Immunic Appoints Dr. Michael Panzara as Chief Medical Officer

Immunic Inc., a late-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of novel oral therapies for neurologic diseases, has appointed Michael A. Panzara, M.D., M.P.H., as Chief Medical Officer.

Panzara will lead the company’s development organization, including clinical development, medical affairs, and regulatory affairs, and will be a critical partner to the Chief Executive Officer and the Board of Directors in defining and driving the overall company strategy. Panzara succeeds Andreas Muehler, M.D., M.B.A..

“Mike is a globally renowned biopharmaceutical executive and drug developer with deep expertise in neurology and proven leadership in advancing transformational therapies through development and the regulatory approval process,” said Daniel Vitt, Ph.D., CEO of Immunic. “His depth of experience will be invaluable as we advance vidofludimus calcium through the pivotal clinical readout of our phase 3 ENSURE trials in relapsing MS, and toward potential regulatory approval and commercialization in this indication. His leadership will support the company strategy as we continue our transition into a fully integrated commercial-stage company.”

Experience

Panzara brings over 25 years of global neurology experience to Immunic. He most recently served as Chief Medical Officer of Neurvati Neurosciences, Inc., where he built a Development Organization to support the creation of sub-companies focused on advancing therapeutic candidates in neurological and psychiatric disorders. This included serving as Chief Medical Officer of Neurvati’s first sub-company, GRIN Therapeutics, overseeing development of radiprodil, a negative allosteric modulator targeting the NMDA receptor as a potential treatment for rare genetically defined neurodevelopmental disorders.

Prior to Neurvati, Panzara served as Chief Medical Officer and Head of Therapeutics Discovery and Development at Wave Life Sciences Ltd., after initially joining the company as Franchise Lead, Neurology, where he oversaw Wave’s therapeutic research and development portfolio with a focus on genetically-defined neurological diseases.

Earlier, he served as the Head of the Multiple Sclerosis, Neurology and Ophthalmology Therapeutic Area for Global Development at Sanofi Genzyme. Prior to that, Panzara was Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Neurology at Biogen. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of LeonaBio, Inc. and Cadenza Bio, Inc.

Panzara received his undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Pennsylvania and his medical degree from Stanford University School of Medicine. He completed his neurology training at Massachusetts General Hospital and conducted postdoctoral training in immunology and rheumatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health.

“This is a critically important time in Immunic’s evolution and I am excited to be joining the company at such a pivotal inflection point,” said Panzara. “Vidofludimus calcium’s potential to treat MS by targeting both immunological and neuroprotective pathways holds promise to redefine the treatment landscape and meaningfully impact the lives of so many people who continue to struggle with their MS. I look forward to building upon the team’s successes to further advance Immunic’s clinical programs, including the phase 3 ENSURE trials and the planned phase 3 trial of vidofludimus calcium in primary progressive MS.”