Eric R. First

Biography

 Eric R. First, M.D., is Chief Scientific Officer at Alcresta Therapeutics. He has over 20 years of executive experience across the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, consumer health, medical device, and food & nutrition industries. Across these sectors, Dr. First has expertise in discovery research, translational medicine, medical and clinical research, innovation, product development, intellectual property, and business development. Prior to moving into the life sciences industry (drugs and devices), he held various management positions in the nutritional food services industry; managing and opening new dietary and nutrition departments for a number of hospitals and institutions. Prior to Alcresta Therapeutics, Dr. First was most recently the Chief Medical Officer and Head of Compliance at Sirtex Medical, Inc, a medical device oncology company, where he established the Medical Affairs Department in the Americas and headed up compliance activities for the Region. Prior to Sirtex Medical, he was the Vice President of Medical Affairs at Ipsen, Biopharmaceuticals, and was the Vice President of Global Innovation and Product Development at Bayer Healthcare’s Consumer Health Division. Prior to Bayer, Dr. First was a National Director of Medical Affairs at Allergan Inc. During his tenure at Allergan, he submitted over 150 records of invention; numerous of which are issued patents or in the publication phase. He was also instrumental in developing several indications and in conducting first in man use of toxin in non-muscle pain conditions (arthritis). His initial background into the field included basic science research on the therapeutic use of botulinum toxin in the Department of Neuropharmacology at Boston University School of Medicine and Clinical research was conducted at both Boston University and Harvard Medical School affiliated hospitals. As a result of his research investigating the use of botulinum toxin in pain and inflammatory conditions, he founded First BioTech, LLC, a specialty biotechnology company to further develop that technology which was subsequently licensed to Allergan. Dr. First received his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine, and has an Associate Degree in Food and Nutrition Management from Southwestern Wisconsin Technical Institute.

Research Interest

 Oncology