Michael A. Panzara, MD, MPH, is Chief Medical Officer at Neurvati Neurosciences and GRIN Therapeutics. He joined Neurvati in 2022, bringing more than 20 years of experience in developing therapies for neurological disorders having served in leadership roles at Wave Life Sciences, Sanofi, Genzyme, and Biogen and currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Athira Pharma, Inc., and Cadenza Bio, Inc.
Prior to joining Neurvati, Dr. Panzara was Chief Medical Officer, Head of Therapeutics Discovery and Development at Wave Life Sciences, where he oversaw the company’s therapeutic research and development portfolio with a focus on genetically defined diseases. From 2009-2016 he held leadership positions at Genzyme (later Sanofi Genzyme), initially serving as Group Vice President, Multiple Sclerosis and Immune Diseases and overseeing the development of MS and other inflammatory disease therapies. He was later named Head of the Multiple Sclerosis, Neurology and Ophthalmology Therapeutic Area for Global Development, leading strategic planning and overseeing the development and global regulatory approvals of the MS drugs LEMTRADA (alemtuzumab) and AUBAGIO (teriflunomide). He previously served as Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Neurology at Biogen, where he was global clinical lead for TYSABRI (natalizumab), 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 MD from Stanford University School of Medicine. He trained in neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and received his postdoctoral training in immunology and rheumatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He earned his MPH degree from the Harvard School of Public Health.