About Us

Kent Hawryluk is a Co-Founder of, and currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of, MBX Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: MBX), roles he has held since January 2020. He also has served as a member of MBX’s Board of Directors since April 2019.

Prior to joining MBX, Mr. Hawryluk was Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNA), an RNA therapeutics company, from January 2013 to December 2019.

Previously, he served as Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of MB2 LLC (subsequently acquired by Novo Nordisk Inc.), a clinical-stage company focused on diabetes and obesity, from May 2014 to March 2016. Mr. Hawryluk co-founded Marcadia Biotech Inc. (subsequently acquired by F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG) and served as its Chief Business Officer and Vice President, Business Development from January 2006 to April 2011. Mr. Hawryluk served as a director of Gemphire Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: GEMP), a clinical-stage cardiovascular drug company, from February 2015 to February 2019.

Mr. Hawryluk earned a B.A. from Princeton University, an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and an M.S. in Biology from Purdue University.

Richard Bartram has served as MBX’s Chief Financial Officer since April 2022.

Prior to joining MBX, Mr. Bartram served as Chief Financial Officer at Esperion Therapeutics, Inc., (Nasdaq: ESPR), a pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for patients with elevated LDL-C cholesterol, from January 2018 to April 2022.

Mr. Bartram also served as Esperion’s Vice President, Finance from January 2015 to January 2018, and as Esperion’s Controller from February 2013 to January 2015. Previously, Mr. Bartram served as a public accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP in its assurance practice.

Mr. Bartram earned both an M.S. in Accounting and a B.A. in Accounting from Michigan State University and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in Michigan.

Salomon (Sam) Azoulay, MD, has served as MBX’s Chief Medical Officer since June 2024.

Prior to joining MBX, Dr. Azoulay served as Consulting Chief Executive Officer of Nervosave Therapeutics, a developer of gene therapies, from September 2023 to June 2024. Prior to that, Dr. Azoulay served as Chief Medical Officer at Sumitovant Biopharma Ltd., an independent subsidiary of Sumitomo Pharma Co. Ltd., following its spinout from Roivant Sciences Ltd., from January 2021 to July 2023.

Dr. Azoulay also previously served as Chief Medical Officer of Roivant from May 2018 to December 2020. Prior to Roivant, he served at Pfizer for nearly 20 years in positions of increasing responsibility, culminating in his position as Chief Medical Officer of Pfizer Essential Health from September 2013 to May 2018. Dr. Azoulay also serves as an advisor to the board of directors of PharmStars.

Dr. Azoulay earned his MD, with a specialty in cardiology, from the University of Paris VI. He also holds a D.E.S.S. in Business Administration and Management from Sorbonne University.

Chatan Charan, Ph.D. serves as MBX’s Senior Vice President of Pharmaceutical Development and CMC.

Prior to MBX, Dr. Charan served as Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development, Technical and Manufacturing Operations at Harpoon Therapeutics. At Harpoon Therapeutics, he led all CMC activities for the company’s proprietary TriTAC biologics portfolio, driving key program strategies and contributing to the company’s successful acquisition by Merck Pharmaceuticals.

Prior to joining Harpoon, Dr. Charan spent over two decades at Nektar Therapeutics, where he spearheaded drug product development, manufacturing scale-up, and commercialization readiness efforts for small molecules, peptides, and large molecules programs.

Dr. Charan holds a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics from the University of Sydney, a M.S. in Environmental Science from the University of San Francisco, and a B.S. in Microbiology from San Jose State University.

Michael Dorato, Ph.D. has served as MBX’s Sr. Vice President of Discovery and Non-Clinical Development since August 2024. Dr. Dorato previously served as MBX’s Vice President of Pharmacology and Toxicology from November 2020 to August 2024.

Prior to MBX, Dr. Dorato served as Executive Director, Toxicology and Greenfield Laboratories Site Head at Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY).

Dr. Dorato has held a variety of leadership positions, including Vice President and CSO Global Discovery Services at Covance (NYSE: CVD), Executive Vice President of Toxicology Services at Smithers Avanza, and as Sr. Vice President Toxicology and Pharmacology at Inotiv (a contract research organization).

Dr. Dorato is a Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences, a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, an Emeritus member of the Society of Toxicology, and a full member of the American College of Toxicology.

Dr. Dorato earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in Pharmacology, and a B.S. in Pharmacy from St. John’s University College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions.

Michelle Graham has served as MBX’s Chief Human Resources Officer since October 2023.

Prior to joining MBX, Ms. Graham served as the Chief Human Resources Officer at Albireo Pharma (Nasdaq: ALBO), Tesaro (subsequently acquired by GlaxoSmithKline), and Parexel (a clinical research organization). In addition, Ms. Graham has held a variety of leadership positions at Bausch & Lomb, Bristol Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, and Cigna-Intracorp.

Ms. Graham serves on the board of Notre Dame Academy, is a Healthcare Business Association Advisor, and is a Boston HR Council member and guest speaker. She is also certified by the American College of Corporate Directors.

Ms. Graham earned a B.A. in Business Administration and Management and a Master of Human Resources and Labor Relations from Michigan State University.

Steven J. Prestrelski, Ph.D., MBA, has served as MBX’s Chief Scientific Officer since July 2023.

Prior to joining MBX, Dr. Prestrelski was the Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Xeris Biopharma Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: XERS), a pharmaceutical company focused on development and commercialization of products for a range of therapies. Dr. Prestrelski also served as Xeris’ interim Chief Executive Officer from 2013-2014 and served on the board of directors from 2005-2015.

Dr. Prestrelski also served in variety of leadership roles including Vice President of Pharmaceutical Research and Development at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (subsequently acquired by Astra Zeneca), Vice President of Biopharmaceuticals at PowderJect Technologies, Inc. (subsequently acquired by Chiron), Director of Biopharmaceuticals at Alza (NYSE: AZA), Research Scientist at Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN), and Research Associate at the US Department of Agriculture.

Dr. Prestrelski has published over 60 peer-reviewed journal articles and invited book chapters. He holds 35 issued U.S. patents (over 100 globally) and has 47 pending patent applications in drug development, formulation, and delivery.

Dr. Prestrelski earned a B.S. in Nutrition Science from Drexel University, a Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics from the City University of New York, and an MBA from the Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego.

Elisa Fabbrini, MD, Ph.D. has served as MBX’s Vice President of Clinical Development since April 2024.

Prior to MBX, Dr. Fabbrini served as Senior Director of Translational and Experimental Medicine at Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), where she was responsible for leading the identification and clinical development strategies for new therapies in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases as well as the development of study protocols and execution across small molecules, biologics and oligonucleotide therapeutics.

Prior to joining Janssen, Dr. Fabbrini served as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine.

Dr. Fabbrini earned her MD and Ph.D. in Endocrinology and Metabolism from La Sapienza University School of Medicine. She completed postgraduate training at Tor Vergata University School of Medicine and Washington University School of Medicine.

Matt Gambino has served as MBX’s Vice President of Marketing since May 2023.

Mr. Gambino has extensive experience across a variety of therapeutic areas and treatment modalities, with experience in clinical-stage pre-launch and new product launch activities, as well as established brand and lifecycle management.

Prior to joining MBX, Mr. Gambino served as Executive Director at G2 Life Sciences, a privately held consulting firm focused on the development of US commercialization and product launch strategies for new chemical entities, biologics, and medical devices seeking to enter the US market. Mr. Gambino has held numerous leadership positions across marketing, strategy, operations, and sales at Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY), GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), UCB (OTCMKTS: UCBJY), and Galderma (SIX: GALD).

Mr. Gambino earned a B.S. in Marketing and Psychology from Troy University and an MBA from Butler University.

Stewart Hallett has served as MBX’s Vice President of Clinical Operations since January 2024.

Prior to MBX, Mr. Hallett served as Vice President, Clinical Operations at Xencor, Inc. (Nasdaq: XNCR), a developer of bispecific antibodies and cytokine drugs. Mr. Hallett was responsible for the management of over 14 clinical trials in both oncology and autoimmune indications.

Mr. Hallett has held a variety of leadership positions, including Chief Operating Officer at SFJ Pharmaceuticals, and Vice President of Clinical Operations for Medivation, Inc. (Nasdaq: MDVN).

Mr. Hallett earned a B.S. in Biology/Physiology from San Francisco State University and an MBA from St. Mary’s College of California.