How Biopharma CMOs Can Better Partner with Patient Organizations

Joseph M. Palumbo, MD, LFAPA, MACPsych, is Executive Vice President (EVP), Head of Research & Development (R&D) and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of BioVie Inc., a clinical-stage company developing innovative drug therapies for the treatment of neurological and neurodegenerative disorders and advanced liver disease. In addition to his role at BioVie, Palumbo is a Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and a Fellow of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology. He is also involved in academia, serving as a member of the American College of Psychiatrists along with sitting on the Dean’s Council of Advisors at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Prior to joining BioVie, Dr. Palumbo served as CMO for Zynerba, developing therapeutics for autism and other rare neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions of adults and children. He previously held senior worldwide governance roles at Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma in both the United States (US) and Japan, where he led medical science and translational research across multiple therapeutic areas, and guided successful registrational programs for RADICAVA® (edaravone) for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the US, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, South Korea, and other countries. Palumbo also served as Global Head and Franchise Medical Leader for Psychiatry, and the Interim Head of Global Neuroscience at Johnson & Johnson, where he led the medical teams who achieved successful global registrations in multiple neuropsychiatric conditions for RISPERDAL® (risperidone), CONCERTA® (methylphenidate HCL) and INVEGA® (paliperidone). He has also served on the executive teams of international pharmaceutical companies including Sanofi-Synthelabo and Cephalon, as well as senior leadership roles at prestigious academic institutions including Yale University, Cornell University, and the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Palumbo holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and a Doctor of Medicine from the George Washington University School of Medicine. He was a Biological Sciences Training Program Fellow of the National Institutes of Health, a research mentor of junior faculty at both the APA and the Society of Biological Psychiatry, and served as Chief Resident for the Abraham Ribicoff Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit at Yale University. Dr Palumbo has also received Board Certification in Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry.

Dr Laura Williams is a life science executive with extensive experience as a pharmaceutical drug developer, portfolio strategist and patient advocate. She is a results-oriented, accomplished, executive leader with 25 years of pharmaceutical drug development experience, spanning all clinical phases and across numerous therapeutic areas. She has a proven track-record in drug development, as indicated by her contributions on key regulatory approvals for 8 marketed products, and has strong leadership skills, exemplified in both large and small pharma settings within matrix cross-functional organizations. Dr Williams currently serves as CMO at Ardelyx, where she provides strategic and tactical leadership for clinical development, medical affairs, and patient advocacy, while partnering to assist with regulatory, pharmacovigilance and other business-critical activities. Previously, at AMAG Pharmaceuticals, she served as SVP and Head of Clinical Development and Biostatistics, where she was responsible for two on-market compounds and four investigational-staged assets. Prior to AMAG, she served as VP, Clinical Development at Myovant Sciences, where she oversaw clinical development for an infertility treatment and co-led business development activities to expand the women’s health pipeline. Finally, in her 18-year career at Abbott/AbbVie, she held roles of increasing responsibility, leading clinical development programs across multiple therapeutic areas that spanned all phases of drug development and contributed to the regulatory approval of five investigational compounds. Dr Williams is an Independent Director on the Board of Imara Therapeutics. She also serves as Director on the Advisory Board of the National Kidney Foundation (West Coast), and is a member of Black Women on Boards, Athena Alliance, Chief and National Association of Corporate Directors. Dr Williams received a BS from Mississippi State University and an MD from the University of Iowa. She completed her Internal Medicine residency at University of Michigan, where she also served as the first Black Chief Resident in the Internal Medicine Program. She received a MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Washington, where she also completed subspecialty training in Infectious Diseases, with a focus on HIV and STIs.

Dr Peter Schmidt, PhD is a neuroscientist with a wealth of experience in biomedical research. He's been an inventor, principal investigator, and mathematician with experience in neurology, psychiatry, and immunology. Before joining Rho, he was the Vice Dean at East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine, where he oversaw research and clinical care. During his time at the Parkinson’s Foundation, Dr Schmidt designed and led the largest clinical study of Parkinson’s disease, enrolling 12,000 patients across 30 academic medical centers in five countries. He has served in advisory and board roles for national and international organizations in clinical care, research, and patient advocacy including the National Quality Forum, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the Huntington’s Study Group. He holds two patents and has authored many peer-reviewed journal articles.

Murray Abramson, MD, MPH is a visionary and entrepreneurial professional with extensive experience in clinical operations and drug development. He earned his B.S. in Chemistry with honors and his M.D. from Duke University, followed by a clinical fellowship in infectious disease and a role as Chief Resident in the Department of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center.Dr. Abramson spent 13 years at Merck, where he held various clinical, operational, and leadership positions, and later joined Biogen as VP of Global Clinical Operations, overseeing strategic planning and execution of clinical trials across all phases and indications. Subsequently, he was SVP, head of clinical innovation at Tempus AI. Murray is currently SVP, head of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs at Precision Biosciences. He also co-hosted a bi-weekly webcast for ALS patients and care providers for Everything ALS.