Biography

Kate Knobil is a seasoned pharmaceutical executive with over 25 years of experience in global clinical development, medical affairs, and patient safety across large pharma, biotech, and MedTech. Kate has strategically led research and development resulting in regulatory approval and launch of blockbuster medicines.

Kate previously served as the Chief Medical Officer at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), where she held global responsibility for Medical Governance across the pharmaceutical, vaccines, and consumer business units. Her responsibilities also included the generation of evidence to support the value for patients, healthcare providers, and payers.  Prior to becoming CMO, she directed the development of multiple new chemical entities and product line extensions, including Flolan for Primary Pulmonary Hypertension and Advair for COPD.  She held roles both domestically and in expat assignments in London and Shanghai, where she established the GSK clinical development organization in China.  During her career, Kate led the development and delivery of presentations at regulatory agencies worldwide, including 9 FDA Advisory Committees.

After GSK, Kate was Chief Medical Officer and Head of Research and Development at Kaleido Biosciences, then went on to become Agilent Technologies’ first CMO, bringing the voice of patients into strategy and decision making and establishing an industry-leading Medical Affairs group. She currently sits on the boards of Marker Therapeutics, Pliant Therapeutics, and Nimbus Therapeutics.  Kate was previously on the board of Arena Pharmaceuticals which was acquired by Pfizer in 2022.