Araz Raoof

Innovation is about questioning and upending the status quo. This collaborative, curious and courageous mindset to R&D has been the science-led driver for Araz Raoof across more than 25 years in global pharmaceutical drug discovery and early clinical development in multiple therapeutic areas. Senior roles in biopharma R&D management – within dynamic companies including Janssen, Tibotec and Elan – has led her to her current role as President of Ferring Research Institute and Senior Vice President Global Head of Drug Discovery & External Innovation at Ferring Pharmaceuticals. A global biopharmaceutical company that employs over 6,000 people in 56 countries, Araz is proud to steer its international team of scientists and clinicians in progressing the early pipeline and discovery of life-changing medicines. Leading virtual as well as cross-functional teams across multiple organizational levels, her mission is to inspire a fearless, creative and inclusive company culture, one that generates business success – where everyone is motivated by a combined passion for drug discovery and scientific innovation – to deliver transformational new medicines. With broad disease biology expertise in many therapeutic areas and a strong background in translational medicine, Araz has been instrumental in advancing multiple drug candidates from discovery through post-approval phase. • Araz holds a PhD in Pharmacology from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium and an International Executive MBA from the Smurfit Graduate School of Business, University College Dublin, Ireland. • She is the author and inventor of more than 90 scientific publications and patents and a member of numerous scientific bodies internationally.