Neal is the Founder and Managing Director of RTK Group, LLC, a biopharmaceutical advisory and investment practice focused on supporting clinical-stage therapeutics from development to commercialization.
Prior to founding RTK Group, Neal served for over 20 years in senior roles across the entire life sciences value chain, most recently serving as the CEO of Azurity Pharmaceuticals (formerly CutisPharma). During his tenure, Neal led the transformation of CutisPharma from pharmacy distribution into a fully-integrated specialty pharma, leading the acquisition of Silvergate Pharmaceuticals as well as overseeing the FDA approval and launch of two pipeline drugs, FIRVANQ® for clostridium dificile colitis and Katerzia® for pediatric hypertension.
Prior to CutisPharma, Neal served as the Head of New Product Planning and Corporate Strategy at Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, leading portfolio strategy and supporting corporate M&A and licensing. Prior to that, Neal was an engagement manager at the healthcare investment bank Leerink Swann (now SVB Leerink). Prior to Leerink, he was a Medical Officer in the Division of Cardiovascular Devices at the FDA, serving as the lead medical reviewer for drug-eluting intracoronary stents.
Over the past 20 years, Neal has maintained staff appointments at Harvard Medical School and its teaching hospitals, including Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and Faulkner Hospital. Neal completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the Brigham and is appointed as Associate Physician on the hospitalist service, supervising medical residents and students. Neal received his M.D. as well as Master of Science in Public Health (biostatistics) from the Tulane University School of Medicine, and a B.A. in Business Economics and B.Sc. in Biochemistry from Brown University.
At the Wyss Institute, Neal is a member of the Wyss Mentor Hive who specializes in therapeutics, FDA regulation, clinical development, Investigational New Drug-enabling studies, and commercialization. As a mentor, Neal works closely with Wyss project teams and collaborates on technology development, partnering, and company formation.
The Wyss Mentor Hive is a mentoring program that invites investors and business professionals with significant early stage translational experience, clinical and regulatory experts in driving therapeutic and device development, and serial entrepreneurs with a track record of success to work closely with Wyss entrepreneur teams on startup formation and technology commercialization. Mentors provide feedback to founders and entrepreneurs, while also demonstrating commitment and leadership in the Wyss innovation community.