Acadia Appoints Elizabeth H. Z. Thompson, Ph.D. as Executive Vice President, Head of Research and Development

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ACAD) today announced the appointment of Dr. Elizabeth H. Z. Thompson as Executive Vice President, Head of Research and Development. Dr. Thompson will lead research and development at Acadia and serve as a member of the company’s Executive Leadership Team, reporting to Steve Davis, Chief Executive Officer of Acadia.

“Liz is a preeminent drug research and development leader with extensive experience in the advancement and commercialization of first in class therapies,” said Steve Davis, Chief Executive Officer. “Her passion and expertise for developing new medicines that address areas of high unmet need will be a huge asset to Acadia and an important addition to our executive leadership team. Her leadership will be instrumental as we continue to advance our early and late stage assets in rare disease and central nervous system disorders and pursue opportunities to further expand our pipeline of medicines.”

“I am thrilled to join Acadia at such a pivotal time,” said Liz Thompson, Executive Vice President, Head of Research and Development. “With two commercial products on the market and a strong pipeline of potential opportunities in rare disease and central nervous system disorders, we are poised for long term growth as we continue delivering new therapies to benefit patients and their families.”

Dr. Thompson most recently served as Executive Vice President, Research and Development (Rare Disease) at Amgen following its acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics plc. At Horizon, Dr. Thompson led the R&D organization and oversaw the rapid realization of the company's goal to become a science-based biopharma. She joined Horizon in 2018 and served in roles of increasing responsibility that culminated at Executive Vice President, Research and Development. Prior to joining Horizon, she held roles at AbbVie, Raptor, InterMune, and Amgen in a career spanning clinical development, business development and medical communications and has been involved in pre- or post-market R&D activities for life-changing drugs including TEPEZZA^®, KRYSTEXXA^®, UPLIZNA^®, RAVICTI^®, SKYRIZI^®, ESBRIET^®, and ENBREL^®. She has served the broader biotech ecosystem as a member of California Life Sciences, an industry advocacy organization, and as a member of the board of directors of IGM Biosciences. She has also been recognized for her dedication to the healthcare industry and mentorship and sponsorship of others as a 2021 Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association Luminary. Dr. Thompson received a B.S. in chemistry from Harvey Mudd College and a Ph.D. in macromolecular and cellular structure and chemistry from The Scripps Research Institute.

About Acadia Pharmaceuticals

Acadia is advancing breakthroughs in neuroscience to elevate life. For 30 years we have been working at the forefront of healthcare to bring vital solutions to people who need them most. We developed and commercialized the first and only FDA-approved drug to treat hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson’s disease psychosis and the first and only FDA-approved drug for the treatment of Rett syndrome. Our clinical-stage development efforts are focused on Prader-Willi syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease psychosis and multiple other programs targeting neuropsychiatric symptoms in central nervous system disorders. For more information, visit us at Acadia.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.