Indian American finance executive Utpal Koppikar has joined the board of directors of Insmed Incorporated as an independent director. The Bridgewater, New Jersey-based biopharmaceutical company announced his appointment on Oct. 20.
Koppikar joins the board alongside Paul Hudson, the former chief executive officer of Sanofi and Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Insmed said the appointments add experience in global biopharma leadership, commercial strategy and financial management as the company expands its business and advances treatments for serious and rare diseases.
Koppikar has served as chief financial officer of Verily since April 2023. Verily is a health data and technology company focused on making care more personal, predictive and precise. In his current role, he oversees finance, corporate development, real estate and workplace services.
Before joining Verily, Koppikar was executive vice president and chief financial officer at Atara Biotherapeutics from 2018 to 2023. There, he led finance, information technology and investor relations. He previously held senior financial leadership roles at Gilead Sciences and Amgen, building experience across research, manufacturing, strategic sourcing and corporate operations.
His board background includes service as a director of C4 Therapeutics, a Massachusetts biotechnology company developing medicines that use targeted protein degradation. That experience gives him another view of governance, capital allocation and drug development inside a publicly traded life sciences company.
Koppikar earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland, a master’s degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Stanford University and an MBA in finance and marketing from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Insmed develops and commercializes therapies across respiratory disease, immunology and inflammation, neuroscience and other rare conditions. The company has operations in the United States, Europe and Japan. Its research platforms include gene therapy, artificial intelligence-assisted protein engineering and RNA-based technologies.
Koppikar’s appointment brings an Indian American finance leader with experience at several stages of biotechnology growth to the board of a major U.S. biopharmaceutical company. He will help guide Insmed’s financial and operating strategy as it scales its commercial portfolio and clinical pipeline.
Key Takeaways About Utpal Koppikar
- He has joined Insmed’s board as an independent director.
- He has served as Verily’s chief financial officer since 2023.
- He previously held executive positions at Atara, Gilead and Amgen.
- He also serves on the board of C4 Therapeutics.
- He holds degrees from Maryland, Stanford and UCLA.
