Gary Patou

Gary Patou is a UK-trained physician and drug developer who has spent more than two decades as a senior clinical and executive leader in U.S. biotech. He was educated at City of London School (Class of 1976) and the University of London / University College London, where he earned a B.Sc., his medical qualification (MBBS), and a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.). He then practiced for roughly nine years as a hospital doctor in London, working as a clinical microbiologist and infectious-disease physician before moving into industry drug research in the early 1990s.

From 2005 to 2020 Patou was an Executive Partner at MPM Capital, one of the largest dedicated healthcare/life-sciences venture firms. In that role he functioned as a physician-executive who helped build and run MPM's portfolio companies, repeatedly stepping in as interim or full Chief Medical Officer to design and lead their clinical-development programs. Before MPM he held CMO and development-leadership positions across the sector, including President and Chief Medical Officer at Genesoft Pharmaceuticals (2001–2004), Senior Vice President for Drug Development Projects at GlaxoSmithKline (1998–2000), and later CMO roles at Peplin and Pacira Pharmaceuticals.

Since 2020 Patou has been Chief Medical Officer of Star Therapeutics, a South San Francisco rare-disease company that acts as an "innovation engine" spinning out first-in-class antibody programs. He continues to serve on the board of directors of Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: XENE), where he has been a director since January 2004, and has been involved with BioIntervene as a board member and CMO. Over his career he has overseen R&D that led to five approved New Drug Applications and has run more than ten Phase 3 trials, including work behind EXPAREL (a non-opioid post-surgical pain therapy) and the antibiotic Factive.

• Backs and builds early-stage, science-driven biopharmaceutical companies, typically at formation/seed and Series A, working closely with MPM's venture team.
• Value-add is operational and clinical rather than purely financial: he embeds as interim/acting CMO to shape clinical strategy and de-risk assets, reflecting a "company-builder" model.
• Sector emphasis on first-in-class therapeutics — rare disease, immuno-oncology, infectious disease, pain, and fibrosis — where differentiated biology can address unmet need.
• Looks for programs with a credible path from lab research to approval; in his own words he is "a research physician more than a clinical doctor" who "develop[s] new medicines for patients," and he describes drug development as "a team sport" requiring perseverance and creative, out-of-the-box thinking.