Paul M. Steed, Ph.D.

Senior Director, Discovery Biology

Primary Responsibilities:

Dr. Steed leads the Takeda San Diego (TSD) Discovery Biology department which incorporates in vitro, cell-based, and in vivo assays for compound evaluation, pharmacology, and translational medicine. His role includes overseeing the research activities of Enzyme Pharmacology, Cell Pharmacology, In vivo pharmacology, and Compound Management teams. Dr. Steed represents multiple dimensions of the company’s science and business fields. Internally, he provides strategic guidance for the groups he leads and externally, he interfaces with various parts of the Takeda organization and key opinion leaders worldwide to ensure that the goals of the organization are met in a timely fashion. Additionally, Dr. Steed plays an integral role in TSD drug discovery target selection and portfolio management.

Experience:

Before joining TSD, Dr. Steed worked at Nanovector, Inc. (Cary, NC) as Vice President of Research and Development. Prior to that, he was at Serenex, Inc. (Durham, NC; acquired by Pfizer in 2008) as Senior Director of Biology. There he played an essential role in designing and implementing research and development strategy at the drug discovery-focused company for multiple therapeutic areas. In his career, he has also had extensive involvement in strategic planning and business development, including a key role in Pfizer’s acquisition of Serenex, for which he delivered the acquisition-driving data package for the SNX-5422 Investigational New Drug (IND) submission. Prior to working in biotech, Dr. Steed spent over 10 years at Ciba-Geigy/Novartis as a senior scientist/fellow and Program Head where he led multi-disciplinary teams of scientists that included molecular biologists, biochemists, medicinal chemists, in vitro and in vivo pharmacologists, structural biologists, and molecular modelers. Dr. Steed’s diverse background in both biotechnology and big pharmaceutical companies has lead to the identification of potential drug discovery targets and molecules across multiple therapeutic areas including inflammation, oncology, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases, immunology, and neurology disorders.

Education:

• B.A. in Biology from Lafayette College
• Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Purdue University
• Postdoctoral Fellow at Ciba-Geigy Pharmaceuticals

Boards/Committees/Organizations:

• American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
• American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Accomplishments/Awards:

Dr. Steed has been involved in multiple IND’s moving into clinical trials. He particularly prides himself in having many high-impact scientific publications in addition to drug discovery leadership. Further, Dr. Steed’s background of having moved compounds into preclinical development in oncology, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and viral diseases is well suited to appropriately implement TSD’s world-class structure-based design technology for the discovery of game-changing medicines in multiple therapeutic areas.

In my own words:

• Aspirations for the Group I Lead:

  • We are moving into an era of more challenging biology in the drug discovery process. My aspirations are to continue to keep my group at the cutting edge, because the industry has entered a newer paradigm in drug discovery that is much more biology-focused. It is becoming increasingly challenging to overcome unmet medical needs, requiring more insights into disease pathology and biology. I strive to provide value for the projects we are working on and the new ones we decide to invest in. It’s all about mentoring and getting people to understand where the industry, the global organization, and TSD needs to go in order to be successful as well as where the group contributes to this goal. It’s important to make sure that everybody knows the critical path and that we stay focused to move forward.

• Why I Chose My Profession:

  • I naturally gravitated towards science and I am intensely practical. New drug discovery is the practical application of science and that is very attractive to me. It also fits in my personality very well. As an undergraduate, the head of the department was a key mentor for me and he helped recognize where my strengths lie. From there, he helped guide me along my path into graduate school and beyond. I also was fortunate to have an excellent mentor as a post-doctoral fellow who channeled my skills towards the drug discovery field.

• Favorite Quote:
  • If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. — John Quincy Adams
• The Other Side of Me:

  • I am passionate about my family; one thing we enjoy about San Diego is that we have family here. I also enjoy bicycle riding regularly. In addition, my hobby for a long time has been history, particularly the restoration of historic buildings and furniture. I have restored and renovated two historic houses as a hobby. There is reward in the hands-on work that I do, particularly when projects are completed properly because the results cannot be duplicated in modern homes. I enjoy researching and understanding historical perspectives from these projects and the fundamental architecture and quality/antique materials of historic homes can be stunning. These beautiful old structures are neglected for many years—decades sometimes—and just stripping them down and restoring them remotely close to what they used to look like is incredibly rewarding. Restoring these houses provided value and enjoyment for me, and it was also a challenge. Such restoration work is much like drug discovery research—it is all about creative problem solving.