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Accelerating Therapeutics for COVID-19

April 8, 2020
On-Demand Webinar


The world is now facing an unprecedented and growing challenge with almost 400,000 cases of and 16,000+ deaths attributed to COVID-19 as of March 23rd.

To accelerate COVID-19 therapeutics to patients worldwide, we need a smarter and more modern approach to drug development. The COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, spearheaded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and Mastercard is coordinating R&D efforts to remove barriers to drug development and scale up to address this global pandemic.

Working in close partnership with other Accelerator collaborators, Certara is helping to advance therapeutics for COVID-19 through quantitative and integrated drug development approaches.  We are applying our deep experience and expertise in translational and clinical pharmacology, quantitative science, and regulatory strategy to support critical stage-gate decisions, development strategies, clinical trial designs, and dosing optimization for COVID-19.

Please watch this webinar to hear about:

  • Lessons we can apply from past viral pandemics
  • How smarter drug development accelerates therapeutics
  • Activities and learnings to date at the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator
  • Tools, protocols, and resources for research studies in development

The COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and Mastercard.

About Our Speakers

Dr. Dan Hartman, Director of Integrated Development, joined the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2012 and leads a team that provides technical expertise in product development, working closely with the foundation’s disease strategy teams to manage product pipelines from late discovery through registration by providing state-of-the-art input in the areas of quantitative sciences/pharmacology, chemical manufacturing, and regulatory strategy. From 2016-2018, he took on additional responsibility as the interim director of the Malaria program strategy, guiding the foundation’s efforts towards disease eradication.

Dr. Steven E. Kern is Deputy Director of Quantitative Sciences at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Quantitative Sciences group is focused on quantitative analysis to support program strategies for therapeutic projects that the foundation funds.

This effort extends across all therapeutic areas in which the foundation is involved, including efforts for pandemic preparedness.

Dr. Craig Rayner is President of Certara’s Integrated Drug Development and Strategic Consulting Services.

In this capacity, he supports a global team of clinical and quantitative pharmacologists, pharmacometricians, regulatory strategy and drug development scientists who create value for clients across the drug development ecosystem and, ultimately, accelerate patients’ access to medicines.  He holds an Adjunct Associate Professorship in Pharmaceutical Science (Monash University), and is broadly published in clinical pharmacology and also infectious diseases.

Dr. Fran Brown has extensive experience with strategic and operational global drug development from early discovery to filing and post-marketing, acquired through working at Hoffman-La Roche and Biovitrum. Fran possesses a broad knowledge of strategic drug discovery and development, with a special focus on development strategy and the application of model informed drug development.  She is a highly respected professional with proven leadership skills and 25 years of experience within pharmaceutical development and due diligence.

Thank you to the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics for their generous support of this webinar.