Thursday, February 12, 2026

Biogen names Dr. Maria C. Freire as next board chair

Biogen has announced a leadership change at the top of its Board of Directors. The board has elected Dr. Maria C. Freire as Chair, effective immediately following Biogen’s 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, scheduled for June 9, 2026.

Current Chair Caroline Dorsa will retire from the board and will not stand for re-election at the Annual Meeting. Dorsa has served on Biogen’s board for 16 years.

Freire has served as a director since 2021

Freire joined Biogen’s board in 2021. She serves on the Corporate Governance Committee and on the Compensation and Management Development Committee. Biogen President and CEO Christopher A. Viehbacher thanked Dorsa for her contributions and said Freire brings broad expertise in science and drug development.

Career spans biomedical innovation and public-private partnerships

Biogen said Freire brings experience across biomedical innovation, drug development, public-private partnerships, and science policy. She is Founder and Principal of The Freire Group, a strategic advisory firm for life sciences organizations. In addition to Biogen, she serves on the boards of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Exelixis and Keystone Symposia, and she is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Previously, Freire led the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), overseeing large-scale collaborations spanning areas such as oncology, neurodegeneration, autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases. Earlier in her career, she served as President and CEO of the TB Alliance, where she helped advance pretomanid into clinical trials. Pretomanid is now approved for treating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Additional roles included President of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation and Director of the NIH Office of Technology Transfer.

Pipeline outlook referenced

In her statement, Freire pointed to several upcoming readouts over the next 18 months and mentioned potentially filing-enabling work in lupus and nephrology.