MPM BioImpact Appoints Michael Ehlers, M.D., Ph.D., Experienced R&D Leader and Accomplished Biotechnology Executive, as Entrepreneur Partner

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MPM BioImpact, a biotechnology investment firm creating and investing in innovative companies seeking to deliver transformative therapies to patients, today announced that Michael Ehlers, M.D., Ph.D., will join the Company as Entrepreneur Partner.

“We are excited to welcome Mike, an esteemed biotechnology executive and research and development leader, to MPM BioImpact,” said Ansbert Gadicke, M.D., Managing Partner of MPM BioImpact. “Our Entrepreneur Partners include global experts in the most innovative areas of biotechnology, with capabilities across the entire drug development process. They inform our investment decisions and provide meaningful, hands-on support to our portfolio companies. With his extensive experience as an accomplished scientist, drug developer, company creator and venture capitalist, Mike is an ideal addition to our Entrepreneur Partner team. We look forward to his many contributions as we continue to build and fund companies advancing leading technologies and driving breakthroughs to revolutionize patient care.”

MPM BioImpact Entrepreneur Partners serve as investor-operators, who provide deep domain expertise across research, intellectual property, clinical development, regulatory, and commercialization, and who work closely with the firm’s diverse team of scientists and investment professionals to invest in, and develop, therapies for diseases with high unmet need. Dr. Ehlers’ experience leading discovery sciences, translational medicine, clinical development and regulatory sciences at prominent biopharmaceutical companies, as well as his domain expertise in neurology, immunology and rare disease, will support MPM BioImpact’s strategy of investing in companies targeting therapeutic areas with high unmet medical need. Moreover, his track record as a successful Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and his operational insights will be hugely valuable in driving MPM BioImpact’s company creation efforts.

“MPM BioImpact stands out in its commitment to meaningfully support companies at every stage of development. I am thrilled to be part of the MPM BioImpact team supporting portfolio companies as a true strategic partner,” said Dr. Ehlers. “Over the past thirty years, MPM BioImpact has established a remarkable track record of translating early science into approved medicines. The team is simply awesome. I look forward to building on these many successes, and working closely with my colleagues to convert breakthrough innovation into new, life-changing therapies.”

Dr. Ehlers joins MPM BioImpact from Apple Tree Partners (ATP), where he served as Chief Scientific Officer and General Partner. At ATP, Dr. Ehlers founded and held executive leadership or Board roles at several portfolio companies, including Ascidian Therapeutics, where he will continue as President and CEO. He will also remain on the Board of Directors of ATP portfolio companies Aulos Bioscience and Replicate Bioscience. Prior to ATP, Dr. Ehlers was Executive Vice President for Research and Development at Biogen, where he significantly grew and diversified Biogen’s clinical portfolio and advanced more than 20 novel clinical candidates, including SPINRAZA™, VUMERITY™, LEQEMBI™ and QALSODY™. Previously, Dr. Ehlers was BioTherapeutics Senior Vice President and Neuroscience Chief Scientific Officer at Pfizer, where he created and advanced the neuroscience and rare disease portfolios including BEQVEZ™. Before entering industry in 2010, Dr. Ehlers was a professor and investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Duke University Medical Center. He earned a B.S. in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology and holds M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

About MPM BioImpact

MPM BioImpact is a world-leading biotechnology investment firm with over 30 years of expertise creating and investing in innovative companies to deliver transformative therapies to patients. Its experienced and dedicated team of investment professionals, entrepreneurs, advisors and leading scientists translate scientific discoveries into breakthrough medicines and potential cures. For more information, visit www.mpmbioimpact.com