Erin Gainer

Erin Gainer brings decades of pharmaceutical industry and not-for-profit experience spanning from drug developer, chief executive, board member, and philanthropist roles. She initially joined HRA Pharma to lead its global R&D program focused on innovative products that respond to unmet medical needs in the fields of woman’s health and rare diseases. She then took the helm of CEO role at HRA Pharma for 7 years before joining the Board as Chairwoman from 2016 to 2020. In 2017, she joined the Board of Biom’Up as independent director in the context of the company’s IPO on Euronext, and in 2020 she joined the Board of Asarina Pharma, a Swedish listed biotech focused on neurology. 

Her interest in philanthropy started over twenty years ago with the seeds of interest sown during her time as a Peace Corps volunteer and which continued flourishing with the creation in 2017 of the Ella fund, a venture philanthropy fund devoted to backing social entrepreneurs working to empower women throughout the world through education, health and entrepreneurship. As graduate from Rice University and John Hopkins School of Public Health, Erin has a PhD in epidemiology from Paris-Sud University and an MBA from INSEAD.

As a Board Member of EspeRare, Erin provides her expertise in R&D, fundraising and business development to support the growth of EspeRare’s therapeutic pipeline, patient engagement, and innovative health management approaches. She is also a Treasurer of the Foundation.