As the Chief Scientific Officer, Michael oversees all of Xequel Bio’s Research and Development, along with Regulatory Affairs. He helps drive the near and long-term strategy for Xequel, while proactively and strategically building partnerships with healthcare professionals and organizations to identify opportunities for joint value creation. Michael is committed to ensuring the scientific integrity of the R&D for Xequel.

Michael is a recognized pharmaceutical drug and medical device development expert with 25 years of experience with an emphasis in ophthalmic, otic, and respiratory disease areas. He has demonstrated sustained high performance throughout his career. Progressing from scientific/technical subject matter expert to technical and project management/leadership, strategic franchise leadership, project and portfolio management, and R&D executive leadership roles to current roles of global program leadership of drug development and medical device global development teams, he is a proven leader with ever increasing accountabilities and responsibilities.

Prior to joining Xequel, Michael worked at Abbott Laboratories, Bausch & Lomb Pharmaceuticals, and Alcon Laboratories, where he held various positions within pharmaceutical clinical research, pharmaceutical project strategic leadership working in numerous ophthalmology disease areas and as the VP of enterprise-wide project/program management. Most recently, Michael worked at Novartis Pharmaceutical Corp., as a Global Program Head in Ophthalmology Development Unit, and was responsible for setting the ophthalmic digital SaMD development strategy and leading the Xiidraä & Ophtha digital global program teams. Michael earned his Ph.D. in Bio-organic Chemistry from Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas, and he was a post-doctoral fellow at University of California – Molecular & Cell Biology Department.

Michael is excited about the aCT1 platform technology, the senior leadership team’s proven track record of success, and the talented R&D subject matter experts he works with daily. When he is not working, Michael enjoys riding his bike, gardening, boating, and spending time with family and friends.