Demystifying Strategic Partnerships

Demystifying Strategic Partnerships

Join us in person on March 24 at Rock Hall Auditorium for an exclusive seminar, "Demystifying Strategic Partnerships," where we reveal the collaborative forces driving the future of healthcare. Kathy Wilson-Edell, PhD, will moderate a dynamic panel featuring J&J leaders Juan Cueva, PhD, MBA, Senior Director of Search and Evaluation for West North America, Chris Haskell, PhD, Head of JLABS @ San Francisco Bay Area, and Lior Teitelbaum, MSc, MBA, Principal, J&J Venture Investments. Together, they will explore the mechanics of early-stage partnering, venture investment strategies, and the real-world journey of Merge Therapeutics, headed by Co-founder and CEO, Lauren Gehman, PhD, transforming a startup into a success through the JLABS ecosystem. 

This is a must-attend event for researchers and entrepreneurs looking to navigate the complex pathway from lab discovery to global health impact.

Come ready to learn, connect, and grow your network! Light refreshments will be served.

RSVP

About our Panel

Juan Cueva, PhD, MBA, Senior Director, Search and Evaluation for West North America, Johnson & Johnson

Juan Cueva is a strategic sourcing and innovation executive with a unique blend of operational leadership and early-stage business development expertise. As Senior Director for Search and Evaluation in West North America at Johnson & Johnson, Juan leads a team responsible for sourcing and evaluating innovative technologies for J&J’s Oncology, Immunology, and Neuroscience therapeutics areas as well as for new drug modalities and data science and digital health. 

Prior to his current role, Juan served as an early-stage business development transactor within Johnson & Johnson Innovation, where he identified, structured, and negotiated strategic collaborations with emerging biotech companies. His work focused on pharmaceutical innovation, particularly in neuroscience, and helped accelerate the company’s innovation pipeline through high-impact partnerships and investments.

Juan’s career spans venture capital and operational roles, including his time as Business Development Manager at Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals.  With a PhD in Neurobiology from UCLA and an MBA from UC Berkeley, Juan brings a multidisciplinary perspective to sourcing, innovation, and strategic growth.

Chris Haskell, PhD, Head of JLABS @ San Francisco Bay Area

Dr. Chris Haskell has responsibility for all aspects of JLABS @ San Francisco Bay Area, as well as supporting the broader ecosystem through external presence and partnerships. He leads sourcing and diligence for JLABS portfolio companies in alignment with J&J focus areas to assess strategic fit, while collaborating with the External Science innovation West North America regional team to enable partnerships and investments that strengthen the innovation pipeline.

Before joining JLABS, Chris worked at Bayer’s West Coast Open Innovation Center, where he developed partnerships with U.S. academic institutions and managed the CoLaborator biotech incubator, fostering collaboration with emerging life science companies. He held various scientific leadership roles at Bayer, including Site Head of the Mission Bay R&D site and Acting Head of Applied Research, focusing on hemostasis research and directing alliances with early innovators in gene therapy, oncology, and cardiovascular disease.

Chris holds a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley, earned his PhD in Cell Biology from the University of California, Davis, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at The Gladstone Institute in San Francisco.

Lior Teitelbaum, MSc, MBA, Principal, J&J Venture Investments

Lior is a Principal Venture Investments with JJDC, where he is responsible for initiating and managing investments in promising Biotech Pharma companies in the West North America region. Prior to that Lior served as a venture investor with JJDC in EMEA where he sourced, initiated and managed MedTech and Pharma investments in the EMEA region. Lior was also co-founder and CBO of two company creation entities in the Biotech and Digital Health space and has held BD and S&E leadership positions in multiple Biotech and Medtech companies. Lior is a graduate of the Weizmann Institute where he trained as a molecular and cellular biologist.

Lauren Gehman, PhD, co-founder and CEO of Merge Therapeutics 

Merge is a biotechnology company developing antibody therapies for autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases. Lauren has led the company from inception through significant financing with top biotech VC investors and was named a 2025 Termeer Fellow in recognition of her as a rising leader in the industry. Previously, she held cross-functional roles spanning drug development, commercial strategy, and portfolio planning across small- to mid-size biotech companies.