Board of Directors
Chairman, Board of Directors
George Zorich has been in pharmaceutical fields for over 40 years, including Big Pharma, Biotech, Generics, Distribution companies and Start-ups.
Most recently, Mr. Zorich was on the board of Custopharm which sold to Hikma in 2022 and is currently on the board of Nevakar, Inc. Prior to that he was CEO of Agilis Biotherapeutics, a company focused on developing a cure for Friedreich’s ataxia using DNA based therapies, which was sold to PTC Therapeutics. He was also the president of Bioniche Pharmaceuticals, a manufacturer of branded and generic injectable products, leading to the sale to Mylan Pharmaceuticals for $550MM in late 2010. Before that, Mr. Zorich was president of Sabex-USA leading to its sale to Sandoz for $480MM in 2004, where he then headed up the Sandoz US injectable business.
Before that, he was president of GIV, which at that time was the largest distributor of vaccines to physician offices, leading to the sale to Henry Schein, the multibillion-dollar distributor. Mr. Zorich has also held executive positions at Fujisawa (now Astellas), Akorn Pharmaceuticals, Roxane Laboratories and began at Eli Lilly and Company.
Mr. Zorich received his pharmacy degree from the University of Wisconsin.
President, Chief Executive Officer, Board Member
Dr. Soppimath has over 15 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and drug delivery industry. He has developed more than 20 complex injectable and ophthalmic products during his career. He has published more than 25 research articles with 10 granted patents and 15 patent applications to his credit.
Prior to joining Nevakar, he served as Senior Director of Formulation Development at Pfizer and as Vice President of Formulations, R&D at InnoPharma, Inc.
Dr. Soppimath received a PhD in Pharmaceutical Science from Karnatak University, focusing on nano and microparticle drug delivery systems. He received his MBA from the Martin Tuchman School of Management.
Board Member
Ryan Wooten, Managing Director at NovaQuest Capital Management, has broad experience in the healthcare industry. He is responsible for sourcing, negotiating, due diligence, structuring of investment opportunities, and post-close investment management of a wide variety of product-based and company investments.
Prior to joining NovaQuest in 2013, Mr. Wooten worked from 2009 to 2013 as an investment banking Associate at Citigroup in New York City, where he focused on M&A, debt and equity transactions broadly within the healthcare industry.
Mr. Wooten earned a BS in Business Administration from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Board Member
Alex joined H.I.G. Capital in 2016 to cover pharmaceuticals, generics, drug delivery and specialty pharma and biotechnology. He currently serves on the board of directors for Click Therapeutics, On Target Laboratories, Rising Pharmaceuticals, Leiters, Orbus, and Nevakar Pharmaceuticals.
Prior to H.I.G., Alex spent 13 years making similar investments at Thomas, McNerney & Partners.
Prior to Thomas, McNerney, Alex spent 11 years in the research department at Hambrecht & Quist (and its successor firms Chase H&Q and JPMorgan).
Alex is the co-chair of the Business Advisory Council of the Children’s Tumor Foundation, is on the Board of Governors for Brown University’s Medical School, and is on the Life Sciences Council for Springboard Enterprises, a group that assists women in entrepreneurial roles. He is also a board member for the Greenwich Council of the Scouting America.
He graduated magna cum laude from Brown University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Board Member
Arun Agarwal is the CEO and founder of White Lotus Group, a Midwest-based real estate development firm with a strong focus on healthcare, industrial, and public-private partnership developments.
Under Arun’s leadership, White Lotus Group has recently completed specialty healthcare developments including a state-of-the-art clinic for OrthoNebraska and a specialty clinic/surgery center for Burt & Will Plastic Surgery and Dermatology. His experience spans healthcare real estate strategy, project execution, public-private collaboration, and long-term operational partnerships supporting healthcare providers and patient care initiatives.
Prior to founding White Lotus Group, Arun worked as an investment banker focused in the healthcare industry with primary focus on specialty pharmaceuticals, hospitals, and clinical practices.
In addition to leading White Lotus Group, Arun remains active in civic and corporate leadership roles. He serves or has served on the boards of the Greater Omaha Chamber, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha Symphony, and Chaired the YMCA of Greater Omaha and served as Board President for the Omaha Public Library system. Arun also serves as a corporate board member for Scienture Holdings, Inc., Nevakar Pharmaceuticals, Inc and Ronco Construction.