EWIB-Boston is proudly hosting a fireside chat with Michelle Werner, CEO of Alltrna, as she reflects on her leadership journeys, philosophies, mentorship approaches, and commitment to developing the next generation of women leaders. Nerissa Kreher, CMO Alltrna, will moderate this conversation with Michelle, who will share the career experiences that have shaped her leadership and sharpened her executive perspective. Drawing from both her professional journey and her personal experience as the mother of a child with a rare disease, Michelle will discuss how purpose, vulnerability, and patient connection have informed her leadership philosophy and deepened her commitment to advancing tRNA science into real-world therapies. Michelle will also offer her perspective on the future of biotech, exploring what’s possible in rare disease drug development through innovative platforms, including tRNA-based therapeutics.

Note: The event is exclusively for Executives (VP and above).

Program

6:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.  Networking
6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.  Fireside Chat and Q&A
7:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.  Networking

Speaker Bios

Nerissa Kreher, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Alltrna, Moderator

Nerissa is currently on the Board of Directors of Rezolute Bio, a phase 3 public biotech company focused on rare diseases, including congenital hyperinsulinism and tumor hyperinsulinism. She is the Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee and serves on the Compensation Committee as well. Dr. Kreher is the Chief Medical Officer at Alltrna, where she has responsibility for Clinical and Regulatory development strategy, Medical Affairs, and Patient Advocacy. She serves on the company’s executive leadership team and is highly engaged with its board of directors and investors. Prior to Alltrna, she was the CMO at Entrada Therapeutics, where she led the company from a pre-clinical to clinical stage company and significantly contributed to the clinical and regulatory strategy for two rare neuromuscular assets. In addition, she contributed to the successful Series B and IPO (~$181M). Prior to joining Entrada Therapeutics, Dr. Kreher was Chief Medical Officer at Tiburio Therapeutics and, prior to that, at AVROBIO, where she oversaw clinical and regulatory development for multiple ex vivo lentiviral gene therapy programs in lysosomal storage diseases. She expanded the clinical/medical/patient advocacy team to 10 employees (~25% of the company). She was a member of the IPO team that successfully led to the upsized $116M IPO at AVROBIO in June 2018.  At Zafgen, Dr. Kreher was Global Head (VP) of Clinical and Medical Affairs at Zafgen, where she created a global Medical Affairs organization and took on additional clinical responsibilities. Most notably, she was the Lead for addressing a crisis (a significant safety signal in a clinical trial that impacted a phase 3 program). She previously guided Global Clinical Development programs for Neonatology at Shire. Prior to that, she was Executive/Senior Medical Director at Enobia and conducted due diligence that helped lead to Alexion’s $1B+ acquisition. Dr. Kreher possesses extensive experience with boards of directors, given her executive-level role as CMO over the past 8 years. Additionally, she has held various nonprofit board positions. She is also a mentor for the Stanford Master of Science in Clinical Informatics Management program. Dr. Kreher holds multiple degrees, including an Executive MBA from Northeastern University, an MD from East Carolina University School of Medicine, and an MS in clinical research from Indiana University. She is certified in Pediatric Endocrinology by the American Board of Pediatrics.

Michelle Werner, CEO of Alltrna

Michelle is a seasoned pharmaceutical executive with > 20 years in the industry, spanning both commercial and research & development (R&D) responsibilities. Most recently, Michelle served as Worldwide Franchise Head, Solid Tumors at Novartis Oncology, where she was responsible for delivering disease area strategies across multiple tumors and led business development efforts resulting in a doubling of long-term portfolio value for the franchise. Previous to Novartis, Michelle was a senior leader at AstraZeneca, where she held multiple positions during her five-year tenure. As Global Franchise Head in Hematology, Michelle was critical in launching multiple indications worldwide for CALQUENCE® and was responsible for developing the mid- and long-term strategy for AstraZeneca in hematology. Prior to this role, Michelle served as Head of US Oncology, where she led the business through dramatic growth in both team and revenue through eight-plus product launches as well as Country President for the Nordics and Baltics, where she also served as an elected Board Member to Sweden’s pharmaceutical industry association. Previous to AstraZeneca, Michelle was with Bristol Myers Squibb for 10 years in various positions of increasing responsibility, including roles in sales, marketing, and market access in the US and UK, and above market in Europe (based in France), and global, almost exclusively in oncology. Michelle started her professional career in R&D, working hands-on with patients at the Oncology Clinical Trials Unit at Harvard Medical School before moving into industry in clinical operations. Outside of her corporate responsibilities, Michelle is a wife and mother to three children and is a member of the rare disease community. She is currently serving a Board appointment for the non-profit organization Rare Disease Renegades, a purpose that fuels her passions both personally and professionally. For her role in breaking new ground in biopharma R&D and her patient advocacy work, Michelle has been honored with the following recognitions: Endpoints Women Leading BioPharma R&D, Fierce 50, PharmaVoice 100, and In Vivo’s Rising Leaders in Life Sciences.

Pricing Information

• Members/Guests: $20
• Non-Members*: $30

*Not a Member? Click here to learn about the benefits of a WIB Membership — access to our video library, mentorship groups, and more. 

Please read WIB's Code of Conduct and Refund Policy.

Note: A confirmation email will be sent after registration has been completed. 

Maximum Capacity

60