Darryle D Schoepp

Dr. Schoepp has over thirty years experience in the discovery and development of innovative Neuroscience therapeutics in pharmaceutical industry. This includes 20 years at Eli Lilly as a scientist and leader of Neuroscience research department, and 12 years at Merck as the Neuroscience research therapeutic area leader.

As head of Neuroscience research at Merck (2007-2018), his team built a pipeline of innovative first class agents for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, pain/migraine, and schizophrenia.Merck Neuroscience successfully developed and launched the first in class orexin receptor antagonist Suvorexant (Belsomra) for insomnia and created the novel first in class oral CGRP antagonists ubrogepant and atogepant currently in registration trials for migraine treatment and prevention (by Allergan). His group made important contributions to the pioneering trials of the BACE inhibitor verubecestat in prevention trials for Alzheimer’s disease. Most recently the Merck group advanced a promising novel mechanism through efficacy trials for schizophrenia.

As a scientist he has over 200 publications (>19,000 citations) and is an inventor of 15 US patents. He is recognized for having made major contributions in the investigation of glutamate receptor pharmacology and therapeutics with the discovery of novel first in class agents for psychiatric and neurological diseases. These include the first AMPA/kainate and metabotropic receptor negative and positive modulators (e.g. tezampanel, talampanel, LY354740, LY341595, eglumetad and pomoglumetad) investigated for migraine, pain, cognition, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia. He was a co-discoverer of the compound LY246736 (alipimovan/Entereg) a first in class peripherally restricted opioid antagonist for post-operative ileus.

Dr. Schoepp's honors include the 2002 Pharmacia / ASPET Award for Experimental Therapeutics for his research on the experimental therapeutics of metabotropic glutamate receptors in psychiatry, and 2007 Ray Fuller / ASPET Lecturer in Neurosciences in recognition of translational pharmacology work in the glutamate field.

Dr. Schoepp received his bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from North Dakota State University and his doctoral degree in Pharmacology and Toxicology from West Virginia University.