Parexel, a leading provider of Clinical, Consulting and Commercial solutions to accelerate the development of innovative new therapies to improve the world’s health, on 3 June 2019, announced the appointment of Makoto Sugita, MD, PhD, MBA, as Senior Vice President & General Manager - Japan. Dr Sugita most recently served as Vice President and Head, Regional Leader of the Integrated Team for Medical, Clinical and Regulatory in Asia/Pacific Medical Devices for Johnson & Johnson. Dr Sugita will lead Parexel’s Japan organization to deliver quality service to clients in the fast-growing region.

“Makoto brings to Parexel more than 25 years of medical experience, including successfully leading clinical research and development in the Asia/Pacific region,” said Gadi Saarony, Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Research Services Officer. “His deep understanding of R&D, experience leading global clinical development programs and teams, and breadth of regulatory expertise will be very valuable to Parexel as we continue to build our presence in this important and growing region for drug development. Japan continues to be an increasingly significant and priority market for our customers and we’re thrilled to have Makoto on board to lead our local presence as we partner with customers to advance the development of innovative new therapies worldwide.”

Before joining Parexel, Dr Sugita held several leadership positions with Johnson & Johnson and Janssen. As Vice President and Head, Regional Leader of the Integrated Team for Medical, Clinical, and Regulatory in Asia Pacific Medical Devices at Johnson & Johnson, Dr Sugita led and managed several functions, including Medical Affairs, Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs strategies as well as the Real-World Evidence Generation Council for the medical devices business in Asia/Pacific. In 2018 alone, Dr Sugita conducted more than 130 clinical studies across 16 different clinical franchises and 60 new product launches. Prior to this role, Dr Sugita served as Vice President, Head, Medical Affairs and Clinical Research for Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices, Asia/Pacific.

Dr Sugita’s experience also includes serving as Vice President, Head of Japan Cross Sector Medical Organization (JCSMO) – JPKK (Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K. (Japan)) and JJKK (Johnson & Johnson K.K. (Japan)), as well as in previous roles at AstraZeneca KK. During his first three years at JPKK, Dr Sugita supported 12 drug approvals and was responsible for the planning and development of Bedaquiline to treat multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Dr Sugita holds a Doctor of Medicine and a Doctor of Philosophy from Tohoku University, a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from McGill University’s MBA Japan Program, and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Washington University. He will be based at Parexel’s office in Tokyo, Japan and report directly to Mr Saarony.