Maksim Osipov has more than a decade of experience in small molecule drug discovery. He is currently the associate director of small molecule discovery at NICO Therapeutics, where he and his team oversee and support programs spanning early discovery through preclinical development. Prior to NICO, Dr. Osipov held multiple roles at Denali Therapeutics, where he led and supported small molecule and oligonucleotide-antibody conjugate programs resulting in the advancement of six development candidates. Among these, Dr. Osipov led the therapeutic discovery team that led to the development of Evetifator, currently in phase II clinical trials for ALS. Dr. Osipov began his industry career at Flexus Biosciences as the company’s first chemist, where his contributions led to a novel inhibitor currently in Phase II clinical trials for oncology indications. Dr. Osipov holds a PhD in organic chemistry from Stanford University and obtained his BSc in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh.