As Chief Operating Officer and Technology Translation Director at the Wyss Institute, Angelika Fretzen, Ph.D., M.B.A., is passionate about uniting and stewarding powerful teams as they work to solve the most pressing problems facing our society in healthcare and sustainability.
Throughout her career, it became evident to Angelika that the strength and health of women was integral to their own perspective on life, to their families, and to the societal ecosystem they participated in. Her deep commitment to bridging the acute healthcare and equity gap for women that we still face is evident in her championing the development of programs and technologies to address these gender-based issues. At the Wyss, she initiated the Wyss 99s that aims to encourage, develop, and provide resources to female leaders, entrepreneurs, and scientists. Through her passion of working towards health equity, Angelika was the impetus for the formation of the Women’s Health Catalyst with a vision of developing entirely innovative approaches to studying female biology and creating technologies to define healthy and disease responses that change dynamically over time much like a woman’s own physiology. In 2024, she received the prestigious Joseph B. Martin Dean’s Leadership Award for the Advancement of Women’s Careers at Harvard Medical School/Harvard School of Dental Medicine.
Before coming to the Wyss, Angelika spent two decades in entrepreneurial pharmaceutical companies where she developed a deep commitment to improving healthcare for women and families. At Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, she spearheaded the discovery, development, and commercialization of Linzess™, a first-in-class medication for Irritable Bowel Syndrome, a symptomatic disease that can be debilitating to many women in the most productive years of their life. Prior to the development of this therapeutic, effective treatment options were nonexistent until Linzess™ became available to physicians. At Catabasis Pharmaceuticals (now Astria TX), Angelika collaborated closely with the internal team, clinicians, advocacy groups, and families to bring Edasalonexent into Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a rare genetic neuromuscular disease that affects young boys and their families. For 12 years, she also served on the Board of Bridgewell, a social and human service organization, where she facilitated programs for the homeless, individuals with disabilities, young adults with autism, and young mothers with a history of substance abuse.
Angelika Fretzen is a chemist by training, completing her undergraduate studies in Germany and her Ph.D. in Switzerland. She came to the United States for her postdoctoral research at Harvard University, before joining the early biotechnology community in Kendall Square in 2000. She holds an M.B.A. from Suffolk University and is deeply committed to both the personal and career development of all scientists and employees around her. She was named one of Mass High Tech’s 2013 “Women to Watch” by the Boston Business Journal.