Karen Ferrante

Dr Karen Ferrante is a haematologist-oncologist with over twenty years of experience in clinical oncology drug development, spanning both large pharmaceutical companies and fast-growing biotechs.

She received her MD degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine and then completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at the New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston (Beth Israel Deaconess), followed by a fellowship in haematology and oncology. While at Beth Israel Deaconess, she served as Instructor, Clinical Instructor, and Clinical Fellow in Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Dr Ferrante commenced her industry career with Bristol-Myers Squibb in 1995, and then spent more than eight years working at Pfizer, culminating in a role as Vice President of Oncology Development. She joined Millennium Pharmaceuticals in 2007 and rose to the position of Chief Medical Officer, with shared responsibility over Research and Development (R&D), where she supported the development activities for supplemental indications for Velcade® (bortezomib), the first proteasome inhibitor for multiple myeloma, as well as initial approval in Europe for Adcetris® (brentuximab vedotin), an antibody-drug conjugate directed to CD30, and the oral proteasome inhibitor, Ninlaro® (ixazomib). Following the acquisition and integration of Millennium by the Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, Dr Ferrante became the Therapeutic Area Head for Oncology.

From 2014 until recently, she has served as Chief Medical Officer and Head of R&D for Tokai Pharmaceuticals, a NASDAQ-listed biotechnology company based in Boston, MA that is focused on the development of novel therapies for prostate cancer. She served on the Board of Baxalta, until its acquisition by Shire in 2016, and is on the Board of Progenics Pharmaceuticals.