Joan Fallon

Dr. Joan Fallon is the founder and CEO of Curemark, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company she launched in the mid-2000s (commonly cited as 2007) after a 25-year clinical career. Before founding the company, she ran a private practice specializing in pediatric development and served as an Assistant Professor of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at Yeshiva University, teaching anatomy, physiology, and developmental biology. She began her research into autism and related disorders more than two decades ago, filing her first patent application in 1999, and left her practice at age 50 to build Curemark around those findings.

Her education includes a B.A. from Franklin & Marshall College, a D.C. from Palmer University, and completed coursework toward an M.Sc. in Clinical Investigation through the Harvard University / Massachusetts General Hospital joint program. She holds more than 300 patents worldwide and has authored numerous scholarly articles and lectured internationally on pediatric developmental problems. Earlier in her career she served on the board of Oxford Health Plans, where she helped secure regulatory recognition for complementary/alternative medicine in New York State.

Curemark's lead program is an enzyme-replacement therapy (CM-AT) targeting the GI tract to affect neurological function in autism — a departure from traditional drug-discovery models — which has advanced to Phase III trials, with additional pipeline programs in Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, and addiction. Because there was essentially no venture funding available for autism drug development, Fallon financed the company largely through angel investors and later a committed hedge fund, reportedly raising roughly $80–96 million across multiple rounds.

Beyond Curemark, Fallon is active as an investor, advisor, and mentor. She sits on the Technology Council of Belle Capital USA, an early-stage angel fund investing in women-led companies, and mentors women entrepreneurs through Springboard Enterprises. She has been a Senior Advisor to the Henry Crown Fellows at The Aspen Institute, a Distinguished Fellow at the Athena Center for Leadership Studies (Barnard/Columbia), and a member of the Franklin & Marshall College Board of Trustees.

• Invests and advises around mission-driven, science-backed ventures, with a strong bias toward healthcare/biopharma and women-founded companies (through Belle Capital USA, whose thesis is that women-led companies receive under 12% of venture capital).
• Believes in milestone-based capital raising — in her own words: *"All along the way, we have raised money on key milestones: the beginning and end of a clinical trial, new intellectual property, and other milestones that bring value to the organization we were building."*
• Frames company-building as inseparable from founder growth: *"Growth in your business or company is best accomplished when there is accompanied personal growth."*
• Prizes grit and authenticity in founders: *"It's all about grit, determination, patience, and empathy, but most importantly AUTHENTICITY,"* and *"Leadership is about solving problems and solving the right problem."*
• Comfortable backing non-obvious, non-traditional approaches — Curemark itself was funded from non-traditional sources precisely because mainstream VC avoided autism drug development.