Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - Our People

Senior Staff

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Stephanie A. Anderson
Senior Director, Drug Evaluation
Ms. Anderson joined Inspire in May 2004 and is responsible for overseeing preclinical/nonclinical work to support Inspire Research and Development projects. Currently she manages the Drug Evaluation department which is responsible for evaluating new therapeutic targets at the in vivo and ex vivo level as well as preclinical evaluation and safety assessment of potential lead compounds. Ms. Anderson brings over 14 years of experience in the area of toxicology and project management to Inspire. Prior to joining Inspire, Ms. Anderson worked for RTI International, a not-for-profit contract research organization, as the manager of the Specialty Toxicology and Pharmacology Program. She served as a toxicology study director and was responsible for managing work in the areas of reproductive and endocrine toxicology, pharmacokinetics and toxicokinetics, and specialized pharmacology and toxicology, including the development of specialized animal models. Ms. Anderson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from North Carolina State University.

Kristin L. Blackwell
Director, Regulatory Affairs
Ms. Blackwell joined Inspire in March 2001. Currently, she is responsible for managing the drug safety reporting processes for development and marketed products as well as managing the company's pharmacovigilance vendor. Additionally, she is the primary regulatory affairs representative for several projects, mostly focused in the ophthalmic therapeutic area. Ms. Blackwell has over 11 years of regulatory affairs experience. Prior to joining Inspire, she worked in regulatory operations at GlaxoSmithKline and in regulatory affairs for a small generics company, Brightstone Pharma, a subsidiary of SkyePharma. Ms. Blackwell holds a BA in Psychology from North Carolina State University and earned credits towards a law degree from Campbell University. She received her Regulatory Affairs Certification in 2007.

Sean K. Blake
Director, Information Technology
Mr. Blake joined Inspire in January 2006 as Director, Information Technology. He is responsible for all of the company's Information Technology functions including information security, telecommunications, systems infrastructure and IT internal controls. Mr. Blake has over 19 years of experience in the Information Technology field. Prior to joining Inspire, he was the Director, IT and Operations at Amphora Discovery where he was responsible for the Information Technology, Instrument Maintenance, and Facilities functions. Previously, he held the position of Director of IT for Covance Biotechnology Services (now Diosynth), and has also worked for Eli Lilly and Company and managed the infrastructure for their RTP, NC and Cambridge, MA facilities. Mr. Blake started his career as a systems analyst with USF&G Insurance Company. Mr. Blake holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems Management from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.

Joseph B. Boyd
Director, Ophthalmic Medical Director
Mr. Boyd joined Inspire in October 2003 as a Regional Sales Director and advanced through a series of progressively responsible sales management and managed care roles to his current position in March of 2008. Since joining Inspire, he has played a key role in building the sales and managed care teams of the organization. Currently, Mr. Boyd is responsible for key opinion leader development within the optometric and ophthalmology field, while working closely with the sales and marketing teams to support their functions. Mr. Boyd has over 13 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry. His fields of experience range from ophthalmology, anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, allergy, asthma, gastrointestinal, pulmonary endoscopy and biliary endoscopy. Mr. Boyd previously worked for Boston Scientific and Muro Pharmaceutical before joining Inspire. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Memphis in Memphis, TN.

José L. Boyer, PhD
Vice President, Molecular Pharmacology
Dr. Boyer joined Inspire in October 2000. He leads ongoing programs in the molecular pharmacology department. He works closely with the Vice President of Research and Preclinical Development in setting the vision for future programs targeted at identifying novel product candidates. Dr. Boyer has published extensively in the field of P2Y receptors and has worked closely with the founding scientists of Inspire. Before joining Inspire, Dr. Boyer collaborated with the company on various research projects through sponsored research agreements in his role as research assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He serves as a member of the NC-IUPHAR subcommittee on P2Y receptors, and currently holds a position as Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Boyer earned his Ph.D. and Master's in biochemistry from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico.

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Darrin P. Bryan
Senior Director, Operations and Strategic Markets
Mr. Bryan joined Inspire in November 2003 to prepare for the launch of its commercial organization in early 2004. In his current role as Senior Director, Operations and Strategic Markets, he is responsible for leading the operational support function for Inspire’s Sales, Marketing, and Managed Care teams. These support activities include third party data management (IMS, Wolters-Kulwer), commercial analysis and reporting, PDMA, fleet operations, territory alignment and planning, prescriber targeting, incentive compensation, sales force automation, forecasting, pricing, warehouse operations, managed care marketing, and market research. Mr. Bryan also works closely with the Managed Markets team to set managed care contracting strategy and monitor portfolio rebate performance. Prior to joining Inspire, Mr. Bryan led managed care marketing activities for Biovail Pharmaceuticals. Prior to Biovail, he worked at Arthur Andersen, LLP and Campbell Alliance, leading strategy and operational consulting engagements for clients in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. Mr. Bryan earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Master of Business Administration, and Master of Healthcare Administration (Honors – Delta Omega Public Health Honor Society) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Stephen D. Celestini
Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer
Mr. Celestini joined Inspire in June 2007 as Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer. Mr. Celestini previously served as General Counsel and Vice President, Corporate Compliance, of Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. from 2001 until 2006. Prior to that, he worked for five years in the legal department of GlaxoWellcome in Research Triangle Park, NC, where he focused on pharmaceutical product licensing and sales/marketing compliance. From 1989 to 1996, Mr. Celestini worked in the private law firms of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice in Winston-Salem, NC, and Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton in Raleigh, NC, concentrating in securities, corporate finance and governance, mergers and acquisitions and intellectual property matters. Mr. Celestini earned a B.A. in Political Science from Virginia Tech in 1985 and a J.D. from Wake Forest University Law School in 1989.

Matthew S. Cowlen, PhD, DABT
Director, Toxicology
Dr. Cowlen joined Inspire in June 2000 as Senior Scientist, Preclinical Programs. He held the position of Associate Director, Drug Evaluation from January 2005 until his promotion to Director, Toxicology in January 2008. Dr. Cowlen is responsible for regulatory toxicology at all stages of drug development for the pulmonary and ophthalmic therapeutic areas. He is responsible for the design, execution, interpretation, and reporting of toxicology and safety pharmacology studies required by international regulatory agencies, and has supervised studies using ocular, pulmonary, intranasal, oral, and intravenous routes of administration. Dr. Cowlen has authored the toxicology and safety pharmacology sections of numerous regulatory filings with US, European, and Canadian agencies, including pre-INDs, INDs, Investigator's Brochures, End-of-Phase II packages, and an NDA for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Protocol Assistance briefing packages and an Orphan Drug Application for the European Medicines Agency (EMEA); and a Clinical Trial Application for Health Canada (HC). In addition, he has participated in regulatory meetings at the FDA, EMEA, and HC in support of multiple clinical development programs. Prior to joining Inspire, Dr. Cowlen held the position of Molecular Pathologist from 1996 to 2000 at Pathology Associates International in Frederick, MD. He served on the Board of Directors of the Genetic Toxicology Association from 2005 to 2008, including two years as Secretary and one year as Chair. Dr. Cowlen received his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Missouri-Columbia, was awarded a 2-year fellowship in Clinical Chemistry in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina Hospitals, UNC Chapel Hill, and is certified as a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology.

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Robert J. Dempsey, MBA
Senior Director, Ophthalmic Medical Development
Mr. Dempsey joined Inspire in October 2003 as a Regional Sales Director and was promoted to his current position in October of 2007. He is responsible for key opinion leader development, institutional partnerships and educational forums. He works closely with the commercial group to support their functions in Ophthalmology. Since joining Inspire, he has held positions of Senior Regional Sales Director and as an Account Director. Mr. Dempsey has 19 years of sales, managed healthcare and management experience in the Pharmaceutical industry. He gained valuable Ophthalmic experience in anti-infective, anti-inflammatory and glaucoma agents as a Senior Territory Manager while working in Boston, MA for Allergan Pharmaceuticals. During his tenure at Muro Pharmaceuticals, he gained management experience as a District Manager leading a sales team in New England. He began his career at Knoll Pharmaceuticals in general and hospital sales. Mr. Dempsey holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and a Masters in Business Administration from Northeastern University in Boston, MA.

Felix Dover, PharmD
Director, Ophthalmic Medical Science
Dr. Dover joined Inspire in March 2006 as a Clinical Research Scientist and was promoted to Director, Ophthalmic Medical Science in May 2008. He currently leads a team of Ophthalmic Medical Scientists, responsible for all medical science liaison functions within ophthalmology. Additionally, he supports the Commercial Operations team via medical information services and sales training. Dr. Dover has 8 years of experience in hospital pharmacy and over 12 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry providing and managing medical information services. Dr. Dover received a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy and a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Bart J. Dunn
Vice President, Business Development and Strategic Planning
Mr. Dunn joined Inspire in August 2006 as Vice President of Business Development. In January 2008 he was named Vice President, Business Development and Strategic Planning. In this role, he is responsible for leading business development activities at the company, including the identification, evaluation and management of transactions related to licensing, acquisition and partnering opportunities. Mr. Dunn also oversees Inspire's strategic planning function, leading the company's efforts in the areas of strategy development, long-range planning and the identification of strategic opportunities that will continue to build on Inspire's success. Mr. Dunn joined Inspire from Pfizer Inc., where he was Director of Business Development in the Corporate Strategic Planning group. In that capacity, he led numerous transaction teams involved in the evaluation, structuring, negotiation and execution of strategic acquisitions, divestitures, alliances, and product/technology licenses. During his 16 year tenure at Pfizer, Mr. Dunn also served in a variety of other management capacities in the areas of strategic planning, finance and accounting. Prior to joining Pfizer, Mr. Dunn spent 7 years at PepsiCo, Inc., holding positions in business planning, corporate tax and internal audit. Mr. Dunn received an MBA in Pharmaceutical Marketing from Saint Joseph's University, a BBA in Accounting from Pace University and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Todd A. Durham, MS
Senior Director, Biostatistics and Data Management
Mr. Durham joined Inspire in January 2003. As Senior Director of Biostatistics and Data Management, he is responsible for biostatistical and data management activities for Inspire's development teams. Prior to joining Inspire, Mr. Durham served as Associate Director, Biostatistics at Quintiles, Inc., where he worked for eight years. Mr. Durham has made significant statistical contributions to six NDA submissions in a variety of therapeutic areas and has been involved with five presentations to FDA Advisory Committees. Mr. Durham received his BSPH and MS in Biostatistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Carole Evans, BSc, PhD
Senior Director, CMC Operations
Dr. Carole Evans joined Inspire in September 2007 as Senior Director of CMC Operations, responsible for oversight of planning and coordination of CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls) of ongoing programs. Dr. Evans brings over 17 years of Pulmonary and Nasal product development experience to Inspire. Prior to joining Inspire, Dr. Evans was Senior Director of Analytical R&D at Cardinal Health, RTP, where she was responsible for analytical support of product development programs across a variety of dosage forms. Prior to Cardinal she held analytical R&D positions at Smithkline Beecham in Upper Merion and Delphi in Boston. Dr. Evans has also been involved in industry organizations including IPAC and has previously chaired the Inhalation Technology Focus Group of AAPS. Dr. Evans holds a BSc and a PhD in microbiology from the University of Wales.

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Reza Haque, MD, DO, PhD
Vice President, Ophthalmic Clinical Research
Dr. Haque has served as our Vice President of Ophthalmic Clinical Research since October 2007. He brings to Inspire over 20 years of experience in the ophthalmology space, with extensive experience in planning and executing drug registration strategy, which includes creating clinical development plans, writing protocols, executing clinical trials, analyzing and interpreting data and delivering clinical portions of New Drug Applications (NDA) to the FDA. Previously, Dr. Haque was Head of Clinical Development & Medical Affairs at Johnson & Johnson Vision Care. Prior to that, Dr. Haque held various positions at Novartis Ophthalmic, Clinical Research and Development, including Director of Global Clinical Research and Director & Section Head, Front of the Eye in Global Clinical Development, as well as Associate Director-Global Clinical Research, Principal Clinical Research Physician and Sr. Clinical Research Physician. Dr. Haque received an M.D. from Dhaka University, Mymensingh Medical College, a D.O. from Dhaka University, National Institute of Ophthalmology and a Ph.D. in Ocular Pharmacology from Gifu University School of Medicine. Dr. Haque was also a Glaucoma Fellow at the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Raymond W. Hines
Vice President, Associate General Counsel
Mr. Hines joined Inspire in August 2006 as Vice President, Associate General Counsel. In this role, he serves as lead counsel for all corporate and business development transactions, including potential collaboration, licensing, co-promotion, product development and/or acquisition opportunities. Before joining Inspire, Mr. Hines spent five years as Vice President & Legal Counsel of Business Development at King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. At King, he was lead attorney on business development transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, collaborations, in-licensings, and divestitures. Prior to King, he was Senior Counsel at GlaxoSmithKline in North Carolina and Partner at Ward and Smith, P.A. Mr. Hines received a J.D. with honors from the University of Kentucky College of Law and a B.A. from Davidson College.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Page last updated: 27-Oct-2008