Clarevia Ventures Names Cheryl Blanchard as Executive in Residence to Strengthen Healthcare Investment Strategy
Clarevia Ventures, a healthcare venture capital firm dedicated to turning scientific breakthroughs into life-changing patient outcomes, has announced that Cheryl R. Blanchard, Ph.D., former President and CEO and current Executive Chair of Anika Therapeutics, has joined the firm as Executive in Residence. Blanchard will work alongside the Clarevia team and portfolio company leaders to evaluate emerging opportunities and help entrepreneurs build, finance, scale, and lead high-impact healthcare companies.
Blanchard brings decades of leadership experience spanning biotechnology, medical devices, regenerative medicine, drug delivery, orthopedics, and women’s health. In addition to leading publicly traded Anika for six years, she has built and repositioned venture-backed companies, established major strategic partnerships, served on numerous public and private company boards, and helped guide organizations through clinical and commercial development, financing, acquisitions, and successful exits.
Most recently, Blanchard served for six years as President and CEO of Anika Therapeutics, a publicly traded global joint preservation company focused on early-intervention orthopedic solutions. She became Executive Chair of Anika’s Board of Directors in February 2026 and has served on the board since 2018. Previously, Blanchard served as President, CEO, and Director of Microchips Biotech, where she repositioned the company around an implantable, long-acting drug-delivery platform, built its leadership team, advanced its clinical and regulatory strategy, and expanded its intellectual property portfolio. Under her leadership, Microchips established a partnership with Teva Pharmaceuticals with multibillion-dollar potential and secured significant funding from venture capital firms and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The company was acquired by Daré Bioscience in 2019. Earlier in her career, Blanchard spent more than a decade at Zimmer, now Zimmer Biomet, including serving as Senior Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer, and as a corporate officer, leading global R&D, clinical, quality, regulatory, advanced technology, medical affairs, and biologics organizations.
As Executive in Residence, Blanchard will provide an experienced operating perspective as Clarevia evaluates new investments and supports its portfolio. Her work will include advising entrepreneurs on corporate and product strategy, leadership and organizational development, clinical and regulatory planning, commercialization, financing, governance, strategic partnerships, and preparations for future stages of growth.
Jim Adox, Managing Partner at Clarevia Ventures, said Blanchard has been a long-standing member of the Clarevia “Challenge Network,” a collection of advisors who challenge the firm’s thinking and investment rationale. Adox noted that Blanchard understands what it takes to turn a differentiated healthcare technology into a strong, enduring company because she has led that work from nearly every vantage point — as a scientist, operating executive, CEO, director, and board chair. Adox added that her ability to help leaders set a clear strategy, build high-performing teams, navigate pivotal stages of growth, and prepare for the demands of the public markets will be an invaluable resource to the firm and the entrepreneurs it supports.
Blanchard is also an experienced director of public and private healthcare companies and has advised several venture and private equity firms. She currently serves on the boards of Anika, Xilio Therapeutics, Lumicell, and Surgicure Technologies. Her previous board experience includes Vigil Neuroscience, which was acquired by Sanofi; SeaSpine, which merged with Orthofix; MassBio; Daré Bioscience; CeramTec; Neuronetics; and several venture-backed biotechnology and medical technology companies. She is also a member of the National Academy of Engineering.
Blanchard said she has spent her career helping organizations translate important science into products and businesses that can meaningfully improve patients’ lives. Blanchard noted that Clarevia shares that focus and brings a thoughtful, disciplined approach to supporting companies at the stages when experienced counsel can make an especially significant difference, and that she looks forward to working with the Clarevia team and its entrepreneurs as they establish the strategies, organizations, and capabilities needed to move breakthrough innovations forward.
Blanchard’s addition reflects Clarevia’s continued commitment to providing founders with more than capital, combining disciplined investment, operational rigor, and long-term counsel to help entrepreneurs transform promising healthcare innovations into companies capable of delivering lasting patient impact.
