Scott J. Hecker, Ph.D.
Vice President, Chemistry

Dr. Hecker has 24 years of industry experience in drug discovery and development, with a large portion of this time managing significant chemistry groups. Prior to joining Mpex, Dr. Hecker was Vice President of Chemistry at Metabasis Therapeutics, where from 2003 to 2009 he oversaw the discovery and early development of drug candidates for diabetes, hyperlipidemia and hepatitis C. Before that, he was Vice President of Chemistry at Essential Therapeutics (formerly Microcide Pharmaceuticals), where from 1993-2003 he led teams in the discovery of novel anti-infective drug candidates and was involved in moving several of these compounds into clinical development. Dr. Hecker began his industrial career at Pfizer, as a medicinal chemist in antibacterial drug discovery from 1985-1993. Dr. Hecker's research has resulted in over 35 publications and 23 U.S. patents. Dr. Hecker holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley and a B.A. in Chemistry from Wesleyan University.