An independent consultant with 40 years of pharmaceutical research and development experience, Gary DeCrescenzo collaborates with pharmaceutical, biotech, and venture capital companies, offering specialized services in medicinal chemistry, chemical development due diligence, drug design strategies for preclinical drug discovery, drug safety mitigation, candidate selection, and early-stage chemical development for drug substance and product manufacturing.

Previously, Gary served as Senior Vice President of Pharmaceutical Research and Development at Aclaris Therapeutics, where he advanced multiple assets from IND-enabling studies through proof-of-concept clinical trials. Before Aclaris, he held the position of Executive Director of Chemistry at BioMed Valley Discoveries, the translational sciences division of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. Gary has also served in leadership roles at Pfizer and Pharmacia, including Executive Director of Medicinal Chemistry and Immunology & Inflammatory Diseases. Throughout his career, Gary has successfully guided numerous programs from discovery to early clinical development across therapeutic areas such as inflammation, cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases, and oncology.

Gary’s scientific focus spans the inhibition of aspartyl and metalloproteases, kinases, chemokines, modulation of nuclear hormone receptors, and the development of novel antibody-drug conjugates. He is a co-author of over 30 peer-reviewed publications and an inventor or co-inventor on more than 100 patents, including those for the pharmaceutical drugs Agenerase and Prezista.

Gary earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a Master of Science in Industrial Chemistry from the University of Central Florida.