David Karlander

Dave Karlander is an accomplished biotech executive and commercial strategist with over 25 years of leadership experience in diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. Throughout his career, Dave has built and led high-performing teams in sales, marketing, product management, licensing, and market access, contributing to the growth of both emerging start-ups and established public companies. His work spans key sectors including oncology, hematology, psychiatry, neurology, allergy, immunology, infectious disease, and primary care.

Dave’s expertise lies in strategic planning, launch execution, market development, and stakeholder engagement. As Chief Commercial Officer for Circular Genomics and Senior Vice President for Biocept, he led commercialization efforts that delivered transformative growth, including securing partnerships with major institutions and payers, expanding market access through innovative contracting strategies. His leadership has driven successful launches of complex diagnostic platforms and therapeutics, grounded in a deep understanding of clinical adoption pathways and payer environments.

Earlier in his career, Dave held national and regional leadership roles at Exact Sciences, Novartis, and Elan Pharmaceuticals, where he consistently exceeded performance benchmarks, earned multiple President’s Club honors, and spearheaded strategic initiatives that shaped corporate direction and market success.

Beyond his executive roles, Dave is committed to advancing innovation in life sciences. He mentors early-stage biotech companies through CONNECT's Springboard accelerator program and serves on the Collaboration Feasibility Committee for the PRECEDE Foundation for the early detection of pancreatic cancer.

Dave holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management, a Bachelor of Science degree from Miami University, and a certification in Genetics and Genomics with a focus on cancer diagnosis and gene therapy from Stanford University. Based in San Diego, he continues to drive healthcare innovation by helping companies translate scientific breakthroughs into real-world clinical impact.