Veronica Gibaja brings over 20 years of experience in drug discovery and early development within pharma and biotech organizations. She specializes in advancing pre-clinical programs with transformative potential, addressing unmet medical needs, and integrating patient stratification strategies. Veronica has played a pivotal role in identifying, characterizing, and advancing numerous drug candidates through early development, leading cross-functional R&D teams, and delivering comprehensive non-clinical pharmacology packages critical for IND applications and first-in-human clinical trials. Notably, she contributed to the development of Tazverik® (a first-in-class EZH2 inhibitor), FDA-approved for follicular lymphoma and epithelial sarcoma, and its expansion into additional indications. She excels in developing Target Product Profiles (TPPs), conducting gap analyses for IND readiness, and performing due diligence on innovative startup grant applications in a wide array of therapeutic modalities, including small molecules, proteins, antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), and gene and cell therapies and indications such as oncology, rare diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, metabolic diseases, and inflammatory conditions. She is also an advisor to Spectrus on the integration of cellular assays with proteomics, metabolomics, and glycomics to accelerate drug discovery and partnering efforts. Veronica mentors startups through programs such as the Mass Innovation Network, BrightEdge (American Cancer Society Venture) and Nucleate.