Medication Development Researcher Phil Skolnick Leads NIDA Drug Discovery Efforts

Phil Skolnick, Ph.D., D.Sc. (Hon.), a leader in the worlds of corporate and academic drug research, has been appointed director of the NIDA Division of Pharmacotherapies and Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse (DPMCDA). Dr. Skolnick was previously a research professor of psychiatry at New York University Langone Medical Center. He served as chief scientific officer at DOV Pharmaceutical, Inc., from 2001–2009. Under his leadership, DOV Pharmaceutical discovered and developed novel reuptake inhibitor platforms, including the first triple (norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine) reuptake inhibitor tested in humans. These compounds can be targeted to a wide variety of neuropsychiatric disorders ranging from depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to pain and obesity. At NIDA, he will lead a team that stimulates and conducts all phases of medication development from synthesis and screening of potential drug entities to preparing submissions for New Drug Applications. DPMCDA funds research and development through peer-reviewed grants and contracts, as well as interagency agreements to support the medication development process and clinical trial infrastructure. Dr. Skolnick first joined the National Institutes of Health in 1972 as a staff fellow in what is now the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and worked there and at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism until he accepted a position at Eli Lilly in 1997.