 journal articles and acted as Principal Investigator for over 190 clinical trials in inflammatory disease and contributes to several peer-reviewed dermatology publications as an associate editor and reviewer. Dr Gooderham received her MD from the University of Western Ontario and completed her Dermatology residency at the University of Toronto.
Peter Foley BMedSci MBBS MD FACD
Peter Foley BMedSci MBBS MD FACD, is Head, Dermatology Research, Department of Dermatology at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, Director of Rearch, Skin health Institute, and an Associate Professor of Dermatology at The University of Melbourne.
Dr Foley is Australia’s only councillor on the International Psoriasis Council and is the representative of the Australasian College of Dermatologists on the National Prescriber Service MedicineWise bDMARD program. He has served as co-convener for various special interest groups, including the Australasian Psoriasis Registry and Australian Psoriasis Treatment Goals. He is a founding member of the Australasian Psoriasis Collaboration and a former steering committee member of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA), a former member of the Scientific Research & Academic Committees, The Australasian College of Dermatologists, and is part of the My Psoriatic Arthritis Expert Advisory Group. He is also a member of the International Dermatology Outcome Measures (IDEOM) Psoriatic Arthritis Musculo-Skeletal Symptoms workgroup.
Dr Foley has been an investigator in over 140 clinical trials, has authored over 130 journal articles and received his MD from The University of Melbourne. He completed his dermatology residency in Melbourne with appointments at Royal Melbourne Hospital, Skin & Cancer Foundation, Alfred Hospital and Monash Medical Centre.