Neurogen Corporation Announces Executive Appointments
Thursday April 24, 4:15 pm ET
BRANFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Neurogen Corporation (Nasdaq: NRGN - News), a drug development company, announced today that it has appointed two executives to new positions on its senior management team. Dr. Srdjan (Serge) Stankovic, has joined Neurogen as Executive Vice President & Chief Development Officer. Dr. Stankovic joins Neurogen from Cephalon, Inc. where he was Vice President, Worldwide Clinical Research. Dr. Thomas Pitler, who has served as Neurogen’s Vice President, Business Development has taken on the expanded role of Senior Vice President & Chief Business and Financial Officer.
“These appointments represent important steps as we execute our plan to expand our clinical development portfolio in new areas with results anticipated in our insomnia, anxiety, Parkinson’s disease and Restless Legs Syndrome programs by the end of the year,” said Stephen R. Davis, President and CEO.
“Serge brings an impressive track record in the specialty pharmaceutical business with proven experience getting central nervous system drugs to the market. He will assume responsibility for a strong team in both clinical and preclinical development. Tom has played a crucial role in building the business. He has broad experience in both out-licensing and in-licensing and I look forward to the contributions Tom will make in this expanded role as we advance and expand the portfolio,” Mr. Davis added.
In his role as Chief Development Officer, Dr. Stankovic’s responsibilities will include clinical development, preclinical development, and regulatory affairs. Prior to Neurogen, he was Vice President, Worldwide Clinical Research at Cephalon, Inc. in Frazer, Pennsylvania. Previously, he held clinical positions with increasing responsibility at UCB Pharma, Inc., including Vice President, US Clinical Development and also at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical R&D, LLC as Senior Director and Compound Development Team Leader. Dr. Stankovic began his career as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Belgrade and then became an Instructor in Psychiatry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Belgrade in Serbia and Master of Science in Public Heath (Epidemiology) degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
As Chief Business and Financial Officer, Dr. Pitler is responsible for business and corporate development, investor relations, finance and accounting, and commercial analysis. Previously, he was Vice President, Business Development for Neurogen. Dr. Pitler joined Neurogen in 1995 with responsibilities for supervising Neurogen’s electrophysiology laboratory and evaluating drug targets. He joined the business group at Neurogen and was promoted to Director, Business Development in 1999, Senior Director, Business Development in 2001, and Vice President, Business Development in 2004. Prior to Neurogen, he was on the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Pitler holds a B.A. in Biology from Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina and a Ph.D in Physiology from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
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