Michael Heffernan is a seasoned entrepreneur and biopharmaceutical leader with over 25 years of experience building and leading development stage and commercial companies. He is the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Collegium Pharmaceutical where he served as President and CEO until June 2018. He co-founded Avenge Bio, an Immuno-Oncology company that he is actively managing, and was previously CEO of Onset Dermatologics, a dermatology company that he founded and spun out of Collegium to create PreCision Dermatology, which was later sold to Valeant. Mr. Heffernan held previous positions as co-founder and CEO of Clinical Studies Ltd. and later served as CEO and Chairman of PhyMatrix Corp. He earned his B.S. degree in Pharmacy from the University of Connecticut and began his career at Eli Lilly and Company.
Mr. Heffernan serves on the board of directors of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (AKBA), Trevi Therapeutics, Inc. (TRVI), and Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. (BHVN). He previously served on the board of directors of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., Ocata Therapeutics, Inc., Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc., and Veloxis Pharmaceuticals A/S.