Healthcare >> CEO Interviews >> June 2, 2004
WILLIAM H. KOSTER joined Neurogen Corporation in 2001 as President and
Chief Executive Officer and has acted to focus the company's strategic
vision as well as implementing operational improvements. Mr. Koster has
distinguished himself over a 30-year career in the pharmaceutical
industry as a scientist, senior executive, team builder and leader. He
progressed through positions of increasing responsibility at Bristol-
Myers Squibb, and as Senior Vice President for Applied Discovery and
Exploratory Development, he shaped scientific strategy and drove
discovery and exploratory productivity to build a strong pipeline of
innovative products in several disease management areas. He more than
doubled the output of drug discovery while incorporating advances from
emerging technologies. Finally, as Senior Vice President for Science and
Technology Strategy and Acquisition, he was responsible for the
company's science and technology alliance and acquisition strategy,
scientific intelligence, and intellectual property strategy. Utilizing
his broad experience in the complete spectrum of the pharmaceutical
process, from drug discovery to development, Mr. Koster serves as a
member of The National Council for Harvard Medicine, and has served on
the Keystone Symposia Scientific Board, and the Board of the Robert Wood
Johnson Health Care Corporation. He has also received the Thomas Alva
Edison Award from the R&D Council of New Jersey for his role in the
discovery of the antibiotic Azactam (generic name: aztreonam). He holds
a BS degree in Chemistry from Colby College in Maine and a PhD in
Organic Chemistry from Tufts University in Massachusetts. Profile
Dr. Koster: In terms of our drug discovery platform and Neurogen itself,
over the years, we've really built a strong
