Richard Tillyer

Richard Tillyer, Ph.D, is Global Head, Discovery, Product Development & Supply, Janssen Research and Development. In this role, he leads an integrated discovery, process development and clinical supply organization that comprises all modalities including small molecules, traditional and non-traditional single molecule biologics, and larger, more complex multicomponent biologics including RNA, viruses and cells.

Rich joined Janssen in 2018 from Merck & Co (MSD outside the United States), where he acquired extensive experience in all stages of drug discovery and product development across numerous therapeutic areas and modalities. During his 25-year tenure, he led large and varying aspects of Merck Research Labs, including Process Chemistry, Toxicology, Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, Formulation, Biologics and Vaccines Process Development, High Throughput Screening, Discovery Biology, Medicinal Chemistry, Computational Chemistry and various platform groups. Under his leadership, Rich’s teams contributed to the discovery and development of most major products introduced by Merck over the last two decades and significantly advanced the company’s current pipeline. He led or actively contributed to major strategic initiatives including large and small-scale mergers and R&D integrations (most notably, the integration of Schering-Plough announced in 2009).

Rich obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of British Columbia, Canada, and a post-doctoral research fellowship in Chemistry from the University of Cambridge, UK. He has published more than 70 scientific articles and publications and he holds several patents.