Nocion Therapeutics was founded with the mission of delivering long-awaited relief to people suffering from chronic cough and other cough disorders, pain, itch, and other conditions driven by overactive sensory nerves. We are developing nocions™, a new class of small molecule charged sodium channel blockers (CSCBs), designed to selectively silence activated neurons that drive these conditions at their source. Our lead clinical program is taplucainium inhalation powder, a first-in-class locally delivered small molecule nocion currently in Phase 2b clinical development for refractory and unexplained chronic cough (rCC/uCC). Our novel approach aims to deliver a new treatment option for millions of people struggling to find relief from cough, pain, itch, and neurogenic inflammation. We are also leveraging our foundational scientific platform to develop new medicines to address other debilitating chronic conditions where overactive sensory nerves cause lasting harm.
Rick is the Chief Executive Officer at Nocion, which he joined in August 2018. He has over three decades of experience in drug development across an array of platforms and disease states and has been with several start-ups from founding through acquisition. Prior to Nocion, Rick served as Chief Technology Officer of Acorda following the acquisition of Civitas Therapeutics, where he was the Chief Scientific Officer and a co-founder. Civitas’ lead asset, a novel dry powder inhalation therapy to treat motor issues in Parkinson’s patients has been approved by the FDA under the brand name InbrijaTM.
Before that, Rick was the Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice President of Research and Development at Pulmatrix. Previously, he was the Vice President of Research and Development at Alkermes, overseeing many facets of product development across pulmonary, injectable and oral platforms following the acquisition of Advanced Inhalation Research (AIR), where he was an original member and oversaw product development.
Rick has brought his product development expertise to several board positions at private and public companies. In addition to serving on the Nocion Therapeutics Board, Rick is currently a director for Pulmatrix, Inc.
Rick was an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Alberta where he taught Fluid Mechanics and Transport Phenomena prior to joining AIR. He holds an S.M. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Calgary.
Vineet Agarwal is Chief Business Officer at Nocion Therapeutics, which he joined in 2026. He brings more than 20 years of experience advising and building biotechnology companies as an operator, advisor and Board member. He has vast experience across M&A, strategic transactions, and capital formation.
Vineet previously served as Chief Financial Officer and Head of Business Development at Korro Bio from 2021-2025, where he helped lead the company’s transition to the public markets through its reverse merger with Frequency Therapeutics and associated financing transactions. During his tenure, Korro raised more than $350 million across private, crossover, follow-on equity, and strategic financings. He also played a key role in establishing Korro’s strategic collaboration with Novo Nordisk focused on RNA editing therapies for cardiometabolic diseases.
Prior to Korro, he spent more than 14 years at J.P. Morgan advising biotechnology and life sciences companies on IPOs, follow-on offerings, convertible financings, strategic partnerships, and M&A transactions. Selected transactions he worked on include Synageva’s acquisition by Alexion, Cubist’s acquisition by Merck, Juno Therapeutics’ and Receptos’ acquisitions by Celgene, Corvidia Therapeutics’ acquisition by Novo Nordisk, Civitas Therapeutics’ acquisition by Acorda Therapeutics, and Foundation Medicine’s IPO, as well as IPOs for AlloVir, Precision BioSciences, and Kala Pharmaceuticals.
Vineet holds an MBA from the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad, and a B.Com in Accounting and Finance from Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi.
Peter is the Chief Financial Officer at Nocion, which he joined in March 2021. He has over three decades of experience in the industry, and has helped incubate and manage companies from an early stage through to various exits. Peter has been the acting or full-time CFO at several companies including Civitas Therapeutics, Acceleron Pharma, Visterra, Aveo, Kala, and others. Peter started his biotech career as Controller at Genzyme Tissue Repair, and then as Director of Finance at Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Peter holds an M.B.A. from Babson College and a B.S. in Accounting from Bentley University. He is also a CPA.
Jim is the Chief Scientific Officer at Nocion, which he joined in July 2018. He has over three decades of leadership experience in drug discovery in multiple therapeutic areas, working in organizations from biotech startups to large pharma. Most recently, Jim led GSK’s Innovation Hub in Cambridge after serving as Vice President and Head of GSK’s Sirtuin Discovery Performance Unit.
Before that, he was Vice President of Research for Surface Logix. Previously, Jim was the Executive Project Director and Chief Biology Advisor for NitroMed. Earlier, he was the Group Director, Allergy and Respiratory Disease and Senior Director of Pharmacology at UCB Pharma where he was responsible for UCB’s global allergy and respiratory franchise research pipeline.
Prior to joining industry, Jim was an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, where he also did his post-doctoral research. Jim holds a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from University College London and a B.Sc. in Pharmacology from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.
Matt is the Chief Medical Officer at Nocion, which he joined in April 2025. Most recently, he was Chief Medical Officer at Chemomab, Inc., where he spearheaded the development of a novel monoclonal antibody for fibrotic and inflammatory diseases, culminating in a successful end-of-phase 2 meeting with the FDA. Before that, Matt was Vice President, Clinical Development & Medical Affairs, Specialty Pharma at Boehringer Ingelheim where he was responsible for developing new drugs for oncology, immunology, pulmonary, and CNS diseases. Previously, he was Vice President & Head, Immunology and Dermatology Medical Unit at Novartis where he oversaw medical affairs and clinical development for Cosentyx®, Ilaris®, and Zortress®.
Earlier, Matt led the medical affairs unit at Sandoz supporting the biosimilar, biopharmaceutical and generics businesses. He also previously held clinical development leadership roles across therapeutic areas at Reata, Fibrogen, Abbott Labs, and Schering Plough.
Matt holds an M.D. from the University of California School of Medicine, Los Angeles, an MBA from the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.A. from Vassar College. He was board certified in internal medicine.
Joan is the Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations at Nocion, which she joined in April 2024. She has over three decades of experience with large pharmaceutical companies (Astra Zeneca, DuPont Pharma, Takeda), biotech companies (Bellus Health, Agenus) and contract research organizations (Parexel, UBC, Quotient Sciences) in multiple therapeutic areas. Most recently, Joan served as the Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations at Bellus Health (now GSK) and established their global late-stage drug development strategy for refractory chronic cough, completed their successful Phase 2b study and initiated a program of Phase 3 studies.
Joan holds an M.S. in Clinical Chemistry and Administration from West Chester University, is a licensed Medical Technologist with a B.S. from University of Delaware and holds a Six Sigma Black Belt from Villanova University.
Chairman of the Board, Independent
Chairman of the Board, Independent
Michael Higgins is a seasoned biopharmaceutical executive and serial entrepreneur with more than three decades of experience building and leading life sciences companies. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Voyager Therapeutics and Pulmatrix, and is a board member of Camp4 Therapeutics, Sea Pharmaceuticals, and Cyclerion Therapeutics.
Earlier in his career, Michael served as entrepreneur-in-residence at Polaris Partners, where he supported the launch and growth of numerous companies across the biotech ecosystem. Prior to Polaris, he served as Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, leading the company’s finance, operations, and strategy efforts — including its IPO and the launch of its first commercial product. Before Ironwood, he held senior roles at Genzyme Corporation, including Vice President of Corporate Finance and Vice President of Business Development.
Michael holds a B.S. from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
President and CEO, Nocion Therapeutics
President and CEO, Nocion Therapeutics
Rick is the Chief Executive Officer at Nocion, which he joined in August 2018. He has over three decades of experience in drug development across an array of platforms and disease states and has been with several start-ups from founding through acquisition. Prior to Nocion, Rick served as Chief Technology Officer of Acorda following the acquisition of Civitas Therapeutics, where he was the Chief Scientific Officer and a co-founder. Civitas’ lead asset, a novel dry powder inhalation therapy to treat motor issues in Parkinson’s patients has been approved by the FDA under the brand name InbrijaTM.
Before that, Rick was the Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice President of Research and Development at Pulmatrix. Previously, he was the Vice President of Research and Development at Alkermes, overseeing many facets of product development across pulmonary, injectable and oral platforms following the acquisition of Advanced Inhalation Research (AIR), where he was an original member and oversaw product development.
Rick has brought his product development expertise to several board positions at private and public companies. In addition to serving on the Nocion Therapeutics Board, Rick is currently a director for Pulmatrix, Inc.
Rick was an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Alberta where he taught Fluid Mechanics and Transport Phenomena prior to joining AIR. He holds an S.M. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Calgary.
Principal (Portfolio), Monograph Capital
Principal (Portfolio), Monograph Capital
Freddie Dear is a Principal at Monograph Capital. He was part of the founding team of portfolio company Ascend Advanced Therapies, where he held an operation role as VP, Corporate Development and remains an advisor to the company. He also sits on the board of portfolio company Nocion Therapeutics.
Prior to Monograph Capital, he was an Investment Partner at Syncona, where he was involved in a number of investments including Quell Therapeutics and Forcefield Therapeutics, where he took operational roles in founding those businesses. Prior to Syncona, he was a member of the investment team at the Wellcome Trust. Freddie holds a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Edinburgh.
General Partner, Canaan Partners
General Partner, Canaan Partners
Julie leads investments and company formation efforts in biopharma that tangibly improve patient care. Since joining Canaan in 2013, Julie has incubated, financed and supported investments in multiple new biopharmaceutical companies including Day One Biopharmaceuticals (acquired by Servier), Reactive Biosciences, Synthekine, Protagonist (PTGX), Cellular Research (acquired by Becton Dickinson), Dermira (DERM), Labrys Biologics, CytomX (CTMX), and Unchained Labs in addition to Nocion.
Prior to joining Canaan, Julie worked at Genentech bringing new oncology products to market in roles spanning business development, cross functional management and commercial. Julie serves on The National Cancer Advisory Board, appointed by President Biden in 2023. She holds an M.B.A. from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, a M.Phil. from Cambridge University in BioScience Enterprise and a B.S. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University.
Investment Professional, Morningside Technology Advisory
Investment Professional, Morningside Technology Advisory
Rosy is a member of the investment team at Morningside. Previously, she was on the investment team at Mass General Brigham Ventures where she focused on company creation and led early-stage investments (Verve, acquired by Eli Lilly, Mediar Therapeutics, lead program partnered with Eli Lilly). Rosy was trained as a molecular biologist. She received her PhD from Harvard University and undergraduate degree from Queen’s university in Canada. In addition to Nocion, she currently represents Morningside on boards of Mesentech, Encora, and serves as interim management for internally incubated efforts.
Chief Executive Officer, Inhibikase Therapeutics
Chief Executive Officer, Inhibikase Therapeutics
Mark Iwicki brings more than three decades of leadership experience spanning R&D, product development, commercial execution, and corporate strategy. He currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and board member of Inhibikase Therapeutics, where he is spearheading development of the company’s lead program for pulmonary arterial hypertension. In addition to Nocion, Mark serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of Q32 Bio and as a member of the board of Nimbus Therapeutics. He is also an advisor to Atlas Venture.
Mark previously was a member of the board of Merus, which was acquired by Genmab in December 2025 and Chair of the Board of Directors at Akero Therapeutics, which was acquired by Novo Nordisk in December 2025. Prior to this, he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Kala Pharmaceuticals. He formerly served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Civitas Therapeutics, where he led the company through a successful strategic process culminating in its acquisition by Acorda Therapeutics. Mark also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of both Blend Therapeutics and Sunovion Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in his career, he served as Senior Vice President and Head of the Cardiovascular Business Unit at Novartis Pharmaceuticals and held additional management roles at Astra Merck and Merck & Co. Mark holds an M.B.A. from Loyola University Maryland and a B.S. in Marketing from Ball State University.
Managing Partner, Arkin Bio Capital
Managing Partner, Arkin Bio Capital
Pini Orbach joined Arkin in 2010 and is a Managing Partner overseeing Arkin Bio Ventures and Arkin Bio Capital Funds. Pini has more than 20 years of industry experience as a drug developer and investor and has incubated, invested in and supported numerous biopharmaceuticals companies, including cCAM Biotherapeutics, Redpin Therapeutics, Keros Therapeutics (KROS), Biosight, Cense Pharmaceuticals, UroGen Pharma (URGN) and Human Immunology Biosciences (HiBio) in addition to Nocion.
In his previous roles, Pini was the CEO of Israeli-based companies such as Optimata Ltd. and CytoD and worked for U.S.-based companies such as Arisaph Pharmaceuticals and Epix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: EPIX), among others.
Pini holds a Ph.D. in Physiology and Functional Genomics from the University of Florida and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Cardiovascular Research Center (CVRC), Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital.
Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School
Chief of Pulmonology & Critical Care, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Professor of Neurology and Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School
Consultant Respiratory Physician and Professor of Respiratory Medicine, King’s College Hospital and King’s College London
Independent Life Sciences Industry Consultant
Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University
Professor of Respiratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, UK
Professor, Department of Medicine (Critical Care), Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Professor of Respiratory Medicine, Centre for Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast
Head of Respiratory Medicine and the Centre for Cardiovascular & Metabolic Research (CCMR), HYMS, University of Hull
Associate Professor, Medicine, McMaster University
Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, Division of Allergy and Immunology, University of South Florida at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital
Professor of Respiratory Medicine, University of Manchester and Honorary Consultant, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University
