Honor
In all areas of our work, honor is the guiding principle and the foundation for realizing our mission.
Natalie, 10, GRIN2B Patient
We are neuroscience innovators.
Neurvati Neurosciences is uniquely positioned to identify, acquire, and develop potential therapies targeting a range of neurological and psychiatric disorders. We have an unmatched ability to assess advances in neuroscience research, review pre-clinical and clinical data, understand regulatory needs and confirm the commercial potential of promising product candidates.
As a Blackstone Life Sciences portfolio company, Neurvati is powered by best-in-class expertise, relentless passion, and extensive resources that allow us to optimize the development of neuroscience therapies. To fuel our success, we engage with strategic partners including other global leaders in neuroscience research and product development. We also align ourselves closely with the patient communities we serve. These efforts bring us the insights and experience necessary to support our efforts to deliver drugs with the potential to transform the lives of patients.
We are creative partners in neuroscience drug development
The Neurvati business model is structured to meet the demands associated with neuroscience drug development and commercialization. We maintain a long-term, strategic view of the neuroscience ecosystem and have the ability to apply customized business structures and strategies to advance our programs, including establishing fit-for-purpose subsidiary companies. Our deep base of resources allows us to achieve the highest levels of business versatility and operational productivity.
Grin Therapeutics
As the first example of our business strategy in action, in 2021 Neurvati established GRIN Therapeutics to advance a targeted approach to the treatment of GRIN-related disorders and other types of pediatric epilepsy.
Our Team
The Neurvati leadership team has deep expertise in neuroscience research and in all phases of drug development and commercialization, backed by worldwide industry connections and a shared dedication to meeting the needs of the patient communities we serve.
Leadership
Board of Directors
Nicholas Galakatos, Ph.D.
Nicholas Galakatos, Senior Managing Director, is the Global Head of Blackstone Life Sciences and is the Chairman of its Investment Committee, having joined Blackstone as part of its acquisition of Clarus in December 2018.
Prior to joining Blackstone, Dr. Galakatos was a Co-Founder and Managing Director of Clarus since the firm’s inception in 2005. Dr. Galakatos has over 30 years of industry and investment experience in the healthcare sector and has led investments in biotechnology, pharmaceutical company partnerships, and diagnostics, from startups to commercial-stage companies. Before Clarus, Dr. Galakatos was a General Partner at MPM Capital, a healthcare venture capital firm. From 1997 to 2000 he was Vice President of New Business at Millennium Pharmaceuticals (presently Takeda) and a member of the Management Team. He is a founder of Millennium Predictive Medicine and TransForm Pharmaceuticals, where he was the Chairman and Founding CEO. Dr. Galakatos is the Chairman of Anthos Therapeutics and a member of the Board of Directors of Talaris, Inc (NASDAQ: TALS) and BioMed Realty. He is a member of the Director’s Council of the Koch Institute at MIT and a member of the Board of Trustees at Reed College.
Dr. Galakatos earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from MIT and performed his post-doctoral studies at Harvard Medical School. He earned his undergraduate degree at Reed College.
Kiran Reddy, M.D.
Kiran Reddy, M.D., is a Senior Managing Director in the Blackstone Life Sciences group having joined in May 2020. Dr. Reddy was previously the President & CEO of Praxis Precision Medicines, which he co-founded in November 2016.
Previously, Dr. Reddy was at Biogen where he was part of the corporate develop and strategy leadership team. Dr. Reddy was also an Associate Partner at Third Rock Ventures. He supported and managed various portfolio companies in addition to focusing on new company formation and new investments. He was part of the founding team and interim Chief Business Officer for SAGE Therapeutics through its IPO. Dr. Reddy was part of the team that launched Foundation Medicine, and he has served as a Board Observer for Alnara pharmaceuticals, Rhythm pharmaceuticals and PanOptica pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Reddy holds M.D. and MBA degrees from Georgetown University. He completed his internship in medicine and his neurology residency at Harvard/Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Reddy was previously a Howard Hughes science fellow and has authored several peer-reviewed scientific papers in the field of epilepsy, neuroimmunology and neurodegenerative diseases.
Jonathan Freeman, Ph.D.
Jonathan Freeman, Ph.D., is a Blackstone Life Sciences Senior Advisor and has over 20 years of practical industry experience within the healthcare private equity, start-up, business development, corporate development, and M&A sectors. Dr. Freeman is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Anthos Therapeutics. Dr. Freeman previously served as Senior Vice President of Strategy / Portfolio Management, and Head of Business Development and Licensing at Merck KgaA (FWB: MRK); CBO, Vedanta Biosciences (LSE: PRTC); Head of M&A and Licensing at Baxter International (NYSE: BAX); and Director of Corporate Development at Serono (NYSE: SRA).
Dr. Freeman received a Ph.D. in Molecular Pharmacology and Drug Metabolism from the ICRF (now CRUK), an MBA jointly from the Universities of Versailles, Paris-Saclay, and Webster, St Louis, and both an MA and First-Class BA (Hons) from Cambridge University.
Jonathan was previously Vice President of the Swiss PLG, an EMBO fellow at the Swiss Institute of Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC) and has authored several peer-reviewed scientific papers in the fields of oncology and drug metabolism.
Pierre Jacquet, M.D., Ph.D.
Pierre Jacquet is Vice Chairman, Global Healthcare Managing Director of L.E.K. Consulting. He has served in a variety of leadership roles for L.E.K., including the firm’s Global Leadership Team, the Americas Management Committee, and various partner operating committees since 2001. Dr. Jacquet has spent more than two decades focused on corporate strategy consulting, merger and acquisition advisory services, and value management, both domestically and internationally.
A former physician, he worked with Arthur D. Little from 1998 to 2000 as a manager of its pharmaceutical practice and performed business development for Genzyme in 1997. During his medical career, he was a Fellow at the Washington Cancer Institute from 1993 to 1996, where he authored over 30 publications and presentations.
Dr. Jacquet is a Director of Exact Sciences (Nasdaq: EXAS) and Mereo Biopharma (Nasdaq: MREO). He previously served as a Director of Osprey Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Jacquet earned a Master of Business Administration from the Darden Graduate School at the University of Virginia, was awarded a Doctor of Medicine with high distinction, and a Doctor of Philosophy in biomedical sciences from the University of Liège in Belgium.
Neurvati: Built for Success
Backed by the financial and professional resources of Blackstone Life Sciences, a division of Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, Neurvati Neurosciences is ideally structured to advance drug candidates through near- and long-term clinical and regulatory milestones. Our operational capabilities and global reach and resources empower us to achieve levels of business agility and superior clinical execution that represent significant competitive advantages.
Contact
For additional information, please contact us using the form below.
Bruce Leuchter, M.D.
Dr. Bruce Leuchter brings deep-rooted, wide-ranging experience to his role as President and CEO at Neurvati, spanning neuroscience, clinical neuropsychiatry, biotechnology equity research, healthcare investment banking and entrepreneurship. His expertise captures all aspects of building and leading a neuroscience company, and his experiences have generated deep empathy for the patient journey. Across his many roles in the clinic, industry, and beyond, Dr. Leuchter has maintained a passion for knowledge and has aimed to purposefully apply that knowledge to help patients suffering from diseases of the brain and nervous system.
A physician by training and neuropsychiatrist by specialty, Dr. Leuchter completed residency training in Neurology and Psychiatry at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Leuchter served as Director of Clinical Neuropsychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and maintains a voluntary faculty appointment in the Department of Psychiatry.
Dr. Leuchter has also held multiple financial services roles including biotechnology equity research at Goldman Sachs, healthcare investment banking at Credits Suisse, and biotechnology mergers and acquisitions at PJT Partners, all of which drive a nuanced understanding of the biotechnology industry and particularly the neuroscience ecosystem.
Dr. Leuchter is Co-Founder and Founding Neuropsychiatrist of a digital therapeutics company, Click Therapeutics, which specializes in the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders. He serves as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Daedelus Fund for Innovation at Weill Cornell Medical College, as a member of the Life Science Institute Leadership Council at the University of Michigan, as a member of the Advisory Board at Michigan Drug Discovery, and as a Business Advisory Board member at FOXG1 Research Foundation.
Michael A. Panzara, M.D., MPH
Michael A. Panzara, MD, MPH is currently Chief Medical Officer at Neurvati Neurosciences. Dr. Panzara has over 20 years of biopharmaceutical experience focused on developing therapies for neurological disorders having served in leadership roles at Wave Life Sciences, Sanofi, Genzyme, and Biogen before joining Neurvati in 2022 and currently serves on the board of directors of Athira Pharma, Inc., a clinicalstage biopharmaceutical company. Prior to joining Neurvati, he was Chief Medical Officer, Head of Therapeutics Discovery and Development at Wave Life Sciences where he oversaw Wave’s therapeutic research and development portfolio with a focus on genetically-defined diseases.
He served as the Head of the Multiple Sclerosis, Neurology and Ophthalmology Therapeutic Area for Global Development at Sanofi Genzyme, where he oversaw global regulatory approvals of the multiple sclerosis (MS) drugs LEMTRADA (alemtuzumab) and AUBAGIO (teriflunomide) and was responsible for development strategy and oversight within these therapeutic areas. He joined Genzyme in 2009 as Group Vice President, Multiple Sclerosis and Immune Diseases, overseeing the development of MS and other inflammatory disease therapies. Prior to joining Genzyme, Dr. Panzara was Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Neurology at Biogen. During his time there, he served as the global clinical lead for the development of TYSABRI (natalizumab) for MS, overseeing its clinical program and global approvals and managed clinical development activities for all late-stage MS products including AVONEX (interferon beta-1a), PLEGRIDY (PEG-interferon beta-1a), and TECFIDERA (dimethylfumarate).
Dr. Panzara received his undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Pennsylvania and medical degree from Stanford University School of Medicine. He trained in neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, received his postdoctoral training in immunology and rheumatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and received his Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Elliott Ruiz
Elliott Ruiz began his career in investment banking with time spent at Truist Securities (f/k/a Suntrust Bank) and KPMG’s boutique healthcare corporate finance group. In 2014, Elliott moved into the pharmaceutical space and helped to grow the private equity backed Alvogen Inc., with leadership responsibilities that included corporate development, capital raising, and financial planning and analysis. In 2016, Elliott joined Purdue Pharma to lead their Business Development Finance team. His responsibilities quickly grew over his tenure with his most recent role as Treasurer overseeing Purdue’s FP&A, Business Development Finance, Treasury, Accounts Payable, Credit, and Insurance functions, among other responsibilities. Elliott’s leadership was battle-tested as he helped to lead Purdue through its restructuring process. Elliott received his BA in Economics from Cornell University and his MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia. He has also received management training at the Yale School of Management where he received an Executive Leadership Development Certification.
Hillary Savoie, Ph.D
Hillary Savoie, PhD is the Director of Community Engagement and Communication at Neurvati Neurosciences. Prior to joining Neurvati, Hillary worked as a rare disease advocate, patient engagement consultant, and writer. She is also a mother. Her daughter Esmé, who is medically and developmentally complex, has served as the inspiration for her work in rare disease. Hillary founded The Cute Syndrome Foundation, which focuses on a rare genetic and developmental encephalopathy, in 2013. She served as Executive Director at TCSF for 9 years and now serves on the Board of Directors. Her personal essays and reported features about life with medically-complex children which can be found on Romper.com, New York Times, Rolling Stone, and the podcast Story Collider, among others. Hillary holds a doctorate in Communication and Rhetoric from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).