MALVERN, Pa.– Venatorx Pharmaceuticals today announced that Scott McConnell, Pharm.D. has joined the Company as Vice President, Medical Affairs. With over 20 years’ experience in infectious disease, oncology, rare and orphan diseases and academia, Dr. McConnell will be responsible for leading the medical affairs function at Venatorx and will oversee the planning and execution of medical strategy, field medical engagement and scientific communications. Additionally, he and his team will be responsible for communicating scientific data to key opinion leaders and well as other infectious disease and critical care healthcare professionals to broaden awareness of, and support for, Venatorx’s pre-clinical- and clinical-stage programs.
“I am pleased to welcome Scott to Venatorx,” said President and CEO, Christopher J. Burns, Ph.D. “He brings a unique perspective to our therapeutic area having previously built medical affairs functions from the ground up and navigated several global product launches. I look forward to working with him to achieve our goal of bringing our antibacterial and antiviral drug candidates into the hands of physicians to effectively treat patients.”
Dr. McConnell graduated with a Pharm.D. from Creighton University School of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions after which he completed a one-year Pharmacotherapy Residency at Basset Healthcare and a two-year post-doctoral Infectious Disease Pharmacology Fellowship at The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Subsequently, Dr. McConnell served on faculty at both the University of Arkansas and Creighton University Pharmacy Schools, teaching infectious diseases and oncology with clinical practice sites in bone marrow transplantation, oncology/hematology, and infectious disease.
In 2006, Dr. McConnell joined Cubist Pharmaceuticals, where he held several medical affairs roles and remained at the company until 2015 when it was acquired by Merck & Co., Inc. Following the Cubist acquisition, Dr. McConnell built, led and/or managed Medical Affairs functions for several companies including Alkermes, Kaleido Biosciences, and Chiasma, the latter of which was acquired by Amryt Pharma in August 2021.
“I am delighted to be working at Venatorx and to be back in the infectious disease space. Now, more than ever, patients need therapies that address the growing problem of antimicrobial resistant organisms. Venatorx is at the forefront of that battle,” concluded Dr. McConnell.
