Patricia Walker, MD, PhD has joined Brickell Biotech, Inc. as President and Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Walker, a board-certified dermatologist specializing in medical and aesthetic dermatology, most recently served as the Chief Medical Officer for Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.

Over the past 10 years, Dr. Walker has played a key role in the development of new and important approved products in dermatology, including for Tazorac^®, Botox^® Cosmetic, Juvederm™, Hylaform^®, Captique^®, LAP-BAND^®, Inamed^® Silicone gel-filled breast implants, and Kybella^®.

“Dr. Walker’s deep expertise and leadership in research and development will be a valuable asset to Brickell as our novel compound for hyperhidrosis, BBI-4000, continues through the late-stage clinical development process,” said Brickell’s Chairman Charlie Stiefel. “With BBI-4000 already in a Phase 2b trial, and several clinical trials expected to initiate in the next year for our other programs, Dr. Walker is coming at the right time to help us leverage and build upon the great momentum we are experiencing.”

Dr. Walker received an MD and a PhD in Physiology and Biophysics from the University of Iowa and completed a residency in Dermatology and a research fellowship at the National Institute of Health’s Dermatology Branch. She is an active Committee Member for the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), is a member of the American Dermatologic Association, and holds medical licenses in Iowa and California.

“I’ve been following Brickell’s progress for some time and am impressed with their diversified pipeline of new molecular entities for various skin conditions,” said Dr. Walker. “There is a true scarcity of medical dermatology products in development, especially products that may be disruptive or cutting edge. This is the right time to be in medical dermatology development, and I’m looking forward to being part of the team that brings these promising compounds towards commercialization to meet the needs of patients.”

Brickell Biotech also announced the hiring of Elizabeth Hussey, PharmD, as Vice President of Product Development. Dr. Hussey joined Brickell from Stiefel (a GSK company), where she led early clinical and development activities for novel dermatology assets.

Dr. Hussey has prior experience in developing compounds across multiple therapeutic areas supporting numerous first-in-human administrations, as well as regulatory submissions, at GSK, Glaxo Wellcome and Glaxo, Inc. Dr. Hussey earned B.S. and Pharm.D degrees from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Clinical Research/Drug Development at UNC/Glaxo Inc.

“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Hussey to our team,” said Chairman Stiefel. “As we ramp up our clinical activities, Dr. Hussey’s insights – across all stages of drug development – will give us a further competitive edge.”