Aubrey Watkins III

Dr. Aubrey Watkins III is Senior Director, Corporate Development and Scientific Affairs, at Emergent BioSolutions where he leads due diligence and technical evaluations to facilitate mergers and acquisitions that support the company’s growth strategy. Dr. Watkins was an integral member of the Corporate Development team that resulted in the company’s two largest acquisitions of PaxVax, Inc., and Adapt Pharma, Inc., maker of the opioid overdose rescue drug, Narcan. Dr. Aubrey Watkins III is Senior Director, Corporate Development and Scientific Affairs, at Emergent BioSolutions where he leads due diligence and technical evaluations to facilitate mergers and acquisitions that support the company’s growth strategy. Dr. Watkins was an integral member of the Corporate Development team that resulted in the company’s two largest acquisitions of PaxVax, Inc., and Adapt Pharma, Inc., maker of the opioid overdose rescue drug, Narcan.

Dr. Watkins previously held the position of Director, Business Development & Licensing at Merck Sharp & Dohme, Inc. in Kenilworth, NJ, with responsibility for both preclinical and clinical transactions for the growth of Merck's Oncology drug pipeline. His most notable transactions were for the launch of Keytruda® a breakthrough immuno-oncology drug (monoclonal antibody) used for the treatment of over 12 different types of cancer with sales exceeding $11 Billion dollars in 2021.

As Associate Director in Global Procurement at Merck, Dr. Watkins led vendor selection, negotiated contracts, and managed a budget in excess of $150M per year on behalf of Merck Research Laboratories and Merck Manufacturing Division.

Dr. Watkins worked as a Biochemist for 11 years in cancer research at Merck where he developed in vitro and in vivo assays and co-discovered MK-2206, an anti-cancer drug candidate studied in over 50 clinical trials. Prior to joining Merck, he held the position of Molecular Biologist at The DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Company in the Applied Biotechnology and Molecular Biology Department (Wilmington, DE).