IN MEMORIAM
Senthil Sundaram
Friend & Visionary Leader
On November 22, 2023, Senthil Sundaram, who served as Terns’ Chief Executive Officer and a member of our Board, passed away following his battle with peritoneal cancer.
“Sen,” as he was known, was a great leader and an often reserved and private person. He handled his cancer diagnosis with grace and bravery even while undergoing aggressive treatment including chemotherapy leading up to his final days. His passion for his work and commitment to helping patients remained a priority even as he faced his own health challenges. His personal experience as someone living with cancer seemed to further strengthen his resolve to advance promising research that could help others. He maintained that commitment even after his health challenges made it necessary for him to resign from his position as CEO.
Following his retirement from Terns, Sen continued to dedicate himself to others as a Strategic Advisor to the company and as the founder of The Peritoneal Cancer Foundation, a new advocacy organization he established to support research for and raise awareness of peritoneal cancer, which remains both misunderstood and often overlooked in the oncology research and treatment communities.
Sen was a visionary leader who inspired everyone around him
with his passion, dedication, and unwavering commitment to improving patient care through scientific innovation.
At Terns, Sen played a seminal role in the company’s buildout, including the expansion and diversification of the pipeline into both oncology and metabolic diseases. He led the company through successful completion of a $128 million IPO and subsequent sizeable fundraises that secured Terns’ financial foundation and propelled us through to several key growth inflection points.
In a career spanning more than 20 years, Sen held roles of both strategic and financial leadership in the life sciences industry. Before joining Terns, he was Chief Financial Officer of Nightstar Therapeutics, a clinical stage gene therapy company that was acquired by Biogen in 2019. At Nightstar he led the company through a number of private and public equity offerings including an IPO and a variety of business development opportunities including its acquisition by Biogen.
From 2013 - 2017, he served in a variety of positions at Intercept Pharmaceuticals including Head of Business and Corporate Development and was responsible for capital raising, budgeting, financial planning, business development and strategy, securities regulations, communications, and investor relations. In recognition of his outstanding work ethic, in 2016 Sen placed second on the Institutional Investor list of Best Investor Relations Professionals and he and his team placed third in the ranking of Best Investor Relations Programs.
Before his successful career in biotechnology R&D, Sen spent 13 years in healthcare finance. Prior to Intercept, he held roles at leading investment banking groups including Lehman Brothers/Barclays, Citigroup and Lazard. He said many times that he went into investment banking to better understand the business side of biotechnology so that he could play a role in helping millions of people by advancing promising research.
FOCUS ON PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT
For Sen, there was no greater joy than seeing someone achieve a goal that pushed beyond their boundaries.
He spent a lot of his time on what he called “people development,” which included spending time with colleagues either one-on-one or in team building activities. His focus on people was a main driver that led him to join Terns.
Being surrounded by a great team and giving them the support and resources they needed to succeed were essential goals for Sen.
He brought to Terns an approach designed to leverage the types of work that bring people both energy and fulfillment. Through this model, he strived to help team members and colleagues to be more self-aware of what brings them happiness to position them to be more productive and successful.
Sen’s team-oriented focus also extended to how he handled his cancer diagnosis. He was open and transparent in sharing his diagnosis with colleagues and did not shy away from accepting help during difficult times. As Terns’ CEO and as a person living with cancer, he valued the importance of being able to lean on the expertise of others and appreciated support from team members. He knew that people in the healthcare industry are fundamentally dedicated to helping others, and Sen trusted others to help him when he needed it.
Sen will be deeply missed by everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. But his legacy lives on through his family, friends and colleagues, through his important work that carries on at Terns, and through the Peritoneal Cancer Foundation (PCF). Established in 2023, the PCF is dedicated to supporting research that can lead to new and more effective treatments for peritoneal cancer. Its goals include raising awareness of peritoneal cancer and bringing new levels of support to clinicians, academic scientists and biotechnology and pharma companies to support more clinical research that can lead to new treatments as rapidly as possible.