Richard A. Morrison, Ph.D.
Rick Morrison received his B.S (1977) and Ph.D. (1982) degree in Pharmaceutics from the State University of New York at Buffalo. His formal training was focused on pharmacokinetics, PK/PD, and biopharmaceutics. Rick joined the Squibb Institute for Medical Research as a Senior Research Investigator in 1982. In increasing positions of responsibility at Squibb, he had direct and supervisory responsibility for conducting clinical, non-clinical, and investigative DMPK studies for several important cardiovascular products including captopril, nadolol, and fosinopril. In the late 1980s, Rick transitioned to DMPK support of drug discovery and also initiated basic research in the area of drug absorption and transporters. In the early 1990s, after the merger with Bristol Myers, he drove the design and implementation of the first automated caco-2 intestinal permeability screening system in the pharmaceutical industry to support Discovery. He left Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2002 as Director of DMPK.
Rick joined the Schering Plough Research Institute as Group Director, overseeing DMPK research for all Discovery programs. In this role, he was responsible for assuring that compounds nominated for development had the appropriate DMPK properties to succeed in the clinic and that DMPK development risks were well understood at the time of the nomination decision. Rick's approach of building close collaborations with chemistry, drug safety, biology, and pharmaceutics resulted in a dramatic decrease in DMPK-related compound attrition during Development. This function was coordinated through the corporate governance body - Research Leadership Committee, of which he was a core member. In 2009, after the Merck acquisition of Schering Plough, Rick expanded his responsibilities to cover DMPK discovery at both of Merck's large New Jersey sites. In this role, he was involved with programs in all major therapeutic areas, including oncology, cardiovascular, anti-infective, immunology, respiratory, and CNS. He retired from Merck as Distinguished Senior Scientist in 2013.
In 2013, Rick formed Morrison Pharmaceutical Consulting, LLC to continue to facilitate the discovery and development of new molecular entities for unmet medical needs. At Synergy Partners, his main focus is on optimizing the path from early hit identification through lead optimization in discovery and to apply translational PK/PD concepts to maximize the potential for success of proof-of-concept studies and ultimate progression to late phase development.
Rick joined the Schering Plough Research Institute as Group Director, overseeing DMPK research for all Discovery programs. In this role, he was responsible for assuring that compounds nominated for development had the appropriate DMPK properties to succeed in the clinic and that DMPK development risks were well understood at the time of the nomination decision. Rick's approach of building close collaborations with chemistry, drug safety, biology, and pharmaceutics resulted in a dramatic decrease in DMPK-related compound attrition during Development. This function was coordinated through the corporate governance body - Research Leadership Committee, of which he was a core member. In 2009, after the Merck acquisition of Schering Plough, Rick expanded his responsibilities to cover DMPK discovery at both of Merck's large New Jersey sites. In this role, he was involved with programs in all major therapeutic areas, including oncology, cardiovascular, anti-infective, immunology, respiratory, and CNS. He retired from Merck as Distinguished Senior Scientist in 2013.
In 2013, Rick formed Morrison Pharmaceutical Consulting, LLC to continue to facilitate the discovery and development of new molecular entities for unmet medical needs. At Synergy Partners, his main focus is on optimizing the path from early hit identification through lead optimization in discovery and to apply translational PK/PD concepts to maximize the potential for success of proof-of-concept studies and ultimate progression to late phase development.