David is an experienced drug developer and biopharma industry executive. He is currently Director of the Centre for Technology & Development and Associate Dean at Duke-NUS Medical School. Prior to joining Duke-NUS, David was the New York Site-Head, Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer for Oncology Research at OSI Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for leading the cancer drug discovery and clinical-translational research efforts conducted by around 140 staff and scientists. David led OSI’s cancer research program from 2006-2013, which was focused on targeting key drivers of cancer development and disease progression. OSI was acquired in 2010 by Astellas Pharmaceuticals for $4 billion, and David led the integration and expansion of the OSI and the NY campus into Astellas-Japan research and global development.
Prior to joining OSI, David was a principal founder and Vice President of Archemix Corp (2001-2006). While in this capacity, David facilitated the development of two therapeutic aptamers currently in late-stage clinical development for treating wet and dry macular degeneration. David has 20 years of leadership experience in both the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, leading wide-ranging efforts in oncology, ophthalmic and cardiovascular drug discovery.
David completed his postdoctoral fellowship in structural biology at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, completed his Ph.D. work in The Graduate Department of Biochemistry at Brandeis University, and obtained his B.Sc. in Chemistry in 1981 from Lewis & Clark College, a liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon.