Sygnature Discovery has appointed Dr. Andy Mead as Director and Head of Drug Abuse and Substance Use Disorders at its integrated in vivo pharmacology company, RenaSci.
With 25 years’ experience in the science of drug abuse and addiction across academia, biotech and pharma (including NIDA, Merck, Pfizer and AstraZeneca), Dr. Mead brings strategic and scientific leadership to a team of drug abuse specialists, and will drive the development and expansion of the company’s non-clinical drug abuse and substance use disorders capabilities. Dr. Mead bringing extensive experience across a wide range of abuse liability assessments, and will ensure expert collaboration and consultancy in meeting the regulatory requirements for drug abuse assessment during the development of novel therapeutic agents.
"I have always been passionate about the science of drug abuse and addiction and there is so much need for it today – both ensuring patient safety through the assessment of abuse liability, as well as directly addressing patient need through discovering novel treatments for substance use disorders,” Dr Mead said. "This role gives me the exciting opportunity to collaborate across all sectors of the healthcare industry to pursue both of those aspects, building on RenaSci’s established reputation for scientific quality and collaboration, and aligned with Sygnature Discovery's vision to deliver the best science through innovation and tailored integrated drug discovery and pre-clinical expertise."
Dr. Mead joins Sygnature from Sosei Heptares, where he was Director of Discovery and Translational Safety. His industry experience is backed by an internationally-recognized publication record for developing the science of drug abuse and substance use disorders, extensive regulatory experience in the area of abuse liability; as well as a track record for progressing molecules from concept through to clinical development across a range of therapeutic areas.
"The worldwide opioid crisis has brought the field of drug abuse liability and treatment to the forefront of science. But with the variety of models involved, it is an extremely complex undertaking. To advance new molecules to market, it is critical that both the quality of the science and the drug development strategy behind it are at the highest level,” Dr. Simon Hirst, Founder and CEO at Sygnature, said. "With a history of providing pre-clinical solutions in this challenging area, I am thrilled at the prospect of Andy joining to head-up a team of scientists with a world-renowned reputation. Andy’s experience will not only strengthen the expertise of this team, but as a well-respected and dynamic scientist he will ensure we remain at the fore-front of this exciting area."