Aptuit Consulting is pleased to announce that Drs. Kei-Lai Fong and Mary Sherman have joined the company. Dr. Fong and Dr. Sherman bring to Aptuit Consulting extensive pharmaceutical experience in the drug discovery, drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, bioanalytical and immunoassays of small molecules and proteins. The appointments further Aptuit’s mission to provide customers with highly experienced scientists who can guide them through the entire drug development process.
“These appointments confirm our goal and commitment to provide our customers with a uniquely knowledgeable team of consultants, with in-depth knowledge of the drug development process following many years of hands-on experience in the pharmaceutical industry. I’m very pleased with their decisions to join our team,” commented Dr. William D. Kerns, Managing Director of Aptuit Consulting.
Dr. Mary Sherman Dr. Sherman, Associate Consultant, has extensive expertise in drug discovery and development, discovery lead optimization, lead selection, and preclinical drug development.
Dr. Sherman formerly served as Director of Drug Discovery Support at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where she focused on metabolism and pharmacokinetics. She successfully transitioned the unit from a reactive support group to a proactive strategies team, while enhancing team communications, increasing productivity, and instilling a strong sense of purpose and mission into the department’s culture.
Prior to Vertex, Dr. Sherman served as Director, ADME at MPI Research. In addition, she held positions in discovery research and preclinical development at Pharmacopea, Inc., Wyeth Research, and Merck-FrostCanada, over the course of 15 years. Dr. Sherman also has experience in performing IND-enabling studies and writing regulatory documents for the FDA.
Dr. Sherman holds a B.S. degree in Biochemistry from the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She is a member of ACS and AAPS.
Dr. Kei-Lai Fong Dr. Fong, Principal Consultant, has more than 25 years of preclinical and clinical experience, ranging from bioanalytics, pharmacokinetics, metabolism, and drug safety to drug discovery/development interface. She has been involved in submitting more than 90 IND and 10 NDA/PLA. Dr. Fong is recognized as an expert in the metabolism of proteins and small molecule drugs, bio- and immuno-assay methodologies, and unconventional animal pharmacokinetic models.
Prior to Aptuit, Dr. Fong served as Vice President of Analytical/DMPK at Calvert Laboratories; CEO and President of Pennsylvania BioLab; and Associate Director of Worldwide DMPK at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals. Her past responsibilities include the establishment of strategic approaches for biotechnology product development and scientific licensing and the strategic development of dedicated drug metabolism functions to support new drug discovery/development.
Dr. Fong received her Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Fong is an author and a co-author of more than 80 scientific publications. She is an elected member of AACR, charter member of ISSX, and member of ACS, AAPS, and ISTH.
