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Michael R. Briggs, Ph.D. – Expert, Author, Writer – Member of the Cancer Research Team

 

 

Michael R. Briggs, Ph.D.

President & CSO

Woodland Pharmaceuticals, LLC

617-416-2522 

mbriggs@woodlandpharma.com

Professional Summary

Experienced pharmaceutical executive with multifaceted experience in large and small pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Primary focus in discovery research with a strong emphasis on relevance to human biology and translation to clinical success. Biology teams I led or had line responsibility for managing have developed clinical candidates in oncology (2), antivirals (including Incivek®), arthritis and inflammation (Celebrex® and Jak3 inhibitor (Ph2)), metabolic disease (PPAR modulators), and cardiovascular and lipid metabolism (LDL-cholesterol modulation). In the past 4 years I have focused heavily in oncology translational medicine, using data from primary patient tumors to elucidate effective treatment options with a goal to prospectively identify responder populations and improve patient outcomes.

My overarching goal is to bring effective medicines to the right patient to significantly improve treatment outcomes. Make the medicine fit the disease, not the disease fit the medicine.

Education

Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 1988 – 1993, M. Brown and J. Goldstein Lab.

EMBO Fellowship, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland 1987 – 1988.

Ph. D., Biochemistry, University of California, Berkeley 1987, R. Tjian Lab.

B.A., cum laude, Biology, University of Delaware. 1983.

Academic Awards and Appointments

Keystone Symposia Scientific Advisory Board, 2000 – 2003

Adjunct Professor, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 1995 – 1998

National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, 1988 – 1991

EMBO Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, 1987 – 1988

National Research Service Award – Public Health Service, 1983 – 1987

Phi Beta Kappa, University of Delaware, 1983

Dean’s Scholar, University of Delaware, 1982 – 1983

Professional Experience

November 2011 – present

President, Woodland Pharmaceuticals, LLC Start-up biotechnology company focused on bringing better oncology models to the research community to address my overarching goal of bringing better, more effective medicines to the patients that need them. We will start July 2012 as a CRO and develop into a personalized medicine enabling company.

Member, of SAB and Interim CSO, Nemucore Medical Innovations, Worcester, MA (Nov 2011 – Dec 2012)

Key part-time resident SAB biology expert to establish infrastructure and develop biology proof-of-concept guidelines for novel nanomedicines.

Head of Biology at Blend Therapeutics, Inc. (Jan – June 2012)

Initial biologist for the company as consultant (via Woodland Pharmaceuticals) to establish oncology franchise for the company and design oncology discovery platform to advance novel nanomedicines toward the clinic. Establishing both in vitro and in vivo biology infrastructure including in house vivarium.

July 2003 – November 2011

Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Sr. Director, Sr. Research Fellow

Sector Head of Biology

Key Outcomes:

Direct reports led teams advancing molecules into the clinic and market:

Dr. Kwong – HCV protease inhibitor, INCIVEK launched 2011

Dr. Hoock – JAK3 kinase inhibitor in Phase 2B clinical development

Oncology – Two projects in process of out licensing for clinical development

Responsible for innovation and management of the discovery biology spectrum from target identification and validation through in vitro and in vivo efficacy and safety pharmacology. Key areas of focus revolved around elucidating mechanism of action and target proximal and distal readouts for efficacy. Primary therapeutic disease area responsibilities included infectious diseases including direct line responsibility for project leaders for HCV protease inhibitor project, inflammation, immunology and oncology.

Member of global early discovery research management, Exploratory Research Council.

Member, External Alliances Committee that reviewed and funded proposals for extramural research for the following institutions:

 

• Harvard University

 

• Van Andel Research Institute / Translational Genomics

 

• University of Pittsburgh, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine

 

• Oregon Health Sciences University

 

• UCLA/Cedars Sinai

 

Established site neuroscience team to create infrastructure and knowledgebase in neurodegenerative disease with initial focus on neuron and oligodendrocyte biology target discovery and prosecution for remyelination activity in MS.

Cell & Molecular Biology

Head, Oncology Biology

Founding member of interdisciplinary team to evaluate novel drug delivery methods from nanoformulations to solid local dosage delivery forms for cancer and other therapeutic areas.

Member of preclinical – clinical transition team for oncology project moving toward FIH studies.

Member of strategic China Task Force as Vertex evaluated global opportunities for expanding research, development and commercial operations.

Director of Vertex China Biology

Responsibilities have included all in vitro pharmacology, early target discovery and assay development for all projects at the Cambridge site. Therapeutic areas included oncology, inflammation and neurodegenerative / neurorepair disease areas with peripheral interactions with Infectious Diseases. My recent focus was on driving oncology molecules toward clinical development with a goal of defining a more personalized treatment approach.

Research Principal Investigator for collaborative projects with Shanghai ChemPartner (CRO) to build and utilize novel in vitro and in vivo patient-derived tumor models for therapeutic approaches to the treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) and pancreatic cancer and previously with the Liver Cancer Institute of Fudan University and Zhongshan Hospital in Shanghai, China. Established a large animal research project modeling liver cancer with Nanjing #1 Hospital, Nanjing, China.

October 1999 – July 2003

Pfizer (acquisition) / Pharmacia (merger) / G.D. Searle Pharmaceuticals.

Director

Genomics and Biotechnology

In partnership with Dr. Ismail Kola of Worldwide Genomics Sciences in Pharmacia and a team of talented scientists, I established a new center of Genomics in St. Louis. Building and leading teams in Cardiovascular / Metabolic Disease and Arthritis and Inflammation Genomics was my primary focus. We also supported St. Louis Oncology discovery research. We were charged with driving the functional interface with the therapeutic area pharmacology teams to identify and validate new targets and biomarkers using molecular genetic techniques and methods. In addition, we built a center of excellence in higher throughput functional genomics at the St. Louis site based on phenotypic analysis of gene over- and under-expression focused on function in biologically relevant disease models (line headcount ranged between 40 – 140 FTEs).

Pharmacia liaison for sponsored research at the Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics of the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden; a US $5 million multi-year research agreement.

Member: Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease Core Team, role to represent GBT interface with therapeutic area in dyslipidemia and diabetes, impacting the early pipeline and applying genomics tools to support compound development.

Member: Arthritis and Inflammation Core Team, role to drive the impact of GBT in new target identification and validation and support mechanism of action studies for later stage projects.

Dec. 1997 – October 1999

SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals, Associate Director, Cardiovascular Pharmacology.

Co-led trans-Atlantic team in nuclear receptors exploring biology in all aspects of disease from cardiovascular and metabolic disease to neurological disorders.

June 1993 – December 1997

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, CA, Associate Director, Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases

Preclinical programs advancing to the clinic in lipid metabolism (LDL cholesterol lowering) and diabetes (PPAR agonists).

October 1988 – June 1993

Postdoctoral fellow. Michael S. Brown and Joseph L. Goldstein laboratory, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.

Co-led the team that identified, purified and cloned the sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP) family of transcription factors.

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