Matt Develaraja, DVM, PhD
Founder, President and CEO
Nipuna Therapeutics, Inc.
Matt Devalaraja is the founder, president and CEO of Nipuna Therapeutics, Inc., a precision immunology company. He is a serial entrepreneur with a keen interest in improving human health. He was the founder, CSO and head of R&D of Corvidia Therapeutics, which was acquired by Novo-Nordisk for $2.1 billion in 2020. He is the founding chairman of MediSyn-Bio; founder and CEO of Protean Bio; and a member of the board of AUM Biosciences.
Devalaraja is an inflammation biologist with more than 20 years of drug discovery and development experience in biotech and pharma, across multiple therapeutic areas. As director of the Emerging Innovations Unit at AstraZeneca, where he enabled multiple clinical studies, he developed the core hypothesis of precision cardiovascular therapeutics that formed the basis for Corvidia Therapeutics spinout. Prior to AstraZeneca, he was head of Immunology Research, Pharmacokinetics and Toxicology groups at Human Genome Sciences, and was integral to the approval of Benlysta, the first lupus drug, and Raxibacumab for anthrax.
Devalaraja started his career at Pfizer in Ann Arbor and brought forth the first biologic program for Pfizer鈥檚 Global Immunology portfolio. As head of Biologics Discovery at Pfizer Ann Arbor, he initiated multiple programs across various therapeutic areas, including immunology and cardiovascular space, many of which have advanced to late stages of clinical development. Devalaraja received his PhD from the University of Kentucky and completed his post-doctoral training at Vanderbilt University. He obtained his basic degree in veterinary medicine from India.