James Mackay, PhD, is Founder and CEO of Kateran Consulting,   Previously he was Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aristea Therapeutics. James has over 25 years of development and commercialization expertise in the pharmaceutical industry, including 6 drug product approvals across multiple therapeutic areas. Prior to founding Aristea, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Ardea Biosciences, Inc., following the company’s acquisition by AstraZeneca in 2012. James was instrumental to setting up an innovative model for Ardea Biosciences that retained the biotech’s independence and accountability for the development of the gout franchise while also developing a synergistic and collaborative relationship with the parent company, AstraZeneca. Prior to Ardea, James held senior executive positions at AstraZeneca where he led the development and commercialization of drugs across a range of therapy areas. and managed significant global functional departments.  James is an independent Board member for MatriSys BioScience, Privo Technologies, Arthrosi Therapeutics, Curadh MTR and Venquis Therapeutics and is an advisor to a range of other pre-clinical and clinical stage biotechs. Additionally, James plays a pivotal role in the San Diego Ecosystem and currently sits on the Board and Executive Committee of CONNECT and was previously Vice-Chair and Chair of CONNECT. He also sits on the Board of BIOCOM, is a former Board member of the San Diego Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and is involved with Life Science Cares – San Diego and SD2.  James holds a BS in Genetics and PhD in Medical Genetics from Aberdeen University, Scotland.