NEUROCRINE - Key Persons
Christine A. Poon has served on the Board of Directors since July 2023. Ms. Poon is the former Executive-in-Residence in the Department of Management and Human Resources at the Max M. Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University, where she served as Dean and the John W. Berry, Sr. Chair in Business from 2009 to 2014. She served as Vice Chairman and Member of the Board of Directors of Johnson & Johnson from 2005 until her retirement in March 2009. Ms. Poon joined Johnson & Johnson in 2000 as Company Group Chair in the Pharmaceuticals Group. She became a member of Johnson & Johnson's Executive Committee and Worldwide Chair, Pharmaceuticals Group, in 2001, and served as Worldwide Chair, Medicines and Nutritionals, from 2003 to 2005. Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, she spent 15 years at Bristol-Myers Squibb in various management positions. Ms. Poon was also a Vice Chair of the Supervisory Board of Royal Philips Electronics and a member of the Board of Directors of Decibel Therapeutics, Inc. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Prudential Financial, Inc., Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where she currently serves as the lead independent director, and The Sherwin-Williams Company. Ms. Poon was named Woman of the Year by the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association in 2004 and named Business Leader of the Future by CNBC/Wall Street Journal in 2005.
Job Titles:
- Chief Legal Officer
- Corporate Secretary
- Member of the Management Team
Darin M. Lippoldt was appointed Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary in October 2014 and has oversight of all legal, intellectual property, and compliance matters. Mr. Lippoldt is also serving as Chair of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) General Counsels' Committee for 2023-2024. Prior to joining Neurocrine Biosciences, Mr. Lippoldt served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary of Volcano Corporation, a company he joined in 2010. Prior to Volcano, Mr. Lippoldt served as Associate General Counsel at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He previously practiced corporate and securities law with the law firms of Fulbright & Jaworski LLP and Matthews and Branscomb, P.C. Mr. Lippoldt received a B.B.A. in Finance, an M.A. in International Relations and a J.D. from St. Mary's University.
Job Titles:
- Chief
- Corporate Affairs Officer
David W. Boyer was appointed Chief Corporate Affairs Officer in September 2019 and is responsible for patient advocacy and engagement, corporate communications, government relations, and public policy at Neurocrine Biosciences. Mr. Boyer brings nearly 20 years of experience in public affairs, specializing in the life sciences and biopharmaceutical sectors. He joins Neurocrine Biosciences after nine years with the BGR Group, where he served as a Principal and the Head of the Health & Lifesciences Practice, leading the firm's healthcare advocacy, policy and strategy development, and strategic consulting team. During his tenure at the BGR Group, Mr. Boyer led public policy, advocacy, and strategic communications initiatives for a wide range of healthcare clients. Prior to joining the BGR Group, Mr. Boyer served as Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs under President George W. Bush, Assistant Commissioner for Legislation at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and Special Assistant to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In addition to his public service, Mr. Boyer held senior advocacy positions at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). Mr. Boyer holds a B.A. in Government from Georgetown University.
Dimitri E. Grigoriadis, Ph.D. was appointed Distinguished Scholar in 2023 and is responsible for providing expertise supporting our Neuropsychiatric and Neuroendocrinology scientific teams. Prior to his role as Distinguished Scholar, he held the title of Chief Research Officer from 2006-2023. In his role as Chief Research Officer, Dr. Grigoriadis oversaw all research functions, including drug discovery, biology, and chemistry. From 1993 to 2006, he established the pharmacology and drug screening groups at Neurocrine. Before joining Neurocrine Biosciences, he was a Senior Scientist in the Neuroscience group at the DuPont Pharmaceutical Company from 1990 to 1993. Dr. Grigoriadis received his B.Sc. from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, and his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Toronto. He conducted his postdoctoral research at the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse from 1987 to 1990.
Job Titles:
- Chief Medical Officer
- Member of the Management Team
Eiry W. Roberts, M.D. was appointed Chief Medical Officer in January 2018 and is responsible for all clinical development and medical affairs activities at Neurocrine Biosciences. Dr. Roberts has over 25 years of research and development experience in the pharmaceutical industry across all phases of drug development from research through commercialization in multiple therapeutic areas, including neuroscience, inflammation, oncology and metabolic diseases. She joined Neurocrine Biosciences from Eli Lilly and Company where she had worked since May 1991. During her tenure at Lilly, Dr. Roberts held various positions of increasing responsibility, including Vice President, Clinical Pharmacology/Managing Director of Chorus, a position she held from October 2014 until December 2017, and Vice President of Research and Development, BioMedicines Business Unit. Dr. Roberts is a physician who trained in pharmacology and medicine in the United Kingdom, qualifying from the University of London in 1987. Her post-graduate clinical training was in clinical pharmacology and cardiology at St. Bartholomew's Hospital and the Royal London Hospital. Dr. Roberts also serves as a director of Amicus Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on rare diseases.
Eric Benevich - Chief Commercial Officer
Job Titles:
- Chief Commercial Officer
- Member of the Management Team
Eric Benevich was appointed Chief Commercial Officer in May 2015 and is responsible for all aspects of commercial development, marketing, and sales of the Neurocrine Biosciences product portfolio. Mr. Benevich has over 30 years of commercial experience in the pharmaceutical industry and previously served in various positions of increasing responsibility at AstraZeneca, Amgen, Peninsula Pharmaceuticals, and Avanir Pharmaceuticals in the sales and marketing of drugs such as Prilosec®, Epogen®, Enbrel®, and Neudexta®. Mr. Benevich has a BBA in International Business from Washington State University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Gary A. Lyons has served on the Board of Directors since joining Neurocrine Biosciences in February 1993. Mr. Lyons served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company from February 1993 through January 2008. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Lyons held a number of senior management positions at Genentech, Inc., including Vice President of Business Development and Vice President of Sales. Mr. Lyons is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Travere Therapeutics, a publicly traded ultra-orphan disease commercial-stage company, and serves as a director of Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company focused on developing drugs for the treatment of inflammatory/autoimmune and metabolic diseases. Mr. Lyons previously served on the Board of Directors of Fresh Tracks Therapeutics, Inc. (formerly Brickell Biotech, Inc.), Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly Novus Therapeutics), and Facet Biotech Corporation. Mr. Lyons holds a B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of New Hampshire and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University's J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
George J. Morrow has served on the Board of Directors since October 2015. Mr. Morrow served as Executive Vice President, Global Commercial Operations at Amgen Inc., a global biotechnology company, from 2003 until his retirement in 2011. He joined Amgen in 2001 as Executive Vice President, Worldwide Sales and Marketing. His responsibilities included oversight of all commercial functions for Amgen's broad spectrum of products in more than 50 countries worldwide, and the introduction of multiple new products into global markets. From 1992 to 2001, Mr. Morrow held executive management and commercial positions within several subsidiaries of Glaxo Wellcome, including Group Vice President for Commercial Operations (U.S.), Managing Director (U.K.), and most recently as President and Chief Executive Officer of Glaxo Wellcome, Inc. (U.S.). Mr. Morrow currently serves on the Board of Directors of Align Technology, Inc., a publicly traded global medical device company. He has previously served on the boards of Vical, Inc., Otonomy, Inc., Glaxo Wellcome, Inc., Human Genome Sciences, Inc., Safeway, Inc., National Commerce Bank, the John Hopkins School of Public Health, and the Duke University Fuqua School of Business. Mr. Morrow holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Southampton College, Long Island University, an M.S. in Biochemistry from Bryn Mawr College, and an M.B.A. from Duke University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Regulatory Officer
- Member of the Management Team
Ingrid Delaet, Ph.D. was appointed Vice President, Regulatory Affairs in 2021, and Chief Regulatory Officer in October 2022. She is responsible for leading the regulatory affairs, quality assurance, medical writing, and program management teams. Dr. Delaet has more than 25 years of drug development experience in several therapeutic areas, including immunology, hepatology, cardiovascular, and metabolic diseases. Prior to joining Neurocrine Biosciences, she served as Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs at Intercept Pharmaceuticals, which she joined in 2016. Between 1997 and 2016, Dr. Delaet held various positions of increasing responsibility at Bristol-Myers Squibb in the United States, first in Clinical Research and Development and then in Global Regulatory Affairs, where she served as Therapeutic Area Lead for Immunology. Prior to Bristol-Myers Squibb, she held positions in clinical research at CellPro, Inc. and Wyeth-Ayerst Research. She received her Ph.D. in Immunology and her M.Sc. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from The Free University of Brussels, Belgium.
Jerold Chun, M.D., Ph.D., was appointed Distinguished Scholar in February 2023 and oversees external academic relationships and provides neuroscience expertise to Neurocrine Biosciences teams across the company's therapeutic areas. He was most recently Professor and Senior Vice President (Neuroscience Drug Discovery) at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (2016-2023), a Clarivate highly cited researcher and continuously funded by the NIH for over 30 years. Previously, Dr. Chun was Professor of Pharmacology and Neuroscience at UCSD School of Medicine (1991-2001) and Professor of Molecular Biology and Neuroscience at Scripps Research (2003-2016). He is known for his discoveries of lysophospholipid receptors that include sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptors underlying five FDA-approved drugs for multiple sclerosis or ulcerative colitis (fingolimod, siponimod, ozanimod, ponesimod and etrasimod); and separately, the discovery of genomic mosaicism in the brain. He has worked with the pharmaceutical/biotech industry for over 20 years at Merck (2001-2003) and through consultancies and collaborations with over 20 companies including Novartis, Pfizer Inc., AbbVie, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Johnson & Johnson. Dr. Chun holds a B.A. (High Honors) in English Literature and Biology from the University of Hawaii; received an MD and PhD (Neuroscience) through the Medical Scientist Training Program at Stanford University School of Medicine and completed post-doctoral studies at The Whitehead Institute/MIT.
Job Titles:
- Chief Commercial Officer of Gilead Sciences
Johanna Mercier has served on the Board of Directors since April 2021. Ms. Mercier is the Chief Commercial Officer of Gilead Sciences, with responsibility for the global commercialization of Gilead's medicines across virology, liver, and oncology franchises. Ms. Mercier is actively engaged with the policy and advocacy community to ensure affordability and access to the company's medicines in both the developed and resource-limited countries. She is a staunch advocate for diversity and inclusion and is the executive sponsor for the Women@Gilead employee resource group. Ms. Mercier joined Gilead in 2019 after 25 years at Bristol Myers Squibb, where she served in a number of executive leadership positions, gaining broad experience across geographies and in all aspects of the commercial business. Ms. Mercier holds a B.S. in Biology from the University of Montreal and an M.B.A. from Concordia University. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Arcus Biosciences, Inc., a publicly traded company, and the University of Southern California's Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics. Ms. Mercier is also a member of World 50.
Job Titles:
- Chief Scientific Officer
- Member of the Management Team
Jude Onyia, Ph.D. was appointed Chief Scientific Officer in November 2021 and leads the drug discovery and non-clinical development teams responsible for bolstering and advancing the company's pipeline of therapeutic candidates. Additionally, in February 2023, Dr. Onyia joined Voyager Therapeutics, Inc.'s board of directors. A scientist with more than 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Onyia is the former Vice President of Biotechnology Discovery Research at Eli Lilly and Company. At Lilly, Dr. Onyia contributed to the discovery and/or advancement of more than 60 clinical candidates across multiple therapeutic areas, which led to seven approved medicines. He also was responsible for more than 50 pre-candidate programs across multiple therapeutic areas. Dr. Onyia holds a B.S. in Forest Biology from the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry, as well as a Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the SUNY Health Science Center, both at Syracuse NY.
Job Titles:
- Chief Human Resources Officer
- Member of the Management Team
Julie Cooke was appointed Chief Human Resources Officer in September 2017. She joined Neurocrine Biosciences from the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Research Institute where she served as Senior Vice President for Human Resources and was a member of the executive management team. Previously, Ms. Cooke held multiple positions at Life Technologies, including being the human resource partner to the Chief Operating Officer, Division Presidents and Global Function Leads. Prior to Life Technologies, she ran human resources and was a member of the executive management team at SGX Pharmaceuticals. Ms. Cooke began her career at PepsiCo., The Pepsi Bottling Group, and Gateway, where she held positions of increasing responsibility in human resources. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Colorado College.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Kevin C. Gorman, Ph.D., has served on the Board of Directors of Neurocrine Biosciences since January 2008. Dr. Gorman served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company from January 2008 through October 2024, after having served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer beginning in 2006. Prior to that, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer, and Senior Vice President of Business Development. Dr. Gorman is also a director of Xencor, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. From 1990 until 1993, Dr. Gorman was a principal at Avalon Medical Partners, L.P., where he was responsible for the early-stage founding of Neurocrine Biosciences and several other biotechnology companies such as Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Metra Biosystems, Inc., Idun Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Gorman received his Ph.D. in Immunology and M.B.A. in Finance from the University of California, Los Angeles and did further post-doctoral training at The Rockefeller University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Management Team
Kyle W. Gano, Ph.D., was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer in October 2024 after having served as Chief Business Development and Strategy Officer since 2020 and Chief Business Development Officer since 2011. From 2001 to 2011, Dr. Gano held several positions of increasing responsibility at Neurocrine Biosciences spanning marketing analytics to business development. He has served on the Company's Board of Directors since October 2024 and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). Dr. Gano received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Oregon, B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Washington, and his M.B.A and Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Leslie V. Norwalk has served on the Board of Directors since September 2019. Since 2007, Ms. Norwalk has served as Strategic Counsel to healthcare companies at Epstein Becker Green, EBG Advisors, and National Health Advisors. Ms. Norwalk advises several private equity firms on healthcare matters. She serves as a director of Globus Medical, Inc., Modivcare Inc., and Arvinas, Inc., all publicly traded companies, as well as several privately held healthcare companies. Ms. Norwalk previously served on the Board of Directors of Centene, Endologix, Magellan Health, NuVasive, Inc., prior to its acquisition by Globus Medical, and Press Ganey. Ms. Norwalk began her career in the public sector in The White House Office of Presidential Personnel under the first Bush administration, following which, she practiced law at the Washington, D.C. office of Epstein Becker Green, P.C. From 2001 to 2007, she served in several roles at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) under the George W. Bush administration, including serving as Deputy Administrator, and Counselor and Policy Advisor, before assuming the role of Acting Administrator. Ms. Norwalk holds a J.D. from the George Mason University School of Law and a B.A. in Economics and International Relations from Wellesley College.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Member of the Management Team
Matt Abernethy was appointed Chief Financial Officer in November 2017 and is responsible for leading corporate finance activities, commercial supply chain operations, information technology, investor relations, facilities, and European operations at Neurocrine Biosciences. Mr. Abernethy has over 15 years of biotech and medical device experience in finance and investor relations. He joined Neurocrine Biosciences from Zimmer Biomet, where he held various positions from February 2009 to November 2017, including most recently, Vice President, Investor Relations, and Treasurer and Vice President of Finance for the Americas and Global Product Engines. He began his career with KPMG LLP and became a certified public accountant (inactive). Mr. Abernethy earned his B.S. in Accounting and Business Administration from Grace College and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
Job Titles:
- Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry
Job Titles:
- Director, Medicinal Chemistry
Job Titles:
- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alkermes Public Limited Company
Richard F. Pops has served on the Board of Directors since April 1998. Mr. Pops is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alkermes Public Limited Company. He joined Alkermes as Chief Executive Officer in February 1991. Under his leadership, Alkermes has grown from a privately held research-based company with 25 employees to an international, publicly traded pharmaceutical company with more than 2,000 employees. In addition to Alkermes, he currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). Previously, Mr. Pops served on the Board of Directors of Epizyme, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on epigenetics, and Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Stanford University.
Shalini Sharp has served on the Board of Directors since February 2020. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Organon & Co., a publicly traded healthcare company focused on improving the health of women throughout their lives, as well as BeiGene, Ltd., a publicly traded global oncology company. Previously, Ms. Sharp served on the Board of Directors of Mirati Therapeutics, prior to its acquisition by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Sutro Biopharma, Inc., Panacea Acquisition Corp., prior to its merger with Nuvation Bio, Precision BioSciences, Inc., TB Alliance, Array Biopharma, prior to its acquisition by Pfizer, and Agenus Inc. Ms. Sharp has held the positions of Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President at Ultragenyx, a biopharmaceutical company committed to bringing to patients novel products for the treatment of serious rare and ultra-rare genetic diseases, and Chief Financial Officer at Agenus Inc., a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company focused on the discovery and development of therapies that engage the body's immune system to fight cancer. Ms. Sharp previously served in strategic planning and as Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Elan Pharmaceuticals, and as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, as well as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. She holds a B.A. and an M.B.A. from Harvard University.
Stephen A. Sherwin, M.D. has served on the Board of Directors since April 1999. Dr. Sherwin currently divides his time between advisory work in the life sciences industry and patient care and teaching in his specialty of medical oncology. He is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and a volunteer Attending Physician in Hematology-Oncology at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Dr. Sherwin currently serves on the Board of Directors of Biogen Inc., a publicly traded company. He is an Advisory Partner with Third Rock Ventures and a member of the Scientific Steering Committee of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy. Previously, Dr. Sherwin was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cell Genesys, a cancer immunotherapy company, from 1990 until the company's merger in 2009 with BioSante Pharmaceuticals (now ANI Pharmaceuticals). He was also a Co-founder and Chairman of Abgenix, an antibody company which was acquired by Amgen in 2006, and co-founder and Chairman of Ceregene, a gene therapy company which was acquired by Sangamo Biosciences in 2013. From 1983 to 1990, Dr. Sherwin held various positions in clinical research at Genentech, most recently that of Vice President. Prior to 1983, he was on the staff of the National Cancer Institute. In addition, Dr. Sherwin previously served on the Board of Directors of Aduro Biotech, BioPlus Acquisition Corporation, Neon Therapeutics, and Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., as well as the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) from 2001 to 2014 and as its Chairman from 2009 to 2011, and was a member of the President's Council of Advisors in Science and Technology (PCAST) Working Group on Drug Development from 2011 to 2013. Dr. Sherwin holds a B.A. in biology, summa cum laude, from Yale University and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, is board-certified in internal medicine and medical oncology, and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
William H. Rastetter, Ph.D. has served on the Board of Directors since February 2010 and as Chairman of the Board of Directors since May 2011. Currently, he serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Fate Therapeutics, a publicly traded company focused on cellular therapies, as well as for Daré Bioscience, Inc. (previously known as Cerulean Pharma Inc.), a publicly traded company focused on women's healthcare. Dr. Rastetter also serves on the Board of Directors for Regulus Therapeutics Inc., a publicly traded company focused on RNA-based therapeutics, and on the Board of Directors of Iambic, Inc., a private company using artificial intelligence and laboratory automation to design and develop medicinal chemicals initially for oncology indications. Dr. Rastetter previously served on the board of Grail, Inc., a private company developing deep sequencing approaches for disease diagnosis, with an initial focus on the early diagnosis of cancer. Dr. Rastetter serves as an advisor to Illumina Ventures, and is the Chairman of San Diego Squared, a nonprofit focused on STEM awareness and education for students in underserved communities. Dr. Rastetter was a partner in the venture capital firm, Venrock, from 2006 through early 2013 and was Executive Chairman of Biogen Idec, Inc. from 2003 to 2005. Earlier, he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation until its merger with Biogen Inc. in 2003; he joined IDEC Corporation as its Chief Executive Officer at the company's founding in 1986. From 1984 to 1986, Dr. Rastetter was Director of Corporate Ventures at Genentech, where from 1982 to 1984 he held scientific positions. He held a series of faculty positions including Associate Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ("MIT") from 1975 to 1982. Dr. Rastetter has a B.S. degree in Chemistry from MIT and received M.A. and doctorate degrees in Chemistry from Harvard University.