Talking drug discovery with our U.S. research site head, Carine Boustany

Are you curious about what it’s like to discover, develop, and get approval for a new medicine? Follow the science with Carine Boustany, SVP, U.S. research site head and global head of immunology and respiratory diseases research. She shares her experience as a researcher and what it was like for our team of scientists to be a part of developing the first approved treatment option for generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) flares in adults.

In the Business of Biotech podcast with Matt Pillar, Carine talks about our journey in helping people living with this rare skin disease that has been challenging to treat. GPP impacts about one in 10,000 people and is characterized by widespread eruptions of painful, sterile pustules called flares that can last for days or weeks. Due to the rarity of the disease, patients also are often misdiagnosed with other forms of psoriasis.

 In September 2022, we made great strides in bringing a more effective solution to patients living with GPP – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first treatment option for GPP flares in adults.

“We had to build the right teams [and] put together the right information to be able to tackle this kind of disease in patients,” said Carine during the podcast.

When asked about what this accomplishment means to her, Carine shared: “In our lives as drug discoverers, we would be very fortunate to ever touch a molecule that will become a drug. So when it happens, it’s an incredible moment.”

Learn more about our research and development pipeline.