Elizabeth Garner

Elizabeth Garner is a seasoned strategic- and business-minded pharmaceutical executive and corporate board member with a career-long focus on addressing unmet needs in conditions and issues that affect women’s health and quality of life. Born and raised in Nigeria, she brings a global view to her work in both the corporate and non-profit worlds. Dr. Garner is currently the US Chief Scientific Officer of Ferring Pharmaceuticals, a mid-size global company focused on reproductive and maternal health, microbiome and gastrointestinal therapeutics, and uro-oncology. From 2019-2022, she was Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of ObsEva, a company focused on addressing unmet needs in women’s health. Prior to that, she was CMO of Agile Therapeutics, where she led the company’s clinical development, regulatory, and medical affairs strategies, including designing and leading the Phase 3 SECURE trial which led to FDA approval of the Twirla contraceptive patch in February 2020. With sixteen years in the pharma industry, Dr. Garner has also held leadership roles at Myriad Genetics, Abbott Laboratories, and Merck Research Labs. While at Merck, she was chair of the Gardasil®9 Product Development Team, leading scientific, regulatory, market access, and medical affairs strategies.

Elizabeth commenced corporate board work in 2019 and is on the BODs of Kezar Life Sciences (KZR), which develops novel therapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer, and Sermonix Pharmaceuticals, focused on targeted breast cancer therapies. She is also the current President of the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA), a professional organization whose mission is to advance women physicians, advocate for equity, and ensure excellence in healthcare.

Dr. Garner received joint M.D. and M.P.H. degrees from Harvard Medical and Public Health Schools. She trained in obstetrics and gynecology at Brigham and Women’s (BWH)/Massachusetts General Hospitals and completed a fellowship in gynecologic oncology at BWH/Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Prior to transitioning into industry, she was Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, where she focused on academic clinical practice in gynecologic oncology, basic science ovarian cancer research, and teaching and mentorship of residency and fellowship trainees and medical students. Elizabeth is an experienced media spokesperson and a frequent panelist and speaker on a range of topics including innovation and investment in women’s health, women’s leadership, and diversity in clinical trials. She was a 2019 awardee of the PharmaVoice 100 Most Inspiring Individuals in the life sciences industry and is the 2022 recipient of the Woman in Science Award from the American Medical Women’s Association.