Theunis Goosen

Theunis Goosen serves as Director of ADME drug development within the Department of Pharmacokinetics, Dynamics, and Drug Metabolism (PDM) at Pfizer Research and Development, located in Groton, CT, USA. He currently oversees late-stage small molecule drug development programs, bringing over 20 years of experience across various disease areas, including cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, diabetes, anti-infectives, inflammation, and oncology. Theunis has led or contributed to the registration of several drugs, such as etrasimod, apixaban, dacomitinib, ertugliflozin, lorlatinib, axitinib, atorvastatin, nirmatrelvir, and most recently, ibuzatrelvir.
Theunis earned a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy, an MSc, and a PhD from North-West University, South Africa. His PhD research focused on drug metabolism and enzymology under Dr. Paul F. Hollenberg at The University of Michigan. He then returned to North-West University for a full-time position in the College of Pharmacy. In 2003, Theunis joined Pfizer in Ann Arbor, MI as a research scientist specializing in drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics.
This presentation will focus on the role of CYP3A5 in drug metabolism, especially for African and black populations who often express the functional enzyme. Advances in phenotyping techniques and clinical strategies for effective dosing will be discussed.