President, Discovery Pharma LLC
Greater Philadelphia Area
- Current
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- President at Discovery Pharma Consulting LLC
- Past
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- Distinguished Scientist at Cephalon
- Director of Chemistry at Ionix Pharmaceuticals
- Associate Director, Medicinal Chemistry at Vernalis PLC
- Principal Scientist/Project Leader at Novo Nordisk
- Research Scientist at Glaxo
- Education
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- King's College London, U. of London
- University of Oxford
- Recommended
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2 people have recommended Lars - Connections
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169
connections
- Industry
- Pharmaceuticals
- Websites
Lars Knutsen’s Summary
Discovery Pharma Consulting was set up by Lars Knutsen in response to the needs of its Clients in the USA and Europe for Consulting services in Pharma Due Dilgence, IP Strategy and Preclinical Drug Discovery. It is incorporated in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, USA, but operates worldwide.
Results-driven Medicinal Chemist and Drug Discovery Project Manager, with expertise in design and selection of Clinical Candidates. Track record of inventive involvement in 5 NCEs; Of these drug candidates, Gabitril is marketed worldwide, 3 in clinical trials.
Excellent communicator and manager; skilled at motivating scientists to achieve goals. Rose to diverse research challenges in European and US companies, by applying a unique combination of innovative scientific and management skills.
Articulate and creative leader with excellent interpersonal skills and expertise in building high performing teams in demanding settings. Peer recognized high-level heterocyclic and nucleoside chemist with well-developed analytical and computer skills. Practical experience of moving multiple projects forward simultaneously.
43 Publications in peer-reviewed journals, 23 published patents, 18 of which are issued in the US (see Addendum on page 3). Expert in Drug Discovery software with outstanding IP expertise; completed management training modules. Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry, long-term member of ACS and Society for Neuroscience. US Permanent Resident; Treasurer of Capps Green Zomaya Med. Chem. Award; fluent in Norwegian and Danish languages.
Lars Knutsen’s Specialties:
All phases of Drug Discovery, Research Management, Medicinal Chemistry, Project Management, Due Diligence, Portfolio Analysis, Executive Coaching.
Lars Knutsen’s Experience
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Distinguished Scientist
Cephalon
(Public Company; CEPH; Pharmaceuticals industry)
November 2005 — October 2008 (3 years)
Project Leader and Research Fellow in Neuroscience. Role model and coach for medicinal chemists; initiated and led a new project to treat Schizophrenia. Also a major contributor to a Cognition program in Lead Optimization – my team synthesized what is the fifth drug candidate of my Drug Discovery career
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Director of Chemistry
Ionix Pharmaceuticals
(Biotechnology industry)
December 2001 — June 2005 (3 years 7 months)
Responsible for R & D Chemistry, including strategy/ budgeting in this start-up Biotech in Cambridge, UK. Built and led outstanding team of 15+ medicinal chemists and computational chemist.
Ionix Management Team & Product Management Group member; Chair of Intellectual Property Strategy Meeting. Drove creative medicinal chemistry/parallel synthesis in 2 projects; Project Leader of key Cav2.2 (N-type channel) Discovery program. -
Associate Director, Medicinal Chemistry
Vernalis PLC
(Biotechnology industry)
September 1997 — December 2001 (4 years 4 months)
Managed group of 7 Medicinal Chemists, recruited several new hires.
Initiated Discovery project designing new adenosine A2A antagonists for Parkinson’s Disease; VR 2006 now in Phase II with BiogenIDEC, see http://www.vernalis.com/ver/nc/latestreleases/releases2007/20070508/
Leader of Sodium Channel program; Head of Pre-project group. Started pre-project targeting novel CB1 antagonists in 2001; lead compound, V24343, entered clinical trials for obesity late in 2006, see http://www.vernalis.com/ver/nc/latestreleases/releases2006/2006-12-11/
Member of Chemistry Management Team, devised company strategies for I.P. and Parallel Synthesis. Part of Integration Team following Vanguard merger with Cerebrus. Successfully made transition to Biotech/ SME company environment -
Principal Scientist/Project Leader
Novo Nordisk
(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; NVO; Pharmaceuticals industry)
March 1986 — August 1997 (11 years 6 months)
Appointed Project Manager, GABA Uptake III project group in 1987. Leading member of team driving discovery & selection of the marketed anticonvulsant Tiagabine (Gabitril), launched in US in 1996, Cephalon now have worldwide market. Principal author of 1993 J. Med. Chem. article describing design, synthesis & SAR of Gabitril, as well as its back-up series in 1999
Project Manager, Purine project group; initiated project on adenosine A1 receptor agonists for stroke in 1992. Led high-performing team of chemists; 1st. drug candidate, A1 agonist NNC 21-0136, selected as pre-clinical candidate 2¼ years from project start; back-up also identified. Applied purinergic chemistry to cytokine targets, 1996-97
Completed Novo management/project manager training modules -
Research Scientist
Glaxo
(Biotechnology industry)
October 1978 — January 1986 (7 years 4 months)
Entry-level position in Medicinal Chemistry, worked on Nucleoside targets including antiviral agents and adenosine receptor ligands at Glaxo, Ware, Herts. Awarded Ph.D. degree in 1984 in collaboration with King's College, London.
