Merged into Cerevel Thera, ticker now CERE
ARYB

Completed

Cerevel Thera

CERE
First $13.94
Merger $16.41
18%
Merger +6mo $23.20
66%
Merger +1yr $34.49
147%
Recent $42.21
203%

ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp II

Raised
$125M
CIK
1805387
SPAC Ticker
ARYB
Merger
Cerevel Thera
Merged Ticker
CERE
External link: SEC Filings

SPAC Team

Leadership

Joseph Edelman serves as the Chairman of our board of directors . Mr. Edelman is Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Portfolio Manager of Perceptive Advisors. He has also served as Chairman of the board of directors of ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp. since July 2018. Prior to founding Perceptive Advisors, Mr. Edelman was a Senior Analyst at Aries Fund, a Paramount Capital Asset Management biotechnology hedge fund, from 1994 through 1998. Prior to that position, Mr. Edelman was a Senior Biotechnology Analyst at Prudential Securities from 1990 to 1994. Mr. Edelman started his career in the healthcare sector of the securities industry as a Biotechnology Analyst at Labe, Simpson from 1987 to 1990. Mr. Edelman earned an MBA from New York University and a BA, magna cum laude, in psychology from the University of California San Diego. We believe that Mr. Edelman’s broad operational and transactional experience make him well qualified to serve as the Chairman of our board of directors.

Adam Stone serves as our Chief Executive Officer and is a member of our board of directors. Mr. Stone joined Perceptive Advisors in 2006 and has acted as Chief Investment Officer since 2012 and is a member of the internal investment committees of Perceptive Advisors’ credit opportunities and venture funds. Mr. Stone currently also serves on the boards of directors of ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: ARYA), Solid Biosciences (Nasdaq: SLDB), Renovia, and Xontogeny, which are portfolio companies of Perceptive Advisors. Prior to joining Perceptive Advisors, Mr. Stone was a Senior Analyst at Ursus Capital from 2001 to 2006 where he focused on biotechnology and specialty pharmaceuticals. During Mr. Stone’s tenure at Ursus Capital, Mr. Stone focused on biotech and specialty pharmaceuticals. Mr. Stone graduated with honors from Princeton University with a BA in molecular biology. We believe that Mr. Stone’s broad operational and transactional experience, and his position as Chief Executive Officer, make him well qualified to serve on our board of directors.

Michael Altman, CFA, serves as our Chief Financial Officer and is a member of our board of directors. Mr. Altman joined Perceptive Advisors in 2007, is a Managing Director on the investment team and is a member of the internal investment committee of Perceptive Advisors’ credit opportunities fund. Mr. Altman’s focus is on medical devices, diagnostics, digital health and specialty pharmaceuticals. Mr. Altman also serves on the boards of directors of Vitruvius Therapeutics and Lyra Therapeutics (Nasdaq: LYRA), which are portfolio companies of Perceptive Advisors. Mr. Altman also serves on the board of ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: ARYA). Prior to joining Perceptive Advisors in, Mr. Altman was a trader and analyst at First New York Securities from 2005 to 2007. Mr. Altman graduated from the University of Vermont with a BS in Business Administration. We believe that Mr. Altman’s broad operational and transactional experience make him well qualified to serve on our board of directors.

Konstantin Poukalov, our Chief Business Officer, joined Perceptive Advisors in 2019 and is a Managing Director at Perceptive Advisors focused on various strategies across the Perceptive platforms. Mr. Poukalov also serves on the boards of directors of Lyra Therapeutics (Nasdaq: LYRA), Landos Biopharma, Inc. and LianBio, which are portfolio companies of Perceptive Advisors. Prior to joining Perceptive, Mr. Poukalov served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Kadmon Holdings (NYSE: KDMN) from 2014 to 2018. From 2012 to 2014, Mr. Poukalov served as Kadmon's Vice President, Strategic Operations. Prior to joining Kadmon, Mr. Poukalov was a member of the healthcare investment banking group at Jefferies LLC from 2009 to 2012, focusing on companies across the life sciences and biotechnology sectors. Prior to Jefferies, Mr. Poukalov was a member of UBS Investment Bank, focusing on the healthcare industry, from 2006 to 2009. Mr. Poukalov graduated from Stony Brook University with a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering.

Jake Bauer has agreed to serve on our board of directors. Mr. Bauer has served as the Chief Business Officer of MyoKardia, Inc. since April 2018 and as the Senior Vice President, Finance and Corporate Development and Principal Financial Officer of MyoKardia, Inc. from July 2016 to April 2018. Prior to, he also served as the Vice President, Business Development and Business Operations of MyoKardia, Inc. since July 2014. Mr. Bauer also currently serves on the board of directors of Phoenix Tissue Repair, Inc. Prior to joining MyoKardia, Inc., Mr. Bauer was Vice President, Business Operations and head of corporate development at Ablexis, LLC (“Ablexis”), a biotechnology company, from May 2011 to July 2014. At Ablexis, he led the development and implementation of the company’s corporate strategy and business development activities and oversaw business operations. Prior to Ablexis, Mr. Bauer was a principal at Third Rock Ventures from 2007 to 2011, where he identified, evaluated and developed new opportunities for investment, assisted with startup, corporate development and operations of portfolio companies, and negotiated financings. While at Third Rock Ventures, he was actively involved in a variety of leading biopharmaceutical companies including Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc., CytomX Therapeutics Inc., and Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc. Prior to Third Rock Ventures, Mr. Bauer served in roles in the investment group at Royalty Pharma AG and the business development group at Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. and was previously a management consultant at Putnam Associates. Mr. Bauer holds a BS in biology and a BA in economics from Duke University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. We believe that Mr. Bauer’s experience in the healthcare and life sciences industries make him well qualified to serve on our board of directors.

Chad Robins has agreed to serve on our board of directors. Mr. Robins co-founded Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation (Nasdaq: ADPT) in September 2009 and has served as its Chief Executive Officer and director since incorporation. He has also served on the board of directors of Life Science Washington since January 2017 and Headlight Technologies, Inc. since July 2014. He also co-founded and served on the board of directors for Aortica Corporation from October 2014 to November 2019. Mr. Robins holds an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Managerial Economics from Cornell University. We believe that Mr. Robins’ experience in the healthcare and life sciences industries make him well qualified to serve onour board of directors.

Dr. Todd Wider has agreed to serve on our board of directors. Dr. Wider is an active, honorary member of the medical staff of Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, where he worked for over 20 years, and is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon who focused on cancer surgery. Dr. Wider has served on the board of directors of Abeona Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: ABEO) since May 2015 and ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: ARYA) since October 2018. Dr. Wider also is the Executive Chairman of Emendo Biotherapeutics, which focuses on highly specific and differentiated gene editing. Dr. Wider previously consulted with a number of entities in the biotechnology space. Dr. Wider received an MD from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he was Rudin Fellow, and an AB, with high honors and Phi Beta Kappa, from Princeton University. He did his residency in general surgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, and postdoctoral fellowships in complex reconstructive surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he was Chief Microsurgery Fellow, and in craniofacial surgery at the University of Miami. Dr. Wider is also a principal in Wider Film Projects, a documentary film company focusing on producing films with sociopolitical resonance. We believe that Dr. Wider’s experience in the healthcare and life sciences industries make him well qualified to serve on our board of directors.