Gender Male
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Anthony Altar serves as the Chief Science Officer for Assurex Health, Inc. Dr. Altar received his Ph.D. degree with honors in psychology from UC Santa Barbara.
While a post-doctoral scientist and instructor at UC Irvine, he pioneered image analysis of receptor-drug binding in brain, including receptors labeled by antipsychotic drugs. As team
leader at Ciba-Geigy, he identified the serotonin/dopamine receptor binding profile of atypical antipsychotics, known as the SDA concept. His research at Genentech and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals supported clinical trials for brain-derived neurotrophic factors including BDNF in diabetic neuropathy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. His teams were first to discover BDNF effects on neuronal sprouting, metabolism, and behavior, including efficacy in depression models.
As global director for neuroscience at Otsuka, he managed the USA and Japan neuroscience teams which, with Bristol Myers Squibb, resulted in FDA approval for Abilify. As CSO and president of Psychiatric Genomics, Inc., his teams discovered gene expression signatures of schizophrenia and validated drug targets for its control.
Dr. Altar established the initial operation of The Biomarkers Consortium within the Foundation for NIH, and developed relationships with PhRMA, BIO, the NIH, FDA, and patient advocacy organizations. Most recently, in collaboration with Alere, Inc. and the Blanchette Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, he established the Alzheimer's Diagnostic Laboratory whose members developed diagnostic assays for the AD form of dementia, and initiated multi-site clinical trials to broaden their application.
Dr. Altar has published 125 neuroscience and drug discovery articles in journals including Science and Nature. He has consulted for pharmaceutical, biotech, government, and private practice in psychiatry and neurodegenerative disease drug discovery.
