From the top down, all of us at Norwich are committed to our customers’ success. We believe that continuous training results in higher quality, and a quality product drives customer success. This is why our staff dedicates at least 10% of their time to training.
Below are brief profiles of the key personnel at Norwich who strive every day to help advance the standards of our industry.
Douglas L. Drysdale
Chief Executive Officer
Doug Drysdale has been the driving force behind over 100 pharmaceutical and biotech transactions. For almost 20 years, he has been applying his leadership skills and strategic vision to building and growing complex, multi-region businesses. Prior to coming to Norwich, Mr. Drysdale served as Vice President, Mergers and Acquisitions for Actavis Group hf. He also served in a vice presidential capacity for the multinational Alpharma, Inc., where he was in charge of their department of Global Business Development. At Forest Laboratories, Mr. Drysdale was responsible for their Global Licensing initiatives. His entrepreneurial character was firmly formed early on, as co-founder of Alkensa, Inc., a CNS development company. Here Mr. Drysdale served as Executive Vice President of Corporate Development. An ardent student of the biological sciences as well as the pharmaceutical industry throughout his life, Mr. Drysdale earned his degree in Microbial and Molecular Biology from the University of East Anglia, UK.
Elin Gabriel
Chief Operating Officer
Elin Gabriel joins our organization as Chief Operating Officer in May 2010. With more than 20 years experience in manufacturing and supply chain management she is responsible for the global operations of Norwich. Her scope of work at Norwich includes creating and executing contemporary manufacturing and supply chain strategies to complement strategic business plans. Prior to joining the Norwich leadership team, she was the senior VP for Croatia Operations and Barr-Teva Operation Integrations at Teva Pharmaceuticals. Previously, she served as the Executive Vice President of Global Supply Chain and West-European operations for Actavis Group. Gabriel holds an MBA from the College of William and Mary and a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University
Christopher R. Calhoun
President
Mr. Calhoun joined Norwich Pharmaceuticals in July, 2001 as Vice President, Quality and Regulatory Affairs. He was then named President in 2005. Prior to joining Norwich, he was the Associate Director of Global Quality Assurance–Operations for P&G Pharmaceuticals, located in Mason, Ohio. In this role, Mr. Calhoun had Quality responsibility for systems and personnel at sites in Norwich, NY, Canada, Puerto Rico, France, and Germany. Mr. Calhoun spent 18 years in a variety of technical and managerial roles in Product Supply, Product Development, and QA organizations. A 1984 graduate of Clarkson University, Mr. Calhoun holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. He is an expert in the design and instruction of Marching Band/Drum & Bugle Corps, teaching various groups in central New York and is the President of the Board of Directors of Opportunities for Chenango. Mr. Calhoun also sits on the Board of Chenango Memorial Hospital in Norwich.
Robert E. O’Connor, Ph.D
Vice President - Product Development and Technical Services
Mr. O’Connor is responsible for the functional leadership of the Pilot Scale facilities at the Norwich manufacturing site. His research and technical transfer experience provide him with the integral skills needed to continue expansion of the Pilot Scale facilities and product development services.
Prior to joining Norwich, Mr. O’Connor held the position of World Wide Vice President, Product Support and Technical Services for Cordis, a Johnson and Johnson Company. He also held senior technical positions with Janssen Pharmaceutica in Belgium and Pharmaceutical Sourcing Group Americas. He has more than 31 years of international pharmaceutical experience in research and technical operations.
Theresa Lamanec
Vice President, U.S. Quality
Ms. Lamanec leads the Norwich Quality team in ensuring compliance and quality at the Norwich, NY and NJ sites where she is responsible for quality oversight for Quality Control, Quality Assurance and R&D Quality Assurance. Ms. Lamanec has more than 25 years of experience in Research, Manufacturing, Packaging, Regulatory and Quality for Finished Drug Product and API. Prior to joining Norwich, she was Executive Director, Quality Operations for Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. In this position, she achieved Class A customer service levels and assured effective quality and compliance systems. She also handled multiple new product and process introductions and the introduction of key systems (LIMS, Trackwise, EDMS, JDE).
Ms. Lamanec is seasoned in multi-site regional operations and distribution, contract operations, start-ups, new product launches, R&D quality, regulatory filings and inspections. Prior to Watson, she worked for Merck & Co. Inc., starting as an R&D Process Development Chemist, and holding positions of increasing responsibility for more than 23 years, with work experience throughout Latin America, North America and Asia.
Ms. Lamanec holds a MS degree in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Kansas and a BA degree in Chemistry from Marist College. During her career, she has issued five patents and authored numerous publications.