DURHAM, N.C., May 23, 2016 — As demand for neuroscience clinical trials grows, Premier Research has named neuroscience expert Dr. Susan Kozauer Senior Medical Director for Psychiatry.
Kozauer joins recent hires Anne Marie Nagy, Ph.D., Dr. Teresa Nunes, Dr. Carol Gaines, and Todd Leathers on a team that has performed almost 400 neurology and psychiatry trials over the past five years.
The company is expanding its talent in response to increased demand for services from its small biotech and specialty pharmaceutical customers, said Dr. Colin Hayward, Chief Medical Officer. “The small biotechs are highly streamlined and may have only a half-dozen employees, but they produce much of the industry’s innovation,” Hayward said.
Krista Armstrong, Ph.D., leader of the company’s CNS franchise, added, “These companies are tightly focused on drug development and rely on our expertise in patient recruitment, effective oversight of investigator sites, and knowledge of regulatory requirements.”
Kozauer spent the past six years as a medical strategy lead and medical adviser, recognized by her previous employer, Quintiles, as “key talent” — a designation awarded to fewer than 1 percent of staffers. She provided strategic guidance for psychiatry proposals and scientific oversight for psychiatry studies. Kozauer also was a psychiatrist in private practice, led electroconvulsive therapy services, worked as a clinical trials investigator, taught behavioral sciences at the George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates, and was a contract psychiatrist at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Anne Marie Nagy, Ph.D., has been named Executive Director for Strategic Development in Neurosciences, based in Belgium. Nagy has managed large, complex multi-regional and full-service clinical trials, specializing in schizophrenia, epilepsy, pain, cervical dystonia, multiple sclerosis, and respiratory diseases such as cystic fibrosis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and pharyngitis.
Dr. Teresa Nunes has been named Senior Medical Director. With more than a dozen years as a pharmaceutical physician in operational, medical, and safety management of Phase I to Phase III clinical studies. Nunes is responsible for design and therapeutic oversight of drug development programs with emphasis on the development and commercialization of CNS molecules.
Dr. Carol Gaines has been named Senior Medical Director responsible for design and therapeutic oversight of drug development programs, specializing in neuroscience. She has more than 20 years of experience in clinical medicine, pharmacology, and contract research, with concentrations in neurology, immunology, and neurodegeneration.
Todd Leathers has been named Executive Director focusing on central nervous systems studies. He leads strategic development and operational, regulatory, medical, and scientific planning for study design and implementation.
About Premier Research
Premier Research is a leading clinical development service provider that helps highly innovative biotech and specialty pharma companies transform breakthrough ideas into reality. The company has a wealth of experience in the execution of global, regional and local clinical development programs with a special focus on addressing unmet needs in areas such as analgesia, CNS, oncology, pediatric and rare disease. Premier Research operates in 84 countries and employs 1,000 professionals, including a strong international network of clinical monitors and project managers, regulatory, data management, statistical, scientific, and medical experts. They are focused on smart study design for advanced medicines that allow life-changing treatments.