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Dr. Jethro Ekuta is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of experience in Pharmaceutical Research & Development. He is currently the Vice President and Head of Regulatory Affairs North America, for the Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies. In this role, Dr. Ekuta ensures that he and his team provide the required strategic regulatory input to product development. Previously, Dr. Ekuta was Vice President and Head of Global Medical Safety Operations at Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, a role in which he managed a team of professionals, including, physicians, registered pharmacists, registered nurses, and biomedical scientists, to process, analyze, interpret and report safety data for pharmaceuticals, consumer medicinal products and certain medical devices to Health Authorities globally.
Prior to joining Janssen, Dr. Ekuta was Vice President and Head of Regulatory Affairs for the Personalized Genetic Health Business Unit, at Genzyme, a Sanofi company. Before Genzyme, Dr. Ekuta worked in various capacities related to drug safety and regulatory affairs at Bristol Myers Squibb Company, Wyeth Research, Pfizer, and Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals.
Prior to industry, Dr. Ekuta worked at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a Special Government Employee and Fellow in Clinical Pharmacology in the Office of Clinical Pharmacology and Biopharmaceutics, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). Before that, he was the recipient of a National Research Service Award from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for post-doctoral training in Neuro- and Cardio-vascular Pharmacology, at Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN.
A Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), Dr. Ekuta also received his Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Mississippi. He is certified in Regulatory Affairs and is a Fellow of the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (FRAPS). In 2011, Dr. Ekuta authored the preface to the textbook, Global Regulatory Systems – A Strategic Primer. He has published over 25 scholarly articles in professional peer-reviewed journals and received numerous awards in recognition of scientific excellence.
Dr. Ekuta serves in several leadership roles within the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS), including his recent nomination to the Board of Directors. He has also authored chapters in and reviewed books for RAPS. Most recently (2014), he served on a 20-member global Expert Panel that provided input and guidance on the Global Regulatory Competency and Curricula Project for Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs). In this project, the International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI) and RAPS are working closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other health authorities to define the essential core competencies of regulatory professionals, develop competency-based curricula, and create a gap assessment tool, to address workforce capacity issues related to the regulation of foods, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices.
