Our Team

Jim Smeeding is a co-founder and executive leader at Indication BioScience, bringing more than four decades of experience across pharmacy practice, health economics, specialty pharmacy, and pharmaceutical company formation.

Mr. Smeeding is a founder of the Center for Pharmacoeconomic Studies at the University of Texas College of Pharmacy and has been a long-standing leader in applied pharmacoeconomics, outcomes research, and managed care systems integration. He previously served as Executive Director of the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP), where he played a central role in shaping the specialty pharmacy industry, before leaving to focus on company building and discovery efforts at Indication BioScience.

Over the course of his career, Mr. Smeeding has held leadership roles spanning hospital pharmacy, clinical services design, home infusion therapy, managed care services, disease management, and specialty pharmacy. He is an experienced pharmaceutical executive who has developed and led multiple companies from initial funding through successful exits.

Mr. Smeeding is a founder and former president of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR), a past president of the Texas Society of Hospital Pharmacists, and an inventor on patents related to digital technologies in prescription adjudication. He has authored more than 50 publications on health value assessment and outcomes-based healthcare and holds degrees in pharmacy from the University at Buffalo and an MBA from the University of Texas.
 

Mathew Sherwood is Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Indication BioScience, where he leads the development of ATO-875 (Atorvo+), an oral fixed-dose combination program advancing toward Phase 2 clinical development in cardiovascular disease.

Mr. Sherwood brings over two decades of experience across healthcare, life sciences, and pharmaceutical development, with a focus on translating differentiated formulation science into clinically and commercially viable drug programs. He has overseen product development activities spanning formulation, preclinical strategy, CMC, regulatory planning, and clinical execution, including the successful completion of a Phase 1 clinical program.

Previously, Mr. Sherwood served as Vice President of Product Development at an early-stage pharmaceutical company and has held officer and director roles at a publicly traded life sciences company. Earlier in his career, he worked as a consultant in specialty pharmacy and healthcare services, contributing to the establishment of the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy, where he served as an Industry Liaison.

Mr. Sherwood is an inventor on multiple issued patents related to pharmaceutical formulation and combination strategies and works closely with an experienced clinical, regulatory, and scientific advisory team to advance capital-efficient development programs.

Harry Koppel serves as Chief Financial Officer of Indication BioScience, where he leads financial strategy, capital planning, and operational finance in support of the company’s clinical development and partnering objectives.

Mr. Koppel brings extensive experience from global financial institutions, including senior roles at Barclays in London, where he was responsible for capital structure analysis, financial planning, and execution of complex financial strategies. His background spans corporate finance, capital markets, and strategic financial management across growth-oriented and regulated environments.

At Indication BioScience, Mr. Koppel oversees financial governance, budgeting, forecasting, and investor relations support as the company advances its lead program toward Phase 2 clinical development. He works closely with the executive and clinical teams to align financial strategy with development timelines, regulatory planning, and business development initiatives.

Mr. Koppel is known for his disciplined approach to financial management and his ability to support capital-efficient execution in complex, high-stakes operating environments.

Mr. Pechenik is a registered patent attorney with over a decade of experience obtaining, defending, and challenging some of the country’s most valuable and highest profile patents. Mr. Pechenik has represented numerous Fortune 500 companies on their patent matters, across the agricultural, chemical, pharmaceutical, biotech, and technology industries. His clients have included Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi- Aventis, Wyeth, DuPont, Pioneer Hi-Bred, Motorola, and Google. After working in the patent departments of the international law firms Kaye Scholer in New York and Quinn Emanuel in San Francisco, Mr. Pechenik founded Calyx Law. There, Mr. Pechenik works closely with businesses to design and implement their patent strategy. Mr. Pechenik graduated from New York University School of Law, and holds a Bachelors of Science from the University of California, San Diego, with majors in Biochemistry and Cell Biology, and Cognitive Neuroscience.
 

 30 + years in pharma for clinical development and medical affairs for global drug development and cardiovascular product launches.

Initially served as Associate Medical Affairs Director at Merck International for Mevacor launch, the first lipid lowering drug of its class. Medical Consultant to Pfizer cardiovascular development team for cardiovascular endpoint committee liaison services in the phase 3 study of Lipitor. Senior Medical Director at Esperion Therapeutics for the development of bempanoic acid FDA approved as the first in class lipid lowering drug with a unique safety profile to avoid skeletal muscle adverse side effects. Previously academic appointment as the Medical Director at the Harvard Clinical Research Institute for cardiovascular drug and device development.

Member of the American Medical Association and former member of the Royal Society of Medicine UK since 1988
 

Gary Conte brings over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry to his role as Vice President of Pharma at Indication BioScience. With expertise in commercial product development, sales, marketing, business development, and operations, Gary has played a key role in the growth and success of multiple start-up pharmaceutical companies.

Prior to joining Indication BioScience, Gary held senior leadership positions at multiple specialty pharmacies and healthcare organizations, where he spearheaded payer contracting, business development, and revenue development initiatives. He also served as Vice President of Business Development at HealthPlan Data Solutions, focusing on innovative software solutions for payers and specialty pharmacies.

Dr. Luis A. Rojas has more than thirty-five years of experience in clinical development, biostatistics, and regulatory strategy across the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. He has led global biometrics and clinical teams from early-phase research through pivotal studies and regulatory submissions, with expertise spanning neurology, rare and metabolic diseases, oncology, immunology, infectious diseases, gastroenterology, and cardiovascular medicine.

As Chief Executive Officer and President of InCSD, LLC, Dr. Rojas provides strategic and scientific leadership in adaptive and master protocol design, regulatory-grade modeling and simulation, and inspection-ready study planning. He previously served as Chief Clinical Development Officer for the Curyx Bio Platform and held senior leadership roles at IQVIA, Parexel, and Clinipace–Target Health.

A recognized thought leader in innovative trial design and advanced biometrics, Dr. Rojas has delivered invited presentations at global scientific and regulatory conferences, including the DIA Annual Meeting and the World Orphan Drug Congress. His recent work integrates physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling with regulatory frameworks to accelerate drug development for rare and pediatric diseases.

Dr. Rojas holds a PhD in Statistics from Rafael Belloso Chacín University and is an active member of the DIA Adaptive Design Scientific Working Group, the American Statistical Association, and Sigma Xi.