Meet the Team

Shorla Oncology was founded by two healthcare entrepreneurs, Sharon Cunningham and Orlaith Ryan who worked together previously in senior positions at EirGen Pharma and have a passion for building organizations and developing products to meet unmet needs.

Executive Team

Sharon Cunningham

CEO & Co-Founder
US Based

  • Over 14 years in leadership roles in the pharmaceutical industry. Led EirGen Pharma’s finance function for seven years prior to founding Shorla Oncology
  • Compliance Officer & member of the SOX disclosure committee for OPKO Health Inc (NASDAQ & NYSE) post acquisition of EirGen Pharma
  • PwC Qualified Chartered Accountant with an MBA from University College Dublin Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and a BSc in Finance from University College Cork, Ireland
  • Certificate in Healthcare Innovation from MIT & Harvard Medical School and a Certificate in Healthcare Leadership from Columbia University
  • Board member at MassBio, the world’s oldest and largest biotech trade association and Young President’s Organization (‘YPO’) Healthcare Business Network

Orlaith
Ryan

CTO & Co-Founder
Ireland Based

  • Over 14 years in the pharmaceutical industry holding technical & leadership positions in Analytical, QA & Regulatory Affairs.
  • Led numerous regulatory inspections including FDA, HPRA and Saudi FDA during her eight-year tenure.​
  • Coordinated IND’s, INAD’s and pre-development meetings with FDA for OPKO Health Inc.
  • Primary interface with FDA & EMA on the development and registration of new human (including orphan) and veterinary drugs.​
  • Is a chartered scientist and holds an MSc in Regulatory Affairs from the University of Wales, BSc in Applied Biology with Quality Management from Waterford Institute of Technology & a Certificate in Corporate Governance from INSEAD business school.

Rayna Herman

Chief Commercial Officer
US Based

  • 30+ year career in life sciences. Served as Chief Commercial Officer with EVERSANA before joining Shorla Oncology. Began career at Merck & Co.
  • Specializes in developing and operationalizing commercial strategy for growth. Has launched more than 20 biopharmaceutical products.
  • Previously led commercial at Health Strategies Group and positioned the firm for sale to private equity (Water Street) as member of firm’s Board of Directors.
  • Advisory board member for Almaden Genomics and serves on local nonprofit boards.
  • Holds an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Indiana University.