Sam Kongsamut

Sam has over 20 years of pharmaceutical R&D and business development experience at a succession of five different companies (Hoechst-Roussel Pharmaceuticals Inc, Hoechst Marion Roussel, Aventis, Sanofi-Aventis, now Sanofi), experiencing a company purchase, a merger of equals, a takeover, and a "transformation", all while remaining in Bridgewater, NJ. Sam managed various-sized groups of scientists in biochemical pharmacology that served multiple project teams in the neuroscience area, and was a member of the CNS Board that managed the CNS project portfolio. He led or worked on a variety of multi-disciplinary drug discovery and development projects covering a range of technologies and therapeutic indications in neuroscience and aging (OCD, anxiety-depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, sleep disorders, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, stroke, hearing loss, pain, circadian rhythm disorders, urology, musculoskeletal disorders), helping to translate animal pharmacology to human pharmacology, including being involved with two marketed drugs that are now helping patients. From 2009-2012, Sam was Director of External Innovation at Sanofi-Aventis, using his experience to identify opportunities for collaboration and licensing for broad therapeutic interests within the Aging Unit. Since leaving Sanofi in 2012, Sam founded Rudder Serendip LLC, a consulting practice that serves clients at universities, foundations and biotechnology companies with advice on R&D plans and business development. Sam obtained a PhD at the University of Chicago and received postdoctoral training at Cornell and Yale Universities. More detailed information can be found here.