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Joan Schmidt, J.D.

Chief Legal Officer

Joan joined Pharvaris in 2022, bringing to the company more than 20 years of leadership experience in the life sciences industry.  In her role, Joan is responsible for leading Legal and Compliance globally and serving as Secretary to the Board of Directors.  Prior to joining Pharvaris, she served as the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at Arena Pharmaceuticals where, as a member of the executive team, she developed and implemented corporate strategy, and scaled and strengthened legal, compliance and governance prior to the company’s acquisition by Pfizer in 2022 for approximately $6.7 billion. Earlier in her career, Joan served as General Counsel and Board Secretary at DBV Technologies and as US General Counsel and Head of Human Resources at Biotronik. Previously, she held positions of increasing responsibility at Novo Nordisk, both in U.S. and Europe, spanning M&A, litigation and intellectual property.  Joan earned her J.D. from Elizabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University and obtained a B.A. from the University of Connecticut.  Currently, Joan serves as a mentor to life sciences start-up companies through the Nordic Mentor Network for Entrepreneurship and to college students through the Werth Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Connecticut.