Ron Newbold, Ph.D.
Chief Business Officer
Dr. Newbold is a seasoned business development executive and scientist with a strong academic background and experience managing transactions for both small and large biopharmaceutical companies. His research and business experience include work with 2 Nobel laureates and collaborations with numerous world-class scientists in academia and the biopharmaceutical industry. He has over 25 years of Business Development and Alliance Management experience leading business teams in negotiating over $1.5 billion in announced pharma & biotech deals.
After receiving his PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Rochester and completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University, Ron joined Merck where he was ultimately responsible for Strategic Research Initiatives within External Scientific Affairs. Following 14 years with Merck and receiving a MBA from Columbia, Ron led BD for three US-based biotech companies (Sentigen Biosciences, Celldex Therapeutics, and Auspex Pharmaceuticals) prior to joining Pfizer as Vice President and Head of Global Scouting. During 7 years at Pfizer, Ron managed a team of scientists in over 10 countries who evaluated and proposed partnerships of scientific value that broadened Pfizer’s early-stage pipeline. He started and led the Pfizer Seed Fund (created through an evolution of the Pfizer Incubator) and was Board Observer to Ab Initio, Aquinnah, Circle Pharmaceuticals, Lumena (acquired by Shire), Molecular Stethoscopes, Neoantigenics, Storm Therapeutics. Ron served as a Scientific Advisory Board member to NeoMED in Montreal and Chremains on the Board of the Licensing and Venture Group at the University of Virginia, where he is Vice Chairman. Most recently, Ron was SVP and Head of US Business Development and Alliance Management for Otsuka America Pharmaceuticals in Princeton NJ.