• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Gene Network Sciences Names Former Wyeth President of R&D Robert Ruffolo to SAB

Posted on: Tuesday, 28 April 2009, 09:17 CDT

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Gene Network Sciences, Inc. today announced that it named Dr. Robert Ruffolo, former President of Wyeth Research & Development and a leader in pharmaceutical research to its Scientific Advisory Board.

Dr. Ruffolo retired as President of Wyeth Research & Development in 2008, and currently serves as a consultant to Wyeth. He had joined Wyeth in November 2000 and has been responsible for all pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) for the Company, including discovery, drug safety and metabolism, chemical and pharmaceutical development, clinical R&D and research operations. During his tenure at Wyeth, he was credited with cultivating robust research and development programs in oncology, women's health, vaccines, inflammation, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and neuroscience, including a multi-platform effort in Alzheimer's.

Dr. Ruffolo has been recognized for his work through a number of high-profile awards. Last year, he was recognized by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) with the 2008 Discoverer's Award for his efforts in the discovery and development of Coreg(R) while at GlaxoSmithKline. In 2006, the Wyeth Research and Development Executive Team (RADEX), formed and chaired by Dr. Ruffolo, won the Scrip Award for Management Team of the Year. Dr. Ruffolo won the George B. Koelle Award for Scientific Excellence in 2005. In 2004, IBC Conferences named him Chief Scientific Officer of the Year.

Prior to joining Wyeth, Dr. Ruffolo spent 17 years at SmithKline Beecham (now GSK) and 6 years at Lilly Research Laboratories. During his career, Dr. Ruffolo played a significant role in the discovery and/or development of a number of marketed products, including carvedilol (Coreg/Kredex) for the treatment of congestive heart failure and hypertension, dobutamine (Dobutrex) for the acute management of congestive heart failure, ropinirole (Requip) for Parkinson's Disease, eprosartan (Teveten) for hypertension. Dr. Ruffolo received his B.S. degree in Pharmacy in 1973, and his Ph.D. degree in Pharmacology in 1976, both from The Ohio State University.

"I am looking forward to helping GNS maximize its immediate impact on the productivity and efficiency of big pharma R&D organizations," said Dr. Ruffolo. "GNS's REFS(TM) platform is uniquely positioned to help pharma companies convert their mountains of genomic and clinical data into more effective treatments for individual patients."

Dr. Ruffolo will join several top systems biology scientists and pharmaceutical executives that currently advise GNS through their participation on GNS's Scientific Advisory Board and Board of Directors.

"GNS is excited to have Dr. Bob Ruffolo, a leader in pharmaceutical research and management recognized worldwide, join our Scientific Advisory Board," said Colin Hill, CEO of GNS. "The addition of Dr. Ruffolo to our SAB greatly strengthens our ability to directly address pharma executives' key pain points through the use of our supercomputer-driven modeling and simulation platform."

About Gene Network Sciences

Gene Network Sciences (http://www.gnsbiotech.com/) is a leader in biosimulation with its ability to derive molecular mechanisms of drugs and diseases directly from molecular profiling and clinical data. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Ithaca, New York, GNS uses its REFS(TM) technology in pharmaceutical and healthcare settings to rapidly turn combinations of genetic, genomic, and clinical measurements into models of disease progression and drug response. These models are then simulated to discover both new targets for drug intervention and genetic markers of drug response that allow patients who will respond to a given drug treatment to be matched to a particular clinical trial and treatment option. By discovering how and why specific sets of genes and drug candidates impact human biology, GNS technology enables the rapid development of breakthrough drug and diagnostic products and the matching of patients to the optimal therapy.

SOURCE Gene Network Sciences, Inc.

Source: PR Newswire

More News in this Category