Michael Lark, PhD
Dr. Michael Lark has over 35 years of experience at leading and managing drug discovery and development teams at both large pharmaceutical and small biotech companies. He is currently CSO at Mirata Pharmaceuticals which is a private biotech company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of neuropathic pain. Mike is President of Lark Pharma Consulting where he advises a number of biotech companies on preclinical and early clinical development and consults for BioAdvance, which is a mission-driven investment firm in the Philadelphia region, as an Entrepreneur in Residence. Mike is on the Board of Directors at Ophidian, which is a private drug delivery company and is a member of the Advisory Board for the Moulder Center for Drug Discovery Research at Temple University.
Mike was Head of Research at a drug discovery accelerator called BioMotiv and Executive in Residence at Koutif Therapeutics. Prior to joining Mirata and BioMotiv, Mike was CSO and Sr. Vice President of Research at Trevena Inc., where he was a member of the executive team and was responsible for drug discovery and non-clinical development functions within the company. Prior to Trevena, Mike was Vice President of Biology at Centocor R&D where he was responsible for the therapeutic discovery strategy and execution in immunology, oncology, tissue remodeling, and biomarkers, and Director of Musculoskeletal Diseases at GlaxoSmithKline, where he managed a portfolio of drug discovery projects targeting osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriasis. Mike started his industry career as a Senior Investigator at Merck Research Laboratories, where he was a drug discovery leader. He has published over 130 peer-reviewed papers, reviews, and book chapters and is a co-inventor on 12 patents. Mike received his B.S. in Microbiology from the Pennsylvania State University and his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Microbiology from the Case Western Reserve University Medical School. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Pathology at The University of Washington.