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As part of a roundtable discussion about the U.S. pharmaceutical industry last year for the BBC World Service Business Report, Douglas Abel ’83, then president and CEO of Tarpan Therapeutics, Inc., discussed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Drug Safety Oversight Board.
He recommended that the agency use a regulatory process balancing both safety and patients’ needs for improved therapies. The program was replayed on BBC affiliate radio stations worldwide.
After the merger between Manhattan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Tarpan Therapeutics, Inc., was finalized, Abel became CEO of Manhattan, which acquires and develops proprietary prescription drugs for large, underserved patient populations. Manhattan acquired Tarpan’s primary product candidate, PTH (1-34), a topical treatment for psoriasis and other dermatological ailments. Manhattan’s leading product, oleoyl estrone, is being developed to help treat obesity.
In October, the American Stock Exchange began trading Manhattan’s stock.
Abel, an A.B. chemistry graduate, began his career at Allergan Pharmaceuticals, marketing in its dermatology, ophthalmology, and neurology business. He left the company as director of marketing for Botox® to become vice president of the dermatology business unit at Biogen Idec. He received his MBA from Temple University.