Doug has agreed to join the team as CEO and help us navigate fundraising, early stage company formation, and relationship formation within the life science industry. Matt and I are extremely happy to have his help and the help of our advisory team to move Drive into 2021 and beyond in a strong position to help as many people preserve their vision as possible!
Douglas Gooding Bio
Mr. Gooding has over 25 years of experience in working with, and managing, early-stage venture backed companies with a particular focus on early-stage drug discovery and development. Most recently, Doug worked as a Business Advisor and Technical Specialist for Knowles Intellectual Property Strategies (KIPS) participating in participating in IP strategy development, U.S. and international patent prosecution, licensing, and transactional due diligence for early-stage life science companies and venture capital firms. Prior to joining KIPS, Doug served as President and CEO of Altiris Therapeutics, a venture-backed, early-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel small molecule drugs that inhibit the chemokine receptor CXCR4 for use in stem cell mobilization. Prior to Altiris, Doug was the co-founder and CEO of Regado Biosciences, which went public, merged with Tobira Therapeutics and was ultimately purchased by Allergan. Under his leadership, the company raised $50M across three venture capital financings and advanced its lead program through three Phase I studies and a Phase 2a study. Doug led the initial investment and company formation activities for Regado while a Principal at the Aurora Funds, an early-stage life sciences venture capital fund. While at Aurora, Doug led investments in, and served on the Board of Directors of Regado (founding investor), Metabolon (founding investor), Cropsolution, Metastatix, and Tissue Informatics (acquired by Paradigm Genetics). Doug is actively involved in the life sciences community in the Southeast region, including leadership roles with the BioMed Investors Network and Southeast BIO (SEBIO). In connection with both, he is involved in identifying and screening promising life sciences companies seeking angel and venture investment. Doug received a Bachelor of Arts in Biology, with a minor in Chemistry, from the University of San Diego and a MBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC.