John Amatruda, MD

Dr Amatruda received his BA from Yale University, his MD from Medical College of Wisconsin, and did his internship and residency in Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and his Fellowship in Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr Amatruda spent 15 years at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, where he was a was a Professor of Medicine in the Endocrine Unit and Director of the Clinical Research Center.

Dr Amatruda has over 27 years of experience as a senior pharmaceutical research executive and scientific consultant, together with 50 years of experience in the practice and teaching of medicine. He currently sits on the board of directors of biotechnology companies, and has served as a consultant and member of the scientific advisory boards of over 20 small, midsize and large pharma companies as well as being a consultant to venture capital. As Senior Vice President and Franchise Head for Diabetes and Obesity at Merck Research Laboratories until 2009, Dr. Amatruda had end-to-end responsibility for the research and development of drug compounds from target discovery to patent expiration, including basic research, experimental medicine, clinical development, external alliances and licensing. Prior to being named Franchise Head, Dr. Amatruda led drug development groups at Merck for diabetes, obesity, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Dr Amatruda’s teams led the development program and regulatory approvals of Januvia™ and Janumet™ and worldwide submissions for Vytorin™.

Prior to joining Merck, Dr. Amatruda was Vice President and Therapeutic Area Head for Metabolic Disorders Research at Bayer Corporation for ten years, where he assisted in the approval of Acarbose and Miglitol, and led the discovery and advancement of several compounds into clinical development. During his time in industry, Dr Amatruda has had adjunct appointments at Columbia and Yale. Dr Amatruda is currently an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine.

Dr Amatruda’s major research interests are in metabolic disorders, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, lipid disorders and fatty liver disease. He has a long-standing interest in mechanisms and consequences of insulin resistance.In addition, Dr. Amatruda has co-authored over 160 publications and has served as a reviewer for several journals.