Deborah Dunsire (b. 1963) is a medical doctor and pharmaceutical executive who has served as CEO of multiple research companies.
Career
At a 2013 career event at
Bentley University
Bentley University is a private university focused on business, accountancy, and finance and located in Waltham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1917 as a school of accounting and finance in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, Bentley moved to Waltham ...
, Dunsire remarked that she "...never intended to go into business. But after 9 months waiting for an ophthalmology residency to begin, she instead applied to a position as a clinical researcher" with Novartis.
Novartis
Dunsire started her career with
Novartis
Novartis AG is a Swiss-American multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland and
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (global research).name="novartis.com">https://www.novartis.com/research-development/research-loc ...
in 1988 as an Executive Director of clinical research. She later rose to become Senior Vice President of North American
oncology
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...
. During her tenure, she was responsible for the launch of blockbuster cancer therapy
Gleevec
Imatinib, sold under the brand names Gleevec and Glivec (both marketed worldwide by Novartis) among others, is an oral chemotherapy medication used to treat cancer. Imatinib is a small molecule inhibitor targeting multiple receptor tyrosine kin ...
(imatinib).
Millennium Pharmaceuticals
Dunsire was appointed CEO of
Millennium Pharmaceuticals
Takeda Oncology (originally Millennium Pharmaceuticals) is a biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is a fully owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical.
Takeda Oncology's research, development and commercialization act ...
(later
) in 2005, where she was known for her transformational leadership. Notably, she was the first female board member of Takeda when appointed in 2008. She left the company in 2013 after the role of CEO of Millennium was eliminated by Takeda and the formerly autonomous Millennium was integrated into the larger company.
EnVivo / FORUM Therapeutics / Xtuit
Dunsire served as the CEO for a Fidelty Biosciences-backed start-up, EnVivo Pharmaceuticals, starting in 2013. The company later changed its name to FORUM, developing late-state treatments for Alzheimer's Disease. When a Phase 3 clinical trial was unsuccessful, Dunsire left and joined Xtuit for one year.
H. Lundbeck A/S
Dunsire was appointed as the CEO of
Lundbeck
H. Lundbeck A/S (commonly known simply as Lundbeck) is a Danish international pharmaceutical company engaged in the research, development, manufacturing, marketing and sale of pharmaceuticals across the world. The company’s products are target ...
, a neuroscience-focused pharmaceutical company based in Denmark, in July 2018.
Awards
* 2018 - Biospace "10 Women CEOs Leading the Charge"
* 2013 - Boston CEO Conference Lifetime Achievement Award
* 2011 - MassBio Innovator Award
* 2009 - Healthcare Businesswomen's Association "Woman of the Year"
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunsire, Deborah
1963 births
Living people
Women corporate directors