Aclaris Therapeutics Announces Key Hires

Aclaris Therapeutics announced the expansion of its executive leadership team with the appointment of David Gordon, MB ChB, as chief medical officer. Dr. Gordon will report to president and chief executive officer, Dr. Neal Walker, and will lead Aclaris’ clinical research and medical affairs functions. 

Christopher Powala, chief regulatory and development officer, has added Elaine Morefield, Ph.D to his team as director, Product Quality. Product Quality was Dr. Morefield’s area of focus for more than eight years at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"We are excited to have David join the leadership team at this critical time when we are expanding the number of clinical programs for our pipeline of JAK inhibitors and preparing to initiate a Phase 3 program for common warts," said Dr. Walker.  "David has a wealth of experience developing first-in-class treatments and drugs with stand-out clinical profiles,"

Prior to joining Aclaris, Dr. Gordon was senior vice president and head of Dermatology Research and Development at GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK). Over eighteen years at GSK, he led teams responsible for all stages of research from drug discovery through development and post-approval. 

"The time I have spent in immuno-inflammation and dermatology has taught me about both the impact of dermatological diseases and how we can apply our knowledge of science to address the needs of these patients," said Dr. Gordon. "I am pleased to be joining Aclaris, a company that is passionate about finding solutions for these patients by developing and commercializing new therapies for dermatologic conditions, including diseases for which no FDA-approved medications exist." 

 
Aclaris also welcomes the addition of Dr. Elaine Morefield. While at the FDA, Dr. Morefield managed the New Drug Application CMC review process and implementation of FDA’s quality by design (QbD) effort. Dr. Morefield’s 30 years of pharmaceutical product development experience also includes positions at Wyeth, Schering-Plough, DSM, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. 

"I share Dr. Gordon’s enthusiasm for contributing to the efforts of Aclaris to develop new treatments for underserved dermatologic diseases," said Dr. Morefield.

"We are thrilled that Dr. Morefield has joined Aclaris and is contributing her considerable expertise in regulatory strategy and unique insight into FDA," adds Christopher Powala.