Primary Job Title Chief Medical Officer Primary Organization
Morria Biopharmaceuticals
Gender Male
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Dr. Harris started his career in the pharmaceutical industry in 1984 when he joined Sandoz (Novartis) in Switzerland as international clinical project leader and headed the clinical development of a major therapeutic peptide breakthrough therapy, octreotide (Sandostatin®), the first long-acting somatostatin analog approved worldwide for the
treatment of hormone-producing gastrointestinal endocrine tumors and growth hormone-producing tumors. Between 1995 and 2003, Dr. Harris worked in Schering-Plough and became a VP of Global Healthcare Research. As one of his key responsibilities, Dr. Harris led the Medical Affairs clinical development program of the anti-allergy medicine Claritin, which became the leading non-sedating antihistamine worldwide. Dr. Harris was also led the Medical Affairs of the clinical development program of other allergy franchise products Nasonex, Elocon, and Asmanex (which all contain mometasonefuroate- a synthetic corticosteroid with anti-inflammatory activity). His research on the effect of antihistamines on allergic inflammation and congestion associated with rhinitis and asthma has influenced the redefinition of these associated conditions and their treatment. From 2004 to 2006, Dr. Harris worked at Pfizer as Therapeutic Head of Endocrine Care in the Worldwide Medical Department. While at Pfizer, he oversaw the Medical Affairs clinical development program of the human recombinant growth hormone (GH) Genotropin for the treatment of pediatric short stature conditions and adult GH deficiency and of the GH antagonist Pegvisomant for the treatment of GH-producing pituitary tumors. In 2006, Dr. Harris became Chief Medical Officer for Manhattan Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company. From February 2006 to December 2007, Dr. Harris served as Senior VP and Chief Medical Officer at NPS Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company. Between July 2009 and August 2011, he was VP of Drug Development, Regenerative Medicine & Regulatory Affairs at Neostem Inc. Dr. Harris is currently an Adjunct Prof. of Pharmacology at NYU Lagone Medical School and Visiting Prof. of Medicine in the Department of Endocrinology at Liège University Medical School in Belgium. He was previously an Associate Prof. of Medicine at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, UCLA School of Medicine. Dr. Harris is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, the Royal College of Physicians (U.K.) and the Royal Society of Medicine. He has served on the editorial boards of several international peer reviewed medical journals and has authored over 120 peer reviewed scientific papers. Dr. Harris received his medical degree from the Louis Pasteur Faculty of Medicine, University of Strasbourg, France, and his Ph.D. in Endocrinology from Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands


