ARS Pharmaceuticals CEO and leadership

Dr. Sarina Tanimoto is a co-founder and Chief Medical Officer at ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., offering more than 18 years of pharmaceutical experience in clinical drug development, including participating in the approval of several medicines.

Prior to joining ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Dr. Tanimoto was Chief Medical Officer at Pacific-Link Regulatory Consulting for eight years. In this role, she supported multiple programs from Phase 1 to Phase 3 clinical trials in various therapeutic areas, including several intranasal products. Before that, Dr. Tanimoto held roles in clinical and business development during her tenure at AnGes Inc. She has also served as a clinical scientist at Roche, where she was involved in global clinical development.

Dr. Tanimoto earned an M.D. from University of Toyama, followed by internal medicine training at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine in Tokyo. She holds an M.B.A. from McGill University.

Eric Karas is the chief commercialization officer at ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He is a recognized commercial leader in the biopharmaceutical industry with more than 25 years of sales, marketing, market access and strategic planning experience across multiple specialty product launches. He was most recently vice president & general manager of commercial, North America at Emergent BioSolutions. Mr. Karas also led commercial initiatives for NARCAN Nasal Spray at Adapt Pharmaceutical, which was acquired by Emergent in 2018. Before Adapt Pharmaceutical, Mr. Karas was credited with being at the forefront of Auxilium Pharmaceuticals’ growth during his eight-year tenure and overseeing all global commercial objectives related to its urology portfolio. He also led the launch readiness planning and go-to-market strategy for the launch of XIAFLEX for Peyronie’s disease. Auxilium was acquired in 2015 by Endo Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Karas has also held cross-functional roles in government affairs, public relations, patient advocacy and sales leadership roles at Astellas, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck. Industry associations have recognized him for numerous disease awareness and branded campaigns targeting HCPs and consumers. Mr. Karas received his MBA in integrated management from Michigan State University, Broad School of Management, and a B.S. in accounting from Rutgers University.

Justin Chakma is the chief business officer of ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He brings a strong track record of leading strategic transactions and financing efforts in the biotechnology industry.

Justin was previously VP, Head of Business Development and Strategy at Vedanta Biosciences, a clinical-stage biotech developing medicines to modulate immune responses including for allergic disease. Before that, he was a Senior Director of Business Development at Celgene (acquired by BMS) focused on immunology and neuroscience.

Prior to joining Celgene, Justin held various roles in business development, financing and venture capital at Receptos (acquired by Celgene), Auspex (acquired by Teva), and Thomas, McNerney & Partners.

Justin holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a Hon. B.A. in neuroscience and economics from the University of Toronto.

Kathy Scott is the chief financial officer at ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. She brings over 30 years of experience in accounting, auditing, financings and mergers and acquisitions. Ms. Scott was previously the chief financial officer for various life science companies, including Neurana Pharmaceuticals, Recros Medica, Adigica Health, Clarify Medical, Oncternal Therapeutics, MDRejuvena and BioSurplus. Previously, Ms. Scott was a partner at RA Capital Advisors, a San Diego private investment bank providing financial advisory services. She spent over 15 years with RA Capital Advisors, completing mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and restructurings for a broad range of corporate clients. Ms. Scott started her career as an auditor in Arthur Andersen’s San Diego office, focusing on both public and private clients. Ms. Scott serves on the boards of directors of Dermata Therapeutics, the YMCA of San Diego County and Corporate Directors Forum, and previously served as a member of the board of Conatus Pharmaceuticals. Ms. Scott holds a bachelor’s degree in economics/business from the University of California, Los Angeles and is a CPA and CFA charter holder.

Dr. Sarina Tanimoto is a co-founder and Chief Medical Officer at ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., offering more than 18 years of pharmaceutical experience in clinical drug development, including participating in the approval of several medicines.

Prior to joining ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Dr. Tanimoto was Chief Medical Officer at Pacific-Link Regulatory Consulting for eight years. In this role, she supported multiple programs from Phase 1 to Phase 3 clinical trials in various therapeutic areas, including several intranasal products. Before that, Dr. Tanimoto held roles in clinical and business development during her tenure at AnGes Inc. She has also served as a clinical scientist at Roche, where she was involved in global clinical development.

Dr. Tanimoto earned an M.D. from University of Toyama, followed by internal medicine training at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine in Tokyo. She holds an M.B.A. from McGill University.