Drug Discovery, Early Development and Medicinal Chemistry Consultant

Technical Consultant #2421

Drug Discovery and Development Leader in the pharmaceutical and biotechnical Industries.
Deliver candidates into clinical development with focus on infectious diseases, immunology, oncology, CNS and metabolic diseases.
Raising venture capital and non-dilutive funding.
CRO and CMO landscape Program Manager, setting up partnerships and collaborations.
Execute complex research programs in a virtual environment.
Project management, timelines and budgeting.
Medicinal chemistry and synthesis.
Target validation, lead generation strategies and lead optimization.
Biophysical studies, assay development, ADME/PK and PKPD.
In vivo pharmacology and exploratory toxicology.
Process development, early CMC and IND-enabling studies.
Due diligence, intellectual property, regulatory paths and market opportunity.
Project and portfolio management.

Undisclosed Company, Founding Consultant, 2015 - Present

Advisory Board Member-Scientific Advisor

Management team Advisor for portfolio development, project strategy and due diligence.
Leading discovery research and development of enabling technologies for a structurally novel broad-spectrum antibiotic targeting Gram-negative pathogens.
Mentoring team of scientists.
Principal Investigator on a $ 1.25 million NIH grant.
Clients include a clinical-stage precision medicine oncology company and a stem-cell therapy startup targeting muscle regeneration.

Navitor Pharmaceuticals,Cambridge, MA, Director-Medicinal Chemistry, 2015 - 2017

Discovered NV-5138 - a first-in-class mTORC1 activator for treatment-resistant depression.
Delivered a clinical candidate within 3 years of target discovery.
Drove overall project strategy, structure-based design, medicinal chemistry, biophysics and academic collaborations.
Led IND-enabling studies including CMC development and non-clinical ADME.
Led multiple exploratory projects on the selective modulation of mTORC1 signaling for the treatment of metabolic diseases.
Managed internal talent and external resources in creative ways to achieve company goals.

AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP., Waltham, MA, Principal Scientist and Team Leader 2013 - 2015

Infection Innovative Medicines Led a chemistry team on the development of an oral small molecule treatment for RSV.
Led chemistry team on the discovery of improved analogs of negamycin - a translation inhibitor for the treatment of Gram-negative bacterial infections.
Directly supervised up to 8 reports ranging from experienced PhDs to associate chemists.

Eisai, Inc. Andover, MA, 2006 - 2012

Senior Scientist, 2010 - 2012

Frontier Product Creation Unit (Immunology and Inflammation) Led chemistry team in successful nomination of a first-in-class clinical candidate (E6887), a TLR7 antagonist for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Research Investigator, 2006 - 2009

Discovery Chemistry (Oncology, Immunology and Atopic Diseases) Led chemistry efforts on an international project team focused on discovery of chemokine receptor antagonists.
Initiated a new exploratory project targeting the IL-17 pathway for psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease.
Key member of the team that developed second-generation analogs of eribulin (Halaven®) for expanded indications, oral bioavailability and brain penetration.

The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2003 - 2006

Established and formalized the "On Water" process for organic synthesis, which is now widely used in diverse disciplines such as nanotechnology, material science and chemical biology.
Expanded the scope of click chemistry by developing a novel ruthenium-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azides and alkynes.

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, Ph.D. Organic Chemistry, 1997 - 2003

Devised a late-stage biaryl coupling strategy for the total synthesis of hibarimicin B. Developed novel methodology for the synthesis of 2-deoxyglycosides in natural products.

Credentials

Business Development Fundamentals
Project Management for Biotechnology
AstraZeneca Delegate at BIO Convention and Partnering
Biotechnology Entrepreneur Boot Camp short course
Learner Player Mindsets for Managers behavioral and management training
Management & Skills Training Courses at Eisai (Strategic Thinking, Emotional Intelligence, Project Leadership, Regulatory Affairs).

Academic and Professional Affiliations

Publications

Frequent peer reviewer for top journals in drug discovery, medicinal chemistry and organic chemistry.
Author and Co-Author of numerous publications.

Patents