Waltham, Mass. — Prilenia Therapeutics B.V., a biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for Huntington’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, has appointed Frederick “Rick” E. Munschauer III, M.D., MSc, FAAN, as Chief Medical Officer.
Munschauer joins Prilenia as the company advances PRECISE-HD and PREVAiLS, its registrational Phase 3 studies evaluating pridopidine in Huntington’s disease and ALS, respectively.
“Rick is a renowned neurologist and seasoned pharmaceutical executive who has spent his entire career at the front line of neurodegenerative disease – firstly, as an academic clinician and researcher, and then as a leader behind some of the most consequential neurology drug development programs of the past three decades,” said Michael R. Hayden, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Prilenia Therapeutics.
“He has designed and delivered trials from first-in-human through to approval and beyond, and he has done it repeatedly and successfully. As we execute PRECISE-HD and PREVAiLS, our two registrational Phase 3 studies in HD and ALS respectively, that combination of clinical judgement, regulatory experience and operational discipline will bring significant value to Prilenia, and to patients, and I am delighted to welcome Rick to our leadership team.”
Munschauer most recently served as Chief Medical Officer at Emalex Biosciences, where he oversaw clinical development, clinical operations, pharmacovigilance, biostatistics and medical affairs. He led development of ecopipam through the submission of a New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for pediatric Tourette syndrome in June 2026.
He previously served as Chief Medical Officer at MedDay Pharmaceuticals and Marathon Pharmaceuticals, where he helped lead development and regulatory strategies in multiple sclerosis and Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Earlier in his career, Munschauer held senior leadership positions at Biogen, including Vice President and Chief Medical Advisor and Vice President, Global Head of Medical Affairs. He led a global organization of more than 250 employees and helped direct the medical launches of the multiple sclerosis therapies Tecfidera and Plegridy. He also held senior U.S. medical affairs roles at EMD Serono.
Before moving into the biopharmaceutical industry, Munschauer spent more than two decades at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he served as the Irvin and Rosemary Smith Professor and Chair of Neurology and Chief of the Jacobs Neurological Institute.
He held the original investigational new drug application for interferon beta-1a in multiple sclerosis and conducted an NIH-funded pivotal study that demonstrated a slowing of disability progression, contributing to the approval of Avonex.
Munschauer has served as Principal or Co-Principal Investigator on more than 50 Phase 1 through Phase 4 clinical trials in multiple sclerosis and cerebrovascular disease and has authored more than 90 peer-reviewed publications.
“Prilenia is currently tackling two devastatingly intractable diseases, in HD and ALS, where the unmet need is stark, and where we now have a possibility of changing the course of illness,” Munschauer said.
“What drew me here is the clarity of the mission and the pridopidine story, which has already garnered compelling data. My focus will be on execution — running our pivotal HD and ALS studies to the highest standard, generating the evidence regulators need, and staying close to the clinical and patient communities whose participation makes all this possible.”
Munschauer earned his M.D., CM from McGill University, an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BS in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from Duke University.
He completed his neurology residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and a fellowship in neurologic and neurosurgical intensive care at The National Hospital for Nervous Diseases in London. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and has served on the National Board of Directors and National Medical Advisory Board of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
