Dr. Linda Black | CEO of Gallant
How Gallant's CEO rebuilt after the founder's death and engineered a 30-million-dose breakthrough that could make them the first company to win FDA approval for off-the-shelf stem cell therapy in veterinary medicine — with $40 million raised and a proprietary manufacturing process that turns discarded tissue into treatments accessible to every clinic.
Dr. Linda Black is the CEO of Gallant, a pioneering animal health biotechnology company developing off-the-shelf stem cell therapies for pets. With more than 18 years of experience across biotechnology, regenerative medicine, and veterinary science, she has led R&D, operations, and clinical development at companies including VetStem Biopharma, Medicus Biosciences, and SciStem Therapeutics.
In this interview, Dr. Black shares her path from veterinary medicine to biotech, what it takes to build an entirely new regulatory category, how Gallant is scaling regenerative therapies for real-world veterinary use, and why compassionate leadership has been central to the company’s progress.
After earning your DVM, you chose to go even deeper into science through research and a PhD, and eventually focus on regenerative medicine. What inspired you to transition from clinical veterinary practice to biotechnology and stem cells?
During veterinary school, I also worked in a research lab, where I discovered I loved science just as much as clinical work. The why of disease, the mechanisms, the opportunity to develop therapies by understanding the biology behind the disease — I loved research, and it turned out I was also good at it. That’s why I pursued a residency in comparative medicine and then completed a PhD in cell and molecular biology.
I thought I would build a career as a basic cancer biologist, whether in humans or animals.
Everything changed when I had my son and couldn’t bear leaving him to do a postdoc after my PhD. So for a few years, I stayed home and ran a science writing business so I could remain in the workforce while caring for him.
Then, when he was a bit older, I joined a veterinary biotech company, working on early research in regenerative medicine for pets. I had the opportunity to lead clinical trials using stem cells to treat osteoarthritis in dogs. When you see those results firsthand — an older dog chasing tennis balls like a puppy again, moving freely and living without pain thanks to a treatment you helped shape — it’s life-changing.
That’s when I fell in love with regenerative medicine.
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