MORRISVILLE, NC, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016 – Worldwide Clinical Trials has appointed Miroslav Backonja, M.D., as Senior Medical Director of Neuroscience, Medical and Scientific Affairs. Dr. Backonja, who brings more than two decades of experience to his new role, will serve as Worldwide’s global lead for its analgesia franchise.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Backonja to our team, who is a true opinion leader with a proven track record in analgesia clinical trials that have resulted in approvals for numerous innovative pain and neurology therapeutics. Dr. Backonja’s impressive background is an excellent complement to our well-establish expertise in Central Nervous System (CNS) clinical research. In his new role, he will spearhead our efforts to help sponsors bring ground-breaking pain medications to the market,” said Henry J. Riordan, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Medical and Scientific Affairs, Worldwide Clinical Trials.
Dr. Backonja has served as a principal investigator for numerous Phase I-III studies across a range of neuroscience and pain-related indications and was integral in the development of several human experimental models of pain. Prior to joining Worldwide, Dr. Backonja most recently served as Medical Director of Neuroscience for a phase one unit dedicated to pain research. He continues to serve as an Emeritus Professor of Neurology at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. In addition to his teaching duties as Professor of Neurology, he provided medical care to patients and pioneered human pain research methodology designed to facilitate translation from preclinical to early phases of development.
Board-certified in both neurology and pain medicine, Dr. Backonja completed his neurology residency and a pain medicine fellowship at the University of Wisconsin. He received his medical degree from the University of Zagreb, Croatia, and is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, the International Association for the Study of Pain, and the American Academy of Pain Medicine.
Dr. Backonja, who has more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, serves on the editorial boards for a number of pain journals, including Pain, Pain Medicine, the Journal of Pain, and Clinical Journal of Pain. He has received numerous awards, including being selected to receive the NIH Clinical Investigator Development Award and named as one of the “Best Doctors in America” in Pain and Neurology from 2006 to 2012.
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About Worldwide Clinical Trials
Worldwide Clinical Trials employs more than 1,400 professionals around the world, with offices in North and South America, Eastern and Western Europe, Russia and Asia. One of the world’s leading, full-service contract research organizations (CROs), we partner with sponsors in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries to deliver fully integrated clinical development and bioanalytical services, extending from first-in-human through phase IV studies. Grounded in medicine and science, we help sponsors move from medical discovery into clinical development and commercialization across a range of therapeutic areas, including neuroscience, cardiovascular diseases, immune-mediated inflammatory disorders (IMID), and rare diseases. For more information, visit Worldwide.com.