Thomas A. Pitler, Ph.D.
VP Business Development

Tom is responsible for business and corporate development, investor relations, finance and accounting, and commercial analysis.   

Tom joined Neurogen in 1995 with responsibilities for supervising Neurogen’s electrophysiology laboratory and evaluating drug targets. He joined the business group at Neurogen and was promoted to Director, Business Development in 1999, Senior Director, Business Development in 2001, and Vice President, Business Development in 2004.  Prior to Neurogen, he was on the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Medicine.  

Tom holds a B.A. in Biology from Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina and a Ph.D in Physiology from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

Stephen R. Davis
President & CEO

Steve assumed the role of President of Neurogen on September 14, 2007. He had previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

Steve has played key roles in the operations of Neurogen for thirteen years, and his contributions have been central to building the Company. He established drug discovery and development partnerships for Neurogen valued at over $400 million and has also guided the Company in raising over $200 million in equity financings, as well as providing critical business and marketing perspectives to scientific decisions.

Steve had been responsible for the business operations of Neurogen, including the business development, finance, and legal functions of the Company. Prior to joining Neurogen as Chief Financial Officer in 1994, he practiced as a corporate and securities attorney with Milbank, Tweed, Hadley and McCloy. At Milbank, Mr. Davis focused on transactions which raised capital in public and private markets for established companies, as well as the formation of numerous joint ventures and alliances. He began his career with Arthur Andersen & Co., where he focused on auditing and advising clients in regulated industries.

Mr. Davis holds a B.S. in accounting from Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.

George D. Maynard, Ph.D.
Vice President, Early Development

George is responsible for the full range of functions required to advance compounds from the preclinical development stage into Phase 1 clinical studies, or to human testing, including pharmaceutical sciences, process chemistry, and preclinical safety. He joined the medicinal chemistry group at Neurogen in 1997 as Senior Research Fellow and assumed several positions of increasing responsibility at the Company, being promoted to Executive Director, Chemistry in 2006.

Before joining Neurogen, George had served as Senior Associate Scientist at Hoechst Marion Roussel Inc., Cincinnati Research Institute, where he was a discovery chemistry project team leader. Prior to obtaining his Ph.D., he worked as a chemist at E.I. Du Pont de Nemours & Co., Experimental Station.

George holds a B.S. degree in chemistry, summa cum laude, from Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio and a PhD in organic chemistry from The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.

Alan J. Hutchison, Ph.D.
EVP Discovery Research

Al started with Neurogen in 1989, and has been the cornerstone of our medicinal chemistry and informatics initiatives, where he was instrumental in developing our Accelerated Intelligent Drug Discovery (AIDD™) technology. Al has helped Neurogen become a world leader in developing compounds for challenging drug targets.

Al is responsible for Neurogen’s drug discovery operations, including our chemistry, biology, and discovery technologies organizations. Prior to joining Neurogen, Al was Manager of Neuroscience Chemistry and a Distinguished Research Fellow at Ciba-Geigy. Previously he had served as a research scientist at Pfizer Inc, where he worked on anti-diabetic agents.

Al holds a B.S. degree in chemistry from Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey and was awarded his Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard University in Massachusetts.

James E. Krause, Ph.D.
SVP Biology

Jim is responsible for the discovery biology and in vivo pharmacology functions of the Company. Neurogen’s expertise in cellular functional assays are key discriminators in our ability to rapidly and cost effectively screen for active compounds during the drug discovery process. Jim came to Neurogen in 1997 after an academic career as a recognized researcher in the field of neuroscience

Jim’s research has focused on investigating the structure and function of G-protein coupled receptors and ion channels that are predominantly expressed in the nervous and endocrine systems of the body. These studies have encompassed: receptor molecular cloning, functional expression, structure-activity relationships evaluations, physiological functions and the regulation of gene expression in the central nervous system. Prior to joining Neurogen he held a succession of positions of increasing responsibility at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. He was a tenured faculty member in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, and most recently was Professor of Neurobiology and Co-Director of the Washington University Medical Scientist Training Program.

Jim holds a B.S. degree in biology and a Ph.D in physiological chemistry from the University of Wisconsin.

Arunee Changchit, Ph.D.
Vice President, Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics

Arunee leads the Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics department at Neurogen, and is responsible for a full range of drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic studies in support of drug candidate selection and regulatory submissions. She joined Neurogen in 1992 as Senior Scientist and assumed positions of increasing responsibility at the Company, to Director in 1998 and then to Senior Executive Director in 2004. She had previously served as Senior Research Pharmacokineticist at Marion Merrell Dow in Cincinnati and as Associate Professor of Forensic Medicine at Chulalongkorn University Medical School in Bangkok, Thailand.

Arunee holds a B.S. degree in Pharmacy from Chiengmai University in Thailand, a Ph.D. in Toxicology from the University of Kentucky in Lexington, and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, also from the University of Kentucky. She also was a Clinical Pharmacology Fellow at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver.

Bertrand L. Chenard, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Chemistry

Bert has been responsible for medicinal chemistry since joining the Company in September 2001 and recently added the process research function to his span of control. As Vice President Chemistry, he has been responsible for directing the discovery of biologically active chemical compounds to become drug candidates ready for clinical development. During process research, Neurogen chemists seek to simplify complex chemical processes to allow for the efficient synthesis and scale-up of drug material for use in the development process.

Before joining Neurogen, Bert was employed at Pfizer Inc for 15 years, where as a research advisor and project coordinator, he was recognized as a leading authority in the area of central nervous system compounds, specifically those modulating excitatory amino acid receptors as potential treatments for pain and traumatic brain injury. He began his career in DuPont’s Central Research Department as a research scientist in exploratory organic chemistry. At DuPont, he discovered several specialized reagents (materials used to transform one chemical substance into another), including TMSOK, a popular reagent used to prepare organic acid salts.

Kenneth J. Sprenger, M.D., M.B.B.Ch
Vice President, Clinical Development and Operations

Ken has been responsible for all clinical development activities for our most advanced compound, adipiplon, for the treatment of insomnia--eight clinical studies in over 600 subjects, including two successful Phase 2b studies announced in June 2007. He has also been a key contributor to building the Company’s clinical development infrastructure, which has been critical to Neurogen’s transition from an early-stage discovery company to a mid-stage drug development firm.

Ken joined Neurogen in January 2005 as Senior Director, Clinical Development and Operations and was promoted to Executive Director the following year. Before joining Neurogen, he had served as Global Clinical Leader for new chemical entities at Bayer Pharmaceuticals in West Haven, Connecticut, where he headed clinical development for vardenafil (Levitra®) and was also closely involved with registration, launch, and marketing planning. Vardenafil was approved by the FDA in 2003. Previously Ken was Medical Director for Bayer in South Africa, where he was responsible for the Company’s Pharmaceutical Medical Department and Bayer’s medical affairs in African countries. Prior to his experience at Bayer, he practiced as a pediatrician and pediatric cardiologist at hospitals in Durban and Cape Town.

Ken holds a B.Sc. in medicine and his M.B.B.Ch. from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. He also holds a doctorate in immunology from the University of Cape Town.

Ricardo is responsible for leading Neurogen’s Toxicology Department, ensuring that each of the Company’s drug programs is supported with the technical and strategic expertise to execute appropriate GLP and non-GLP toxicology studies. He is also responsible for seeking appropriate enabling technologies and biomarker strategies that will enhance Neurogen’s research and development capabilities.

Ricardo joined Neurogen in 2006. Prior to joining Neurogen, he held positions of increasing responsibility at Pfizer, most recently as Executive Director of Pathology, and was previously with The Upjohn Company. He was also a professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University.

He holds a D.V.M. degree from Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogata, Columbia and a Ph.D. from Cornell University, New York State School of Veterinary Medicine, Pathology Department. He is board certified in Veterinary Pathology (ACVP).

Srdjan (Serge) Stankovic, M.D.
Executive Vice President & Chief Development Officer

Serge’s responsibilities include clinical development, preclinical development, and regulatory affairs.

Serge joined Neurogen in 2008.  Prior to Neurogen, he was Vice President, Worldwide Clinical Research at Cephalon, Inc. in Frazer, Pennsylvania.  Previously, he held clinical positions with increasing responsibility at UCB Pharma, Inc., including Vice President, US Clinical Development and also at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical R&D, LLC as Senior Director and Compound Development Team Leader.  Serge began his career as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Belgrade and then became an Instructor in Psychiatry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. 

Serge earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Belgrade in Serbia and Master of Science in Public Heath (Epidemiology) degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. 

James E. Krause, Ph.D.
SVP Biology

Jim is responsible for the discovery biology and in vivo pharmacology functions of the Company. Neurogen’s expertise in cellular functional assays are key discriminators in our ability to rapidly and cost effectively screen for active compounds during the drug discovery process. Jim came to Neurogen in 1997 after an academic career as a recognized researcher in the field of neuroscience

Jim’s research has focused on investigating the structure and function of G-protein coupled receptors and ion channels that are predominantly expressed in the nervous and endocrine systems of the body. These studies have encompassed: receptor molecular cloning, functional expression, structure-activity relationships evaluations, physiological functions and the regulation of gene expression in the central nervous system. Prior to joining Neurogen he held a succession of positions of increasing responsibility at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. He was a tenured faculty member in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, and most recently was Professor of Neurobiology and Co-Director of the Washington University Medical Scientist Training Program.

Jim holds a B.S. degree in biology and a Ph.D in physiological chemistry from the University of Wisconsin.