Turing Pharmaceuticals AG announced that life sciences executive and medical researcher Eliseo Oreste Salinas, MD, MSc,  has joined the company as president of research and development.

Dr. Salinas, who holds a medical degree as well as a masters in pharmacology, brings a record of significant accomplishments in the pharmaceutical industry, and extensive clinical experience in psychiatry.

Dr. Salinas has played a leadership role in numerous programs for a range of diseases and disorders, with a concentration on central nervous system conditions including depression and anxiety, schizophrenia, epilepsy, stroke, Parkinson’s, attention deficit disorder and Alzheimer’s disease. Fifteen separate drug programs under his direction led to approvals by the Food and Drug Administration and international regulatory bodies.

He arrives as Turing prepares to begin clinical trials for several of its drugs, including an innovative intranasal formulation for ketamine to treat severe depression and suicidality.

“We are pleased to welcome Eliseo Salinas to our leadership team,” said Turing founder and chairman Martin Shkreli. “Eliseo combines proven capabilities to bring important new treatments to patients and their physicians, with a deep understanding of the patient and physician communities. His appointment is another major step as we build Turing’s capabilities for the long-term, advance our existing pipeline and work to create and acquire new assets.”

Dr. Salinas joins Turing from Relmada Therapeutics, a New York-based clinical stage drug company focused primarily on pain management; he served as Relmada’s president and chief scientific officer as well as head of R&D. Previously he was executive vice president and director of R&D for Newark, CA-based Stem Cells, Inc.