Corporate Governance

Shalabh Gupta, MD, is the founder of Unicycive and has served as Chief Executive Officer, President, and director since August 2016. Previously, Dr. Gupta served in various other roles, including founder and Chief Executive Officer of Biocycive Inc.; a commercial strategy role at Genentech, Inc.; equity researcher covering US pharmaceutical companies at UBS Investment Bank; and as an equity researcher covering biotechnology companies at Rodman & Renshaw (currently HC Wainwright). Dr. Gupta previously served as a medical advisor to Synageva BioPharma Corporation and as an advisor to New York University (NYU) Langone Medical Center’s Office of Technology Transfer. Dr. Gupta is also the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Globavir, which had licensed diagnostic technology from Stanford university, which was then partnered with global commercial diagnostic companies. Dr. Gupta is an advisor to the UCSF Innovation Center, a role he has held since 2020. Since 2012, and has also been an advisor to SPARK, Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Gupta previously served on the board of directors for the Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of California Irvine, Paul Merage School of Business.  

Before his roles in business and finance, Dr. Gupta was an attending physician at NYU Medical Center and a clinical faculty member at the NYU School of Medicine. Dr. Gupta was a board-certified physician, and he currently holds a license from the California State Medical Board. Dr. Gupta completed his internship in Internal Medicine, medical residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and research fellowship in Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation at NYU School of Medicine. Dr. Gupta received his MPA in Health Care Finance and Management from NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and his MD from Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research, India. 

Dr. Gupta has been in several leadership roles throughout his academic and professional career. He was elected president of the Resident Physicians Council during his residency training, representing approximately 1,500 resident physicians in physical medicine and rehabilitation across the US. He also served on the Board of Directors at the Wagner Alumni Association, and was elected to the Board of Directors of the UC Irvine Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in 2018.

Dr. Sara Kenkare-Mitra is a distinguished biotech/pharma drug developer and executive, currently serving as the President and Head of R&D at Alector for two years. With over 25 years of industry experience, she has dedicated her career to developing novel drugs and personalizing treatments. Her work spans the entire drug discovery and development spectrum, including the successful global filing and launch of multiple drugs during her 24-year tenure at Genentech/Roche. While she has a particular focus on Oncology, she has also worked in areas such as neurodegeneration, ophthalmology, and respiratory diseases.

Dr. Kenkare-Mitra's accomplishments are significant. She and her organizations have contributed to the filing of 11 BLA/NDA for novel drugs currently on the market, including Xolair, Tarceva, Avastin, Lucentis, Kadcyla, Venclexta, Vismodegib, Perjeta, Tecentriq, Ocrevus, and Polivy, as well as over 100 IND/CTA submissions for novel NMEs. She has also enabled the successful development and approval of more than 15 companion diagnostics and several novel diagnostic technologies at Genentech/Roche. She was instrumental in driving the early success of the antibody-drug conjugate platform at Genentech and was part of the team that led to the discovery of Kadcyla. Additionally, her team has been integral in driving collaborations and strategic partnerships, such as the one with Foundation Medicine.

Dr. Kenkare-Mitra's leadership and contributions to the field have earned her numerous accolades and memberships, including being elected a National Academy of Medicine (NAM) member and an AAAS fellow. She has also received awards for her leadership and influence from the San Francisco Business Times, Fierce Biotech, Endpoint News, AAPS, and has been celebrated as both a distinguished and Top 150 alumni at UCSF.

Beyond her industry work, Dr. Kenkare-Mitra is an Adjunct Full Professor at UCSF and Adjunct faculty at the University of Pacific. She has served on the board of several non-profit organizations, including AWIS and the Genentech Foundation, and co-founded two successful mentoring programs at Genentech. Her academic qualifications include a PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from UCSF, a Fellowship in Clinical Pharmacology, and post-doctoral training at UCSF.

Dr. Laumas has over two decades of experience in healthcare investing across both private and public companies. He has served on boards of directors and held executive roles in publicly traded biotechnology companies, including BioXcel Therapeutics (Nasdaq: BTAI) and Instil Bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: TIL).

Dr. Laumas has served as Chief Financial Officer since February 2021 and as Chief Business Officer since June 2020 at Instil Bio. He began his career at Goldman Sachs & Co. in 1996 in the healthcare investment banking division before transitioning to the healthcare equity research division. He was an analyst at Balyasny Asset Management from 2001 to 2003 and then a Managing Director at North Sound Capital from 2003 to 2007, where he was responsible for the global healthcare investment portfolio.

Since 2008, Dr. Laumas has founded and managed Bearing Circle Capital, an investment partnership. He has also served as a member of the board of directors and Chair of the Audit Committee of BioXcel Therapeutics Inc. since 2017. Previously, he served as a board member of 9 Meters Biopharma, Inc. from 2020 to 2021 and as its Executive Chairman from 2014 to 2020, including serving as Chief Executive Officer from 2019 to 2020.

Dr. Laumas received his A.B. in Chemistry from Cornell University in 1990 and his M.D. from Albany Medical College in 1995, including a research year at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He completed his medical internship at the Yale University School of Medicine in 1996.