Katogen is a biopharma advisory and strategy firm founded in 2016 and headquartered in Boston, MA. The firm provides operator-led strategic advisory services to CEOs, founders, executive teams, and their investors at growth-stage and mid-sized biopharma globally. Katogen was founded on a single premise: the best strategic advice in biopharma comes from people who have actually run biopharma companies - not studied them from the outside. Every engagement is led directly by the firm's Founder and Principal, Doug Drysdale, a biopharma executive with over 35 years of hands-on operator experience across the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
What Katogen Does
Katogen provides pragmatic, operator-led advisory services across five core areas of the biopharma value chain. Unlike traditional consulting firms, every engagement is led by the Founder, Doug Drysdale - a 35-year industry operator - not delegated to a junior team.
Strategic Planning & Growth
Katogen helps biopharma CEOs and executive teams build clear, executable strategic roadmaps - covering portfolio prioritization, competitive positioning, organizational design, and board alignment. Designed for companies at strategic inflection points where operator judgment matters most.
M&A, Integration & Capital Raises
Katogen provides operator-led advisory across the full transaction lifecycle - from deal thesis development and target identification through post-close integration planning and execution. Grounded in 17 completed acquisitions and USD 4B+ raised across the biopharma sector.
Novel Therapeutics & Drug Delivery
Katogen advises companies developing novel therapies and innovative drug delivery platforms - areas that can require specialized regulatory, manufacturing, and commercial expertise that most large advisory firms do not have from direct operator experience.
Supply Chain & Operational Scale
Katogen helps biopharma companies build the manufacturing and supply chain infrastructure needed to support growth, including CDMO selection and negotiation, quality management system design, API sourcing strategy, and operational scalability planning across small-molecule, biologic, and novel-therapeutics platforms.
Turnaround & Crisis Management
Katogen provides decisive, experienced leadership support to biopharma companies navigating operational, financial, regulatory, or strategic crises - including strategic reorientation, organizational stabilization, balance sheet restructuring, and stakeholder management.
FOUNDER & PRINCIPAL
Doug Drysdale
Doug Drysdale is a biopharma operator, strategic advisor, and Founder of Katogen, where he partners with biotech leaders, investors, and founders to translate scientific innovation into real-world business outcomes. With over 35 years in healthcare and pharmaceuticals, Doug is known for bridging the gap between rigorous science and practical execution - bringing an “operator mindset” grounded in P&L accountability, capital strategy, and company building. His work today focuses on advancing mental, metabolic, and neurological health while helping organizations scale, navigate complexity, and unlock long-term value.
Over nearly two decades as a CEO, Doug built and turned around four companies - two public and two private - leading 17 acquisitions across three continents and raising over $4.5 billion in capital. As CEO of Cybin, he took the company from molecule inception to Phase 3 trials in just three years, advancing breakthrough therapies in mental health. Previously, as Founding CEO of Alvogen, he scaled the company to $500 million in revenue across 35 countries in under six years. At Pernix Therapeutics, he led a successful turnaround, growing enterprise value from $80 million to $800 million, and earlier in his career, he drove global M&A at Actavis, leading 15 acquisitions and raising $3 billion.
In addition to his advisory work at Katogen, Doug serves as a board member and corporate advisor across the biopharma landscape, working closely with companies advancing next-generation therapeutics and drug delivery platforms. He is a recognized voice in mental health innovation, neuro-metabolic science, and longevity, frequently contributing insights through speaking engagements, media, and his monthly newsletter, Katogen Insights.
Known for his thoughtful and optimistic perspective, Doug emphasizes evidence-based progress, scientific rigor, and long-term impact over short-term hype. Doug holds a degree in Microbial and Molecular Biology from the University of East Anglia and was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Having worked across more than 70 countries, he brings a global perspective to leadership, innovation, and the future of healthcare.
Who Katogen Works With
Katogen works with CEOs, founders, and executive teams at growth-stage biopharma and mid-sized life sciences companies - typically those navigating one or more of the following
- A capital raise or financing event requiring a credible strategic narrative and investor-ready materials
- An M&A transaction - as acquirer, target, or post-close integration
- A regulatory or reimbursement inflection point requiring experienced operator guidance
- A commercial launch in a complex therapeutic category - specialty pharma, biosimilars, or novel therapeutics
- A turnaround situation requiring decisive external support
- A strategic planning process where operator experience adds more value than consulting frameworks
“Katogen does not work with every company that reaches out. Engagements are selective and intensive - designed to deliver real, measurable value rather than recommendations that sit in a slide deck.”
Why Operator Experience Matters
Most biopharma advisors have studied the industry. Katogen has run it. The difference between operator-led advisory and traditional consulting shows up in three specific ways
Quality of Judgment
Decisions in biopharma strategy involve trade-offs that cannot be resolved by frameworks or benchmarks alone. They require the kind of judgment that comes from having made those same decisions - under real pressure, with real consequences - across multiple companies and cycles.
Credibility with Clients
CEOs and founders at growth-stage biopharma companies do not need to be told what the textbook answer is. They need an advisor who has been in their seat - who understands the organizational dynamics, the investor pressures, and the operational realities that determine whether a strategy actually gets executed.
Speed to Insight
Operator experience compresses the time it takes to diagnose a situation accurately. When you have built and turned around multiple biopharma companies, you recognize the patterns faster - and you know which levers actually move the needle.
Company facts & board roles
2016
Founded · Boston, MA
17
Acquisitions completed
35+
Markets operated in
USD 4B+
Capital raised
Board & Advisory Roles
In addition to project-based consulting engagements, Katogen's founder, Doug Drysdale, serves in a limited number of ongoing board director and corporate advisory capacities for biopharma and life sciences companies. Current and recent roles span independent board directorships, advisory board participation, and fractional executive engagements across novel therapeutics, drug delivery, and manufacturing.
- Role types
- Independent board director · Advisory board · Fractional executive
- Sectors
- Novel therapeutics · Drug delivery · Manufacturing
- Availability
- Limited number of ongoing capacities - selective
- Focus areas
- Strategic planning, M&A advisory, capital raises, novel therapeutics, drug delivery, supply chain, turnaround management
WORK WITH KATOGEN
If you are navigating a strategic inflection point - a capital raise, an acquisition, a turnaround, a regulatory challenge, or simply a moment where you need an experienced operator in your corner - we would welcome the conversation. Engagements are selective. The first step is a direct conversation to understand your situation and determine where Katogen can add the most value.
