Geoffrey Dunbar, M.D., Joins Targacept as Vice President, Clinical Development
Targacept Staff Doubles in Less Than One Year
Winston-Salem, NC
June 05, 2001
Targacept, Inc., a privately held research and development pharmaceutical company focused on neuronal nicotinic receptor-based therapeutics, today announced the addition of noted industry executive Dr. Geoffrey Dunbar as Vice President, Clinical Development.
"This is a new position that will significantly enhance the company’s ability to bring its therapeutic products to market quickly and efficiently," said J. Donald deBethizy, Ph.D., president and CEO of Targacept, which was established by RJ Reynolds Tobacco (NYSE: RJR) in 1997 and spun out in 2000. "Geoff brings a wealth of knowledge from his years with large pharmaceutical companies. His experience, combined with Targacept’s promising drug pipeline, will allow us to drive forward needed products that minimize human suffering."
Dr. Dunbar joins Targacept from Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he was vice president, neuroscience clinical research and development. In this position, which he held since January 1997, Dr. Dunbar was responsible for the worldwide clinical development of all neuroscience drugs, from Phase I through Phase IV. He has extensive experience in designing and overseeing clinical trials and evaluating product safety and effectiveness. While at Bristol-Myers Squibb, he had a leadership role in the in-licensing activities and clinical development plans for Abilitat (aripiprazole), an antipsychotic drug.
From 1990 to 1996, Dr. Dunbar served as Director and Vice President of Clinical research and development for SmithKline Beecham, where he oversaw the clinical development of a portfolio of eight drugs. He successfully led the effort to expand the approved usage of Paxil (paroxetine), a drug for depression, to include indications for obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder and social phobia. This drug now accounts for over $1.5 billion in annual sales for GlaxoSmithKline.
Dr. Dunbar also held positions of increasing responsibility at Organon, Wyeth Research and Beecham Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Dunbar received his medical degree in 1972 from London University, with honors in Pharmacology, and completed internships at Guys Hospital Group, Princess Alexandra Hospital and Maudsley & Bethlem Hospital, all in the U.K. He began his career in the pharmaceutical industry in 1979.
As Vice President, Clinical Development, Dr. Dunbar will build Targacept’s drug development organization, which is focused on the company’s specialty of neuronal nicotinic receptor-based pharmaceuticals. Targacept has products in research and development for treating Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, ulcerative colitis, depression, pain and attention deficit disorder, among others.
Targacept was established in 1997 as a wholly owned subsidiary of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (NYSE: RJR). It was spun out in August 2000, in one of the largest ($30.4 million) first-round venture capital financings in U.S. biotech history and the largest in North Carolina biotech history. The company has a strategic alliance with Aventis Pharmaceuticals of Strasbourg, France to develop Targacept compounds for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. In addition, the company has a joint research, development and commercialization agreement with Dr. Falk Pharma of Freiburg, Germany to develop a new class of drugs to treat ulcerative colitis.
At the time of the spinout, Targacept had 22 employees. Targacept now has a staff of 49 employees and expects to increase to 60 by the end of the year, when the company moves into its new corporate headquarters at One Technology Place in the new Piedmont Triad Research Park in downtown Winston-Salem.
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