Our Team

Mir Hashim has more than 30 years of pharmaceutical research and development experience, including leadership and management of a multi-laboratory, multi-group, pharmacology section. His breadth of knowledge and experience in pharmacology and physiology spans a variety of therapeutic areas including CNS, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, anesthesia, and metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity. Previously, Mir spent 18 years at Glaxo Smith Kline where he most recently served as the head of Pharmacology. Mir has deep experience in drug discovery and development, international regulatory submissions, international product development, as well as in-licensing and out-licensing of drug candidates. Mir holds a B.S. in Biology and Chemistry from Osmania University, India; an M.S. in Biology from Central University of Hyderabad, India, as well as a PhD in Medicine/Pharmacology from Memorial University, St. John’s, Canada.

Svai has over 25 years of accounting, finance and management experience in the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries for both public and private companies.  Prior to joining Rani, Svai served as executive consultant and interim CFO for pH Pharma and Intuity Medical.  Previously, Svai held the position of CFO for SFJ Pharmaceuticals, a drug development company, and CFO and Chief Accounting Officer for VIVUS, Inc., a publicly traded, commercial stage biopharmaceutical company.  Svai began his career with KPMG LLP, in its audit practice, where he earned his license as a certified public accountant.  Svai holds a BS degree with emphasis in accounting from Kansas State University.

Eric Groen has more than 25 years of legal experience in corporate and private practice, including more than 20 years in the healthcare industry. Prior to joining Rani, Eric served in various US and international roles of increasing responsibility over nearly 20 years at Amgen, including leading the legal teams responsible for Amgen’s business development transactions (including M&A, licensing and collaborations), operations/manufacturing, clinical trials and procurement. Most recently, Eric served as regional general counsel to Amgen’s commercial business in Canada, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Eric began his career in private practice at the law firm of TroyGould, where he practiced in the areas of corporate finance, securities compliance, corporate governance, and mergers and acquisitions. Eric holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in Political Science from UC Santa Barbara.

Kate comes to Rani with over 20 years of experience in the bio-pharmaceutical industry, including positions in executive leadership and as a board director. Kate has a demonstrated history of exceptional leadership, successfully steering executive teams, and driving corporate strategies to achieve remarkable business growth. Most recently, Kate was CEO and founder of Spark Lifesciences. Prior to joining Rani, Kate was also CEO and Board Director for Elvar Therapeutics (formerly known as LSK Biopharma), having previously been Elvar’s Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Business Officer. She began her career at Abbvie Biopharmaceuticals / Abbot Laboratories where she served as Vice President of National Sales in the urology, oncology, and gynecology space. Kate is a summa cum laude graduate of The University of Tulsa. She holds an MBA from the university’s Collins College of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with degrees in Marketing, Management, and Psychology.

Dr. Van Dam joined Rani Therapeutics in 2021. After completing his postgraduate medical education at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Van Dam joined the faculty until being recruited to Stanford University as Professor and Clinical Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology. Before joining the Rani team, Dr. Van Dam was an NIH-funded investigator and published more than 300 peer reviewed papers, reviews and abstracts. He has filed more than 20 patents and was elected to the National Academy of Inventors. Dr. Van Dam is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American College of Gastroenterology and the American Gastroenterological Association and is past president of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the Bockus International Society of Gastroenterology.

With over 15 years of technical and operational leadership within the medical device and life science industry, Alireza stands at the forefront of Manufacturing Scale up, Continuous Improvement and Process Development Optimization. As Vice President, Technical Operations at Rani Therapeutics, Alireza has responsibility for Rani’s technical R&D, manufacturing and automation teams and has spearheaded improvements in critical manufacturing processes, boosting device manufacturing yield and most notably setting up supply chain and manufacturing scale up system, which has resulted in a 50% reduction in materials cost and a 20% improvement in yield efficiency.

Alireza’s career began at Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, where his keen insights and curiosity led to the discovery and development of novel nanoparticles for targeted anti-cancer drug delivery. He spent the next decade of his career in various technical and operational leadership roles at prominent Research or Contract Development and Manufacturing Organizations (CDMO) Including Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and Cretex Medical. His passion for continuous improvement and his ability to foster collaborative team environments have been the driving force behind his successful launch of more than 25 innovative products into the market for top Medical Device and Pharmaceutical companies.

Alireza holds a PhD in Materials Science from University of Wisconsin and a Master’s degree in Advanced Engineering Materials from Chalmers University in Sweden.

Betsy Gutierrez has over 18 years of experience in areas of Quality Systems, Regulatory Compliance and Engineering in large organizations as well as in start-up environments. Prior to joining Rani, Betsy was the Sr. Director of Quality and Regulatory Affairs at Oraya Therapeutics.  She has also held leadership positions of increasing responsibilities at Auxogy Inc., LuMend (a J&J company) and Edwards Lifesciences. She has extensive experience in managing all aspects of the Quality Management Systems, Quality Engineering, Regulatory Compliance and Product Development support under US (FDA) and International (ISO) Regulations.  Betsy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and an MBA from Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra in the Dominican Republic.  

Bella is a professional with 25+ years of human resource management experience, specializing in small to mid-size organizations, most recently InCube Labs, where she has spent the last seven years of her career. She has notable expertise in strategic human resource planning, performance management, staffing, federal and state law compliance, employment contract negotiations, employee benefits, compensation and payroll, training and development, organizational structure, and management coaching. Bella has extensive hands-on experience leading HR initiatives, providing innovative ways to engage employees, and establishing company culture. She holds a Senior Certified Professional  (SHRM-SCP), Human Resources Management associate certificate, and is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM).

Dr. Kyle Horlen has been part of Rani since its inception and brings over 15 years of pharmaceutical and medical device research & development experience to the role. As a veterinarian, Dr. Horlen also brings his unique expertise and passion to nonclinical research drawing from the collaborative, transdisciplinary One Health approach. His prior experiences include positions of increasing responsibility at InCube Labs, Sinclair Research Center, and Kansas State University, where he was involved with a broad range of nonclinical development, project management, and regulatory activities for multiple products and therapeutic areas including implantable medical devices, oncologic therapies, metabolic and infectious diseases. Dr. Horlen earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Texas A&M University, College Station, TX. He has authored numerous scientific publications and abstracts, has presented at multiple national conferences, and holds several patents.

Arvinder joined InCube labs in 2016 with more than 15 years of experience in pharmaceutical research & development, project management and regulatory submissions across several therapeutic areas including, cardiovascular, metabolic diseases and PAH. Previously, Arvinder was Director of Biology in the Cardiovascular Therapeutic Area at Gilead Sciences from 2009-2015 where she led multiple drug development programs from early discovery to clinical development. Arvinder led several programs as a scientist and senior scientist from 2001-2008 at CV Therapeutics which was acquired by Gilead Sciences. Arvinder holds several patents and has authored 50 scientific papers. Arvinder hold a BS and MS in Biophysics from Panjab University, India and a PhD in Physiology from University of Manitoba, Canada.