William Gerhart

William Gerhart serves as Board Chair of Sanford Burnham Prebys. He is also chief executive officer of Kinevant Sciences and entrepreneur-in-residence at Roivant Sciences. Previously, Gerhart was CEO of Respivant Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company focused on improving the lives of those suffering from pulmonary fibrosis.. Gerhart has more than 25 years of experience in launching, financing and building companies based on promising technologies. Prior to Respivant Sciences, Gerhart was co-founder and CEO of Patara Pharma, which was acquired in September 2018 by Roivant Sciences. Prior to Patara, he was president and CEO of Elevation Pharmaceuticals, a San Diego–based biotech company he co-founded in 2008 that developed a new inhaled therapy for patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), now available as Lonhala® Magnair®. Elevation was acquired in 2012 by Sunovion, a subsidiary of Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma. Prior to Elevation, from 2002 to 2007, Gerhart was president and CEO of Mpex Pharmaceuticals, developer of Quinsair®, an inhaled antibiotic for the treatment of cystic fibrosis patients.

Gerhart received his MBA from Harvard Business School.