Steven M. Paul

{{Short description|American neuroscientist and pharmaceutical executive}}

{{distinguish|text= Steve Paul and Steven Paul. For the alternative spelling see Stephen Paul (disambiguation)}}

Steven M. Paul is an American neuroscientist and pharmaceutical executive. Paul was the former CEO, president, and chairman of Karuna Therapeutics.{{Cite web |title=Where Are They Now? Karuna Therapeutics |url=https://www.lifescienceleader.com/doc/where-are-they-now-karuna-therapeutics-0001 |access-date=2024-01-27 |website=www.lifescienceleader.com}}

Career

Paul received his bachelor's, master's, and medical degree from Tulane University.{{Cite web |title=Neuroscientist, pharmaceutical executive Dr. Steven Paul named to Board of Tulane {{!}} Tulane University News |url=https://news.tulane.edu/pr/neuroscientist-pharmaceutical-executive-dr-steven-paul-named-board-tulane |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=news.tulane.edu|date=6 July 2018 }} Following a residency in psychiatry at the University of Chicago, he joined the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in 1976. In 1982, Paul and his colleague, Phil Skolnick, published their discovery that the ethyl ester of beta carboline-3-carboxylic acid (beta-CCE) triggered anxiety in people; the work was recognized as an example of the growing ability of neuroscientists to understand the biochemistry of emotions.{{cite news|last1=Schmeck, Jr|first1=Harold M.|title=The Biology of Fear and Anxiety: Evidence Points to Chemical Triggers|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/07/science/the-biology-of-fear-and-anxiety-evidence-points-to-chemical-triggers.html?pagewanted=all|work=The New York Times|date=7 September 1982}} In 1989, he was the senior scientist on a paper published in Nature that undercut the claim that mutations in a gene on chromosome 11 caused bipolar disorder, which previously had been hailed as evidence that studies of genetics would lead to definitive biomarkers for mental illnesses.{{cite news|last1=Schmeck|first1=Harold M. Jr.|title=Scientists Now Doubt They Found Faulty Gene Linked to Mental Illness|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/07/science/scientists-now-doubt-they-found-faulty-gene-linked-to-mental-illness.html?pagewanted=all|work=The New York Times|date=7 November 1989}} Around this time, he became the scientific director of intramural research at NIMH.{{cite news|last1=Goleman|first1=Daniel|title=Research on Brain Leads to Pursuit Of Designer Drugs|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/19/science/research-on-brain-leads-to-pursuit-of-designer-drugs.html|work=The New York Times|date=19 November 1996}}

Paul moved to Eli Lilly and Company in 1993 as vice president for central nervous system discovery research and decision-phase medical research. He was described by a New York Times reporter in 1996 as being "one of those at the forefront of the development of the coming breed of psychiatric medications." In 1998 he was named group vice president, therapeutic area discovery research and clinical investigation, and by 2003 he was Lilly's executive vice president for science and technology and president of Lilly Research Laboratories.{{cite news|last1=Harris|first1=Gardiner|title=Cialis, Lilly's Entry in Impotence Market, Is Approved|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/22/business/cialis-lilly-s-entry-in-impotence-market-is-approved.html|work=The New York Times|date=22 November 2003}} He helped organize cooperation and funding from pharmaceutical companies in establishing the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, a non-proprietary collaborative research effort to establish imaging biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease.{{cite news|last1=Kolata|first1=Gina|title=Rare Sharing of Data Led to Results on Alzheimer's|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/13/health/research/13alzheimer.html?pagewanted=all|work=The New York Times|date=12 August 2010}}

In the early 2000s, Paul helped lead the company toward a new model of drug discovery and development that focused on getting proof of concept as early as possible in the research process, in order to avoid failures in Phase II clinical trials.{{cite news|last1=Berenson|first1=Alex|title=Blockbuster Drugs Are So Last Century|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/03/business/yourmoney/blockbuster-drugs-are-so-last-century.html|work=The New York Times|date=3 July 2005}}{{cite journal|last1=Paul|first1=SM|last2=Mytelka|first2=DS|last3=Dunwiddie|first3=CT|last4=Persinger|first4=CC|last5=Munos|first5=BH|last6=Lindborg|first6=SR|last7=Schacht|first7=AL|title=How to improve R&D productivity: the pharmaceutical industry's grand challenge.|journal=Nature Reviews. Drug Discovery|date=March 2010|volume=9|issue=3|pages=203–14|pmid=20168317|doi=10.1038/nrd3078|doi-access=free}} As part of that effort he helped establish Lilly Chorus, an autonomous business unit that was created to design and execute studies that would allow drug candidates to "fail early" instead of lingering in a company's pipeline.{{cite journal|last1=Bonabeau|first1=E|last2=Bodick|first2=N|last3=Armstrong|first3=RW|title=A more rational approach to new-product development.|journal=Harvard Business Review|date=March 2008|volume=86|issue=3|pages=96–102, 134|pmid=18411967}}{{cite journal|title=An Audience with: Steven Paul|journal=Nature Reviews. Drug Discovery|date=January 2009|volume=8|issue=1|pages=14|doi=10.1038/nrd2800|pmid=19116623|last1=Paul|first1=S.|s2cid=21916329|doi-access=free}}{{cite web|last1=Henderson|first1=Rebecca|last2=Reavis|first2=Cate|title=Eli Lilly: Recreating Drug Discovery for the 21st Century|url=https://mitsloan.mit.edu/LearningEdge/CaseDocs/07-043-Recreating-Drug-Discovery.pdf|publisher=MIT Sloan School of Management|date=March 13, 2008}}{{cite journal|last1=Owens|first1=PK|last2=Raddad|first2=E|last3=Miller|first3=JW|last4=Stille|first4=JR|last5=Olovich|first5=KG|last6=Smith|first6=NV|last7=Jones|first7=RS|last8=Scherer|first8=JC|title=A decade of innovation in pharmaceutical R&D: the Chorus model.|journal=Nature Reviews. Drug Discovery|date=January 2015|volume=14|issue=1|pages=17–28|doi=10.1038/nrd4497|pmid=25503514|s2cid=8067609}} He also led Lilly's work on Alzheimer's drugs, which however dramatically failed in Phase III clinical trials.{{cite news|last1=Wall|first1=J.K.|title=Alzheimer's quest puts Lilly to test|url=http://www.ibj.com/articles/36018-alzheimer-s-quest-puts-lilly-to-test|work=Indiana Business Journal|date=August 11, 2012}}{{cite news|last1=Taylor|first1=Phil|title=Alzheimer's hopes dashed as Lilly gives up on amyloid drug solanezumab|url=http://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/alzheimer-s-hopes-dashed-as-lilly-gives-up-amyloid-drug-solanezumab|work=FierceBiotech|date=November 23, 2016|language=en}} Paul is also an adjunct professor of psychiatry and neurology at Washington University of St. Louis School of Medicine.{{Cite web |title=Steve Paul |url=https://www.thirdrockventures.com/people/steve-paul |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=Thirdrockventures |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Steven Paul |url=https://profiles.wustl.edu/en/persons/steven-paul |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=Research Profiles at Washington University School of Medicine |language=en}}

=Boards and memberships=

Paul is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine.{{cite web|title=Paul profile as Alnyam Board Member|url=http://quotes.wsj.com/ALNY/company-people/executive-profile/109887663|publisher=Wall Street Journal|accessdate=1 March 2017}}

As of 2017 he was on the board of directors for Butler University, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, and the Eli Lilly & Co. Foundation. As of 2017 he was also on the board of directors of Alnylam, SAGE Therapeutics, Tal Medical, Sigma-Aldrich, Karuna Therapeutics, Voyager Therapeutics, Constellation Pharmaceuticals, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, and DemeRx.

He is also an elected fellow emeritus of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) and served as ACNP President (1999).{{cite web |title=CURRICULUM VITAE STEVEN MARC PAUL, M.D |website=Food and Drug Administration |url=https://www.fda.gov/media/85176/download |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306061718/https://www.fda.gov/media/85176/download |archive-date=March 6, 2021 |url-status=dead}}{{Cite web | title=Archived copy | url=https://www.cipherbio.com/data-viz/person/24044/Steven%2BPaul | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209051312/https://www.cipherbio.com/data-viz/person/24044/Steven+Paul | archive-date=2021-02-09}} As of 2020, he was on the board of directors or is a trustee of several organizations, including serving as chairman of the Board of the Foundation for the NIH (FNIH) {{Cite web|url=https://fnih.org/about/directors/steven-paul|title = Steven M. Paul, M.D. | the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health}} and as a Director of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals,{{Cite web|url=https://www.alnylam.com/about-alnylam/alnylam-leadership|title=The Alnylam® Leadership Team|website=www.alnylam.com}} Sage Therapeutics,{{Cite web|url=https://investor.sagerx.com/board-directors/steven-paul-md|title = Steven Paul, M.D. | Board of Directors | Sage Therapeutics, Inc}} Voyager Therapeutics {{Cite web|url=https://www.voyagertherapeutics.com/about-us/board-of-directors/|title = Voyager Therapeutics}} and Karuna Pharmaceuticals.{{Cite web|url=https://karunatx.com/about-us/|title=About Us • Karuna|website=Karuna}} He has also served as a member of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)

References

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