Mohamed Hachicha, Ph.D.

Dr. Hachicha joined the Division of Translational Research (DTR) on May 2016 as a Scientific Project Manager for the Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network (BPN).  Dr. Hachicha brings to the the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) 15 years of industry experience in drug discovery and development, investigating and advancing novel therapies for the treatment of central nervous system disorders, auto-immune diseases, cancer and infectious diseases. Dr. Hachicha led multi-disciplinary drug development teams and delivered clinical development candidates. Dr. Hachicha communicates effectively across disciplines (Pharmacology, ADME/PK, Toxicology, CMC, Clinical and Business Development) to facilitate rapid translation of preclinical stage programs to the clinic. He wrote and reviewed non-clinical and clinical sections of regulatory documents (Investigators’ Brochures, briefing books, safety updates, IND/NDA submission documents) and addressed health authorities’ questions (FDA, Health Canada and EMA) for regulatory and marketing approvals. Prior to joining DTR, Dr. Hachicha served in the capacity of Vice President of Research and Development at Apricus Bio (San Diego, CA) and Innovus Pharmaceuticals (San Diego, CA) managing preclinical and clinical stage programs as well as supporting business development activities. Dr. Hachicha also served as an Executive Director of Discovery Biology, at Institut Pasteur Korea, where he led a team of principal investigators focusing on infectious disease and liver cancer.  As a Senior Principal Scientist in the Pharmacology and Drug Discovery Department at Forest Laboratories (now Allergan, New York, NY), Dr. Hachicha led multi-disciplinary teams to advance translational research programs pertaining to anxiety, depression and chronic pain. He was also a Principal Investigator in the Molecular Pharmacology Department at Purdue Pharma, L.P. (Cranbury, NJ), where he managed and coordinated the company’s multi-disciplinary discovery research programs in the field of chronic pain and autoimmune diseases. Dr. Hachicha began his career as a Research Scientist in the Discovery Department at Pharmacopeia, Inc. (Cranbury, NJ), and prior, conducted post-doctoral studies at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA) investigating the role of lipid mediators in the resolution of inflammatory response, where he authored key publications in the field of lipoxins.  Dr. Hachicha received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Immunology from Laval University, Canada.