About Us - Alessa Therapeutics

Our Mission

Alessa Therapeutics is focused on development, clinical validation, and commercialization of localized, sustained drug delivery for early interception of cancer and other solid organ disease.

Our Story

Alessa was founded by Dr. Pamela Munster, a leading oncologist at UCSF. Dr. Munster has advised thousands of women on how to cope with the realities of breast cancer, from diagnosis through treatment and recovery.

But Dr. Munster’s world turned upside down when, at age 48 and in otherwise perfect health, she got a call saying that her own mammogram showed “irregularities.” Worse, not only did she have cancer, she carried the feared BRCA gene mutation.

Suddenly, Dr. Munster realized that being a true “expert” in a disease was far beyond the scope of her medical training. She had a lot to learn—and do— if she wanted to hold onto her precious life.

Dr. Munster decided to establish Alessa Therapeutics to build on her dual experiences as a practicing doctor and as an active patient. With an appropriate sense of urgency, she and her team gathered the resources, experience, and thinking of UCSF and other leading healthcare organizations. Their goal: uncover new strategies for early-interception and treatment of cancer and other solid organ diseases.

Our Leadership

Pamela Munster, MD

Founder, CEO, Director

Dr. Munster is a Professor in the Department of Medicine (Hematology/Oncology) at UCSF. She has served as the Director of the Early Phase Clinical Trials Unit, as well as the Co-leader of the Center for BRCA Research. Dr. Munster also led the Experimental Therapeutics Program at UCSF’s Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Maithili Rairkar, PhD

VP, Technical Operations

Dr. Rairkar has over 16 years of experience in developing drug device combination products. Her former experience includes Chrono Therapeutics, Incline Therapeutics (acquired by The Medicines Company), Alza Corporation (J&J) and Discovery Laboratories in varying CMC roles.
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Zach Collins, PhD

Chief Business Officer

Dr. Collins leads business development and strategic planning at Alessa. Prior to joining Alessa, Dr. Collins was a Principal at Mission BioCapital where he has invested in or supported over a dozen biopharmaceutical portfolio companies including Pandion Therapeutics (acquired by MERCK) and Vedere Bio (acquired by Novartis).

Bonnie Wettersten

VP, Clinical Affairs

Bonnie Wettersten has over 20 years of experience offering strategic direction and coordination of global clinical operations in oncology. Prior to joining the Alessa Team, Bonnie was the Global Clinical Operations Head at OSI Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Astellas Pharmaceuticals), GlaxoSmithKline (Therapy Area Head), and Aventis Pharma (acquired by Sanofi).