WASHINGTON – The National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) announced on Tuesday the appointment of Sharon Phares as chief scientific officer. Dr. Phares will replace Dr. Robert Dubois, who is retiring from NPC at the end of February 2022.

Dr. Sharon Phares

Dr. Phares, who assumes the role today, will direct NPC’s research strategy and oversee the organization’s research on policy issues, including demystifying pharmaceutical pricing perceptions, addressing challenges of health technology assessments, and examining underlying issues of patient access and affordability.

Prior to joining NPC, Dr. Phares was the senior vice president of Research at Pharmaceutical Strategies Group (PSG), an EPIC company, where she developed and managed all research efforts, transforming research objectives into study designs, analytic plans, and survey tools, and translating research findings into actionable information to support both internal and external clients. She also serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

“Dr. Phares’ background and experience in health policy research and vision for NPC’s future research make her the perfect person to lead our research team. I’m confident in what we will accomplish this year and beyond as the pharmaceutical industry continues to face challenges around policy and patient affordability while simultaneously delivering life-changing treatments like never before,” said NPC president and CEO John O’Brien.

Prior to PSG, Dr. Phares was the vice president of Research and Education at the Pharmaceutical Benefit Management Institute. She also held senior positions in research and analytics at Laboratory Corporation of America, Walgreens Health Services and Express Scripts Incorporated. She has authored or coauthored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles on topics such as health and wellness, medication utilization and benefit design.

She holds both a PhD and a Master of Science in sociology from North Carolina State University, a Master of Public Health from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Columbus State University.

“Patient access to medicines is often hindered by parts of our health care system that are not well understood,” Dr. Phares noted. “Through sound research, education and collaboration with stakeholders, we can bring these challenges to light and inform effective policy solutions across our health care system.”

“I’m very pleased to be transitioning the role of chief scientific officer to Dr. Phares as I prepare to retire from my extremely rewarding tenure at NPC. With Dr. Phares, NPC will be well positioned to continue its legacy rooted in good evidence and science,” said Dr. Dubois, who has served at NPC since 2010.

For nearly seven decades, NPC has been committed to exploring, demonstrating and communicating the role and value of innovative biopharmaceuticals to achieve better patient health. With a robust track record in data analysis and health policy research, Dr. Phares is strongly positioned to inform NPC’s role in the next chapter of the national health policy debate.