Author: Deborah Dunsire

Deborah Dunsire is an industry leader who brings more than 25 years of scientific, clinical, operational and commercial experience, and proven leadership in the biological and pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining FORUM Pharmaceuticals in 2013, she served as president and chief executive officer of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., now Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, from 2005 to 2013. During that period, she transformed the company into a biotechnology industry leader by focusing R&D, driving the development pipeline, fostering a culture of employee engagement and increasing the commercial mindset across the organization to enhance the commercial success of marketed products. The company was acquired by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited in 2008 for $8.8 billion – one of the largest biotech acquisitions at that time – and became Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company. Prior to leading Millennium, Deborah led the Novartis U.S. Oncology Business, playing a critical role in the broad development and successful launch of a number of products. Over 10 years, she increased the North American oncology revenues from $50 million to more than $2.2 billion. She served on the U.S. Pharmaceutical Executive Committee at Novartis. Deborah is currently a board member of Allergan, Inc., the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), Museum of Science (Boston), Massachusetts General Hospital Research Advisory Council, CancerCare (New York) and the Gabrielle’s Angels Foundation for Cancer Research. She has received numerous awards, including the 2001 American Cancer Society Excalibur Award, the 2009 Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association’s “Woman of the Year”, the 2011 MassBIO Innovator Award and the 2013 Boston CEO Conference Lifetime Achievement award. Deborah received her medical degree from the University of Witwatersand, Johannesburg, South Africa.