Mike Patane, PhD

Mike Patane has more than 25 years of drug discovery and development experience in leadership roles within start-up, biotechnology and global biopharmaceutical companies where he had broad platform and therapeutic area responsibilities. He was a member of the founding team of multiple biotech companies that have culminated in exits (including acquisitions and IPO). Mike has experience with fundraising (seed, series A – D, IPO), and has built multiple organizations in start-up, biotech, and pharma settings.

Mike currently serves on the Board of Directors of TFF Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ – TFFP) and OcuSciences and on the Scientific Advisory Board of Bantam Pharmaceutical. Most recently, Mike was the President of Mitobridge (an Astellas Company), which discovers and develops novel therapeutics that improve mitochondrial functions where mitochondrial dysfunction drives disease pathology. Previously, he was CSO at Eyegate Pharmaceuticals where he focused on the development of ophthalmic products, which included oversight of all R&D, clinical, and regulatory functions. Prior to that, he was Executive Director, Global Discovery Chemistry, at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research where he was responsible for infectious diseases and ophthalmology drug discovery franchises and fulfilled a variety of strategic roles. Previously, Mike was Director, Medicinal Chemistry at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he led drug discovery efforts for their oncology and metabolic disease programs. Earlier in his career, Mike was a Research Fellow in Medicinal Chemistry at Merck & Co.

Mike earned a BS in Chemistry from Fordham University, a PhD in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from the University of Southern California, and completed his post-doctoral studies in Natural Products Synthesis at The Scripps Research Institute. Mike has 55 issued US Patents and 47 publications.