Dr. Wierenga currently serves on boards for several biotechnology companies, including Concert Pharmaceuticals, Apricus Biosciences, Ocera Therapeutics, and Cytokinetics where he is also a director. He also serves on the scientific advisory board for Ferring Pharmaceuticals Research Institute. Most recently, Dr. Wierenga was the executive vice president R&D at Santarus from 2011 until its acquisition by Salix in 2014. Prior to that he held the positions of: executive vice president of R&D at Neurocrine Biosciences, chief executive officer at Syrrx (acquired by Takeda), senior vice president of worldwide pharmaceutical sciences, technologies and development at Parke-Davis/Warner Lambert, and held multiple positions at Upjohn Pharmaceuticals. He has led or participated in the research and development of more than 70 INDs, 15 NDAs and 15 marketed products, including Lipitor®, Neurontin®, Lyrica®, Cognex®, Ruconest®, Uceris® and Cerebyx®. He earned a B.A. from Hope College and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Stanford University.
