John Maraganore, PhD

Co-Founder and Executive Chair
City Therapeutics

Panelist

John Maraganore, PhD

John Maraganore, PhD, is a co-founder and executive chair of City Therapeutics. He was the founding CEO and a director of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, the leading RNAi therapeutics company, which he led for nearly 20 years from 2002 to 2021. John built Alnylam from early platform research on RNAi through global approval and commercialization of the first five RNAi medicines. He led the company’s value creation strategy, raising more than $7.5 billion in capital, forming more than 20 major pharmaceutical alliances and creating more than $25 billion in market capitalization. Prior to Alnylam, John held senior leadership roles at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and at Biogen, where he invented and led the development of ANGIOMAX® (bivalirudin) for injection, marketed by The Medicines Company. Prior to Biogen, John was a scientist at ZymoGenetics and the Upjohn Company.

John is currently the CEO and principal of JMM Innovations, which is committed to the advancement of biomedical innovation to patients. He serves on the boards of Beam Therapeutics, Kymera Therapeutics, Rapport Therapeutics, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals, in addition to several private company and non-profit boards. He is a member of the BIO board, where he was chair from 2017 to 2019.

John received his MS and PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Chicago.

Jeremy Levin, DPhil, MB BChir

Co-Founder and Executive Chairman
Ovid Therapeutics

Panelist

Jeremy Levin, DPhil, MB BChir

Jeremy Levin, DPhil, MB BChir, is co-founder, executive chairman and former CEO of Ovid Therapeutics, a public company developing novel medicines to treat epilepsies and seizure-related disorders. Jeremy is concurrently the chairman of Ceryvyn Therapeutics. Prior to founding Ovid, he was president and CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and a member of the executive committee of Bristol Myers Squibb Company (BMS), where he was the architect, lead, and implementer of the String of Pearls Strategy, which transformed BMS and facilitated the massive growth of the immuno-oncology revolution in the biopharmaceutical industry.

Jeremy joined BMS from Novartis, where he was the global head of strategic alliances. He has previously served as a member of the board of directors of various public biopharmaceutical companies, including Biocon and Lundbeck. Levin also serves on the board and executive committee of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) as the immediate past chairman.

Jeremy holds a BA in zoology and MA and DPhil degrees from the University of Oxford.

Shweta Maniar

Director, Healthcare & Life Sciences
Google Cloud

Panelist

Shweta Maniar

Shweta Maniar leads Google’s Life Sciences Strategic Industries practice, joining the company in 2018. She is motivated by creating a collaborative ecosystem to maximize value from data within the healthcare and life sciences ecosystem to ultimately benefit patients. With more than 20 years’ experience in healthcare, pharma, and biotech, she has enabled dozens of start-up firms with access to capital from federal grants and venture capital firms alike. She has been recognized as a trailblazer for Life Sciences in the PharmaVoice 100. Shweta also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Allen Institute.

Shweta holds a degree in economics from University of California, San Diego. After research spells at Scripps Health and Cleveland Clinic, she moved into commercial development during a five-year stint at Genentech.

Daphne Zohar

Founder and CEO
Seaport Therapeutics

Panelist

Daphne Zohar

Daphne is a serial biotech entrepreneur. She serves as founder, CEO, and board member of Seaport Therapeutics, a developer of therapies for neuropsychiatric disorders that was publicly launched last year with a $100-million Series A round. She successfully took Seaport public in May 2026, raising more than $250 million. Previously, she was the founder, chief executive officer, and board member of PureTech Health, where she also co-founded PureTech’s entities, including Karuna Therapeutics (acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb). She is widely recognized as a leader in biotech innovation. In 2023, Daphne was named as one of the most influential people in biopharma by Fierce Media, and earlier, was recognized by MIT Technology Review as one of its “Innovators Under 35.”

Daphne is the co-founder and host of Biotech Hangout, a weekly podcast on the latest news in the biotech industry. She also sits on the board of Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and is a member of the Biotech CEO Sisterhood.

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The world of biotech is showing strong signs of growth and clinical impact while also experiencing new challenges. The explosion of artificial intelligence is reshaping areas from drug discovery and protein folding to gene editing and clinical trials. Recent successes in developing GLP-1s and inhibiting once undruggable cancer targets show the immense power of biotechnology. But upheaval at the FDA, the looming patent cliffs facing several big pharma companies, and growing competition from China, are among the many challenges confronting the industry.

In GEN’s flagship virtual event, The State of Biotech—with exclusive sponsorship by Cytiva—we hear from a distinguished group of business executives, award-winning scientists, and journalists. Among the highlights:

  • A keynote conversation with John Maraganore, PhD, the founding CEO of Alnylam.

  • In honor of Sickle Cell Awareness month, 2026 Breakthrough Prize winner Stuart Orkin, MD, presents the research behind the discovery of the fetal-to-adult hemoglobin switch that powered the approval of Casgevy.

  • A timely conversation about the challenges faced by life sciences and healthcare users in applying artificial intelligence effectively for maximum ROI with Shweta Maniar, global director of Life Sciences Strategy & Solutions for Google Cloud.

  • Jeremy Levin, MB BChir, DPhil, chairman of Ovid Therapeutics and author of a new book, Biotech in the Balance, argues that we need a globally competitive biotechnology industry built to serve patients and earn lasting public trust.

  • Our annual catch-up with the hosts of the popular Biotech Hangout podcast—Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, and Chris Garabedian.

  • And in closing, an interview with GEN’s veteran editor in chief, John Sterling, as he prepares to step down after more than four decades with the publication.r) discussing the intersection of AI and CRISPR. 

  • Breakout sessions from the summit sponsors.

    • Registration is free. We look forward to welcoming you to The State of Biotech! 

    Produced with support from:

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