STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Purdue Pharma L.P. today announced that Julie Ducharme, BPharm, MSc, PhD will be joining the organization as Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer with accountability to help progress its existing pipeline and identify new research opportunities & technological ventures across multiple therapeutic areas. She will also support the company’s ongoing efforts to help address the opioid addiction crisis. She will report directly to President and CEO Craig Landau, MD.
“Dr. Ducharme will be instrumental in helping us to advance and translate science to help address unmet patient needs across our diverse existing pipeline and in new research collaborations and projects,” said Craig Landau, MD, president and CEO, Purdue Pharma. “She brings extensive international pharmaceutical industry experience in discovery, development & research throughout product lifecycle and across multiple therapeutic areas.”
Dr. Ducharme has a strong track record of project deliveries over more than 25 years from discovery research to late development, regulatory approval and life cycle management for small and large molecules, in pain, neuroscience, inflammation, infectious diseases and cancer. Her background includes 20 years of international pharmaceutical experience in various leadership roles at AstraZeneca and Mundipharma, and nearly four years leading research in biologics and vaccines at the National Research Council (Canada). She also brings a broad scientific expertise in pre-clinical and clinical drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics and translational science, with more than 100 scientific communications and publications.
“As Purdue continues to make significant progress in diversification into Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and related disorders, other CNS conditions, oncology and non-opioid pain treatments it is an exciting time to join and I’m looking forward to lending my expertise to the scientific programs to advance the existing pipeline and identify new opportunities to address unmet patient needs,” said Dr. Ducharme. “It is the company’s obvious compassion for patients, numerous efforts to help communities address the public health crisis and commitment to translating science into medicine that has attracted me to join this team.”
Dr. Ducharme is a member of several Scientific Advisory Boards, including Human Health Therapeutics at the National Research Council Canada since 2018 and has been an Adjunct Professor of Pharmacy at the Université de Montréal since 1998. In addition to her clinical pharmacy practice experience, she was a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Drug Metabolism & Infectious Diseases at the Université de Paris XI/V in France, a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Oncology at McGill University, Montreal, Canada and a Fellow of the Medical Research Council of Canada.
She holds a pharmacy degree, Ph.D. Pharmaceutical Sciences, M.Sc. Biochemical Pharmacodynamics from the Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada and is Board Certified (Canada) by the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada.
About Purdue Pharma L.P.
Purdue Pharma and its subsidiaries develop and provide prescription medicines and consumer products that meet the evolving needs of healthcare professionals, patients, consumers and caregivers. We were founded by physicians and are currently led by a physician. Beyond our efforts to provide quality medications, Purdue Pharma is committed to supporting national, regional and local collaborations to drive innovations in patient care while also continuing our efforts to address the opioid addiction crisis.
Purdue’s subsidiaries include: Adlon Therapeutics L.P., focused on treatment for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and related disorders; Avrio Health L.P., a consumer health products company that champions an improved quality of life for people in the United States through the reimagining of innovative product solutions; Imbrium Therapeutics L.P., established to further advance the emerging portfolio and develop the pipeline in the areas of CNS, non-opioid pain medicines, and select oncology through internal research, strategic collaborations and partnerships; and Greenfield Bioventures L.P., an investment vehicle focused on value-inflection in early stages of clinical development.
For more information, visit www.purduepharma.com.