Tris Pharma Announces Appointment of Dr. Mahdi Fawzi as Top R&D Executive

MONMOUTH JUNCTION, N.J., Jan. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Tris Pharma, an emerging specialty pharmaceutical company announced joining of a highly regarded Big Pharma executive Dr. Mahdi Fawzi to its leadership position as the Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of R&D including Regulatory Affairs.  

Throughout his career Dr. Fawzi has helped create a huge value as exemplified having many blockbuster drugs developed under his leadership such as Lipitor®, Enbrel®, Protonix®, Effexor XR®, Rapamune®, and Pristiq® among other.  Most recently Dr. Fawzi was President, Global Research & Development at Warner Chilcott where he led approval of Atelvia™ and Loestrin 24Fe, and managed integration of P&G's Pharmaceutical R&D operation. From 1995 to 2009, Dr. Fawzi was part of senior leadership team at Wyeth including last five years as Executive Vice President of Preclinical Development. Under his leadership Wyeth advanced 91 new molecules, filed 70 INDs, and 10 NDAs over last seven years prior to Pfizer merger. He oversaw 1300 scientists worldwide and managed a budget of over a quarter billion dollars. While at Wyeth, he won several prestigious industry awards and was one of the four finalists in 2004 for the Pharmaceutical Executive of the Year Award. He also held senior management positions at Warner Lambert and P&G. He is an author or co-author of over 50 publications and awarded more than 80 patents. He is a pharmacist by education and earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry at University of Michigan.

"We are fortunate to have someone of Dr. Fawzi's caliber lead Tris R&D. Mahdi will lead our development, strengthen research base of various technology initiatives that are underway, direct clinical and regulatory disciplines," said Ketan Mehta, Tris' President and CEO. "Dr. Yu-Hsing Tu, who has led R&D for last ten years will focus on product development and report to Mahdi." 

"I am truly excited to be part of Tris' pioneering work involving new technologies, especially OralXR+ platform and its application in liquid and other unique dosage forms," stated Dr. Mahdi Fawzi. "Tris has accomplished a great deal in its relatively short history and I look forward to building upon the successes Dr. Tu and the R&D team has had to date."

About Tris Pharma

Tris Pharma is an emerging specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of drug delivery technologies based products. Through its OralXR+ platform, Tris has pioneered the delivery of sustained release in the liquid, chewable/ODT and strip dosage forms so patients do not have to swallow a pill. Tris' Nobuse™ platform provides abuse-deterrence for opioids and other abuse-prone drugs. Tris' R&D and manufacturing facilities are located in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, USA. For more information, please visit www.trispharma.com.

SOURCE Tris Pharma