To better your understanding of non-clinical career options and/or facilitate your physician career change, today we introduce you to W. Scott Harkonen, MD. Dr. Harkonen is President and Chief Executive Officer of CoMentis, a pharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of small-molecule drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cognitive disorders.
Dr. Harkonen has over 20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Most recently, Dr. Harkonen was the Chairman of the board of directors and Chief Executive Officer of CoTherix, Inc.
Dr. Harkonen founded InterMune, Inc. and from 1999 to 2003, he was the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer. From 1995 to 1999, Dr. Harkonen was the Senior Vice President of Product Development and Operations at Connetics Corporation. And, from 1991 to 1995, Dr. Harkonen was Vice President of Medical and Regulatory Affairs at Univax Corporation (now NABI).
In these positions, Dr. Harkonen led multiple product development programs, including five successful drug approvals (NDA/BLAs), and was instrumental in numerous private and public financings. He is currently on the boards of directors of several privately-held biopharmaceutical companies and is a former member of the board of directors of the Biotechnology Industry Organization.
Dr. Harkonen earned an M.D. degree from the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Minneapolis, and an M.B.A. degree from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
For more information about Dr. Harkonen or CoMentis, please visit the company website.
