25 January 2018 - - New Haven, Connecticut-based rare disorders treatment specialist Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN) has appointed Deborah Dunsire, M.D. to its board of directors as a new independent director, the company said.
Dunsire is a proven leader in the biopharmaceutical industry with three decades of experience and a successful track record of growing businesses, fostering R and D and commercial development, and creating shareholder value.
Dunsire served as president and chief executive officer of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 2005-2013, where she led the transformation of the company into a biotechnology industry leader.
Prior to Millennium, which became Takeda Oncology, she led the Novartis North America Oncology Business, which during her ten-year tenure grew in revenues from USD50 m to more than USD 2.2bn, and she served for eight years with Sandoz AG.
Dunsire currently serves as president and chief executive officer of Xtuit Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics. She also serves on the boards of Xtuit and Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Inc., and previously served on the boards of Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Allergan, Inc. and Forum Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
She received her medical degree from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Alexion is focused on developing and delivering life-transforming therapies for patients with devastating and rare disorders. The company has developed and commercializes the first and only approved complement inhibitor to treat patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome.