Covance Inc. (Covance), a healthcare company, has elected Bradley T. Sheares as a new board member. Sheares is former chief executive officer (CEO) and member of the board of directors of Reliant Pharmaceuticals, Inc (Reliant). Before joining Reliant, he was president of the US Human Health division of Merck and Co., Inc. (Merck), where he led commercial efforts in the US for the company's portfolio of prescription medicines for the treatment of chronic and acute diseases.
In addition to this capacity, Sheares was a member of Merck’s management committee, which was responsible for formulating global business strategies, managing operations and setting corporate policies. He comes to Merck in 1987 as research fellow in the Merck Research Laboratories, and he held positions of increasing responsibility in Merck until his departure in 2006.
Sheares also serves on the board of directors of Honeywell International. Further, he serves on the board of trustees of Spelman College and is a member of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the Abington friends school committee, the scientific advisory council for Montclair state university, and the executive leadership council. He is the former chair of the board of directors of the national pharmaceutical council, which focuses on broadly communicating the economic, clinical and societal value of pharmaceuticals.
Sheares graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Fisk University and earned his doctorate in biochemistry from Purdue University. He completed his postdoctoral training as a Lucille P. Markey Scholar and NIH Research Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Sheares to our Board of Directors. His scientific background, academic achievements and extensive experience in bringing new medicines to the market will strengthen Covance’s ability to provide innovative drug development solutions to our clients, ” said Joe Herring, Covance chairman and CEO. “We look forward to leveraging Dr. Sheares’ outstanding record of leadership and management, as well as his focus on recruiting top talent, to help our company sustain its leadership position in the industry and continue to provide value to our shareholders and employees.”
“Covance has been at the forefront of creating innovative models of outsourcing,” said Sheares. “I am thrilled at the opportunity to be part of such an accomplished group of individuals and to leverage my health care experience in enhancing the company’s ability to deliver high-quality service and integrated solutions to its clients.”