Georgia Life Sciences Board of Directors Update 2026

Georgia Life Sciences Announces New Board Members and Executive Committee Leadership

February 4, 2026. Georgia Life Sciences (GLS) is pleased to welcome five new leaders to its Board of Directors and announce its newly appointed Executive Committee, strengthening the organization’s leadership at a pivotal time for Georgia’s growing life sciences ecosystem.

 

New Board Members

  • Kenny Cordell, Senior Audit Manager, Crowe
  • Lori Chmura, CEO, Nyra Medical
  • Emily Dinu, Founding Partner, Numinous Capital
  • Courtney Law, Vice President, Life Sciences Commercial Banking, J.P. Morgan
  • Samir Patel, President & CEO, Moonlight Therapeutics

 

These new board members bring deep expertise across finance, investment, entrepreneurship, and life sciences innovation, reflecting the breadth and momentum of Georgia’s sector.

 

New Executive Committee

  • Dave Penake, Saol Therapeutics – Chair
  • Scott Rizzo, Bend Bioscience – Vice Chair
  • Wayne Elowe, Greenberg Traurig – Secretary
  • Nathan Caplinger, Avantor – Finance & Audit Committee
  • Ashley Cornelison, Portal Innovations – Governance & Nominating Committee

 

“This leadership team represents the strength, diversity, and ambition of Georgia’s life sciences community,” said Maria Thacker Goethe, President and CEO, Georgia Life Sciences. “Their collective experience will help guide GLS as we advance policies, partnerships, and programs that enable companies to start, scale, and stay in Georgia.”

 

Georgia Life Sciences looks forward to the contributions of its new board members and executive leadership as it continues to support innovation, workforce development, and economic growth across the state.

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April 17, 2026 - Nutrivert Inc., a developer of non-antibiotic replacements for antibiotic growth promoters in livestock, today announced it has completed the first close, raising $2.375 million, of its Series A-2 funding round of $6 million. The round was led by global animal health investor Arrow Ventures with participation from other investors. The funding will be used to further develop Nutrivert’s manufacturing, human food safety and target animal safety and efficacy packages for the company’s lead product Nutrivert LDPP. Nutrivert LDPP is a proprietary, novel, orally available, lipidated synthetic enantiomeric desmuramyl analog of muramyl dipeptide, the smallest conserved immunoactive component of bacterial peptidoglycan. LDPP has no antibacterial effect but has consistently promoted growth and improved feed efficiency in pig studies. LDPP binds to the mammalian NOD2 receptor and is the only NOD2 ligand reported to inhibit the inflammatory signal NF-κB. In pilot studies, LDPP rescued 70kg pigs from an otherwise lethal dose of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and abrogated influenza disease symptoms in piglets. The Company intends to develop LDPP for all major livestock species worldwide. Patents have been granted in most major markets. The global antibiotic growth promoter market is worth an estimated $5.8 billion. Approximately 73% of all antibiotics are fed to livestock. The market is believed to be the world’s largest drug market by volume, with ~100,000 tons of active pharmaceutical ingredient administered annually. FDA’s latest data, for 2024, show a 13% rise in U.S. livestock antibiotic use since 2017. The Food and Agriculture Organization reports that livestock antibiotics are mostly given to speed animal growth. Regulators and non-governmental organizations have called for reduction of antibiotic use in livestock, citing concerns that the global, intensive use of antibiotics, often at subtherapeutic doses, selects for antimicrobial resistance: bacteria that are “immune” to antibiotics and that therefore pose a threat to public health. Spillovers of antibiotic-resistant bacteria from livestock to humans have been documented. “Nutrivert LDPP has consistently improved feed efficiency in pigs without antibiotics,” said Bernhard Kaltenboeck, CSO. “We are excited to have the support of Arrow Ventures and our other investors in bringing a new tool that will help producers reduce production costs and reduce selection pressure for antimicrobial resistance.” About Nutrivert LDPP: LDPP is an investigational compound currently undergoing clinical evaluation. It has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), or any other global regulatory authority for any indication. The safety and efficacy of LDPP have not been established. Any mention of potential use is based on preliminary data and does not guarantee future regulatory clearance or commercial availability.
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