Certara Appoints Gavin Nichols as President of Technology and Head of its Software Business Unit

PRINCETON, NJ - Jan 20, 2015 - Certara®, the global biosimulation technology-enabled drug development and drug safety consulting company, today announced that it has appointed Gavin Nichols to the newly-created position of president of technology. Mr. Nichols will also serve as the head of Certara’s Software Business Unit and be based in its Cary, North Carolina office. 

In his new position, Mr. Nichols will lead Certara’s R&D, product management, and IT teams, and be responsible for the development and positioning of the company’s biosimulation applications and informatics platforms across the life science spectrum - from discovery through development to patient care.

“Certara’s unique strength lies in how we combine our technology, scientific and business acumen to enable our clients to optimize and increase the predictability of their drug development decisions and bring safer and more effective drugs to market,” said Certara Chief Executive Officer Edmundo Muniz, M.D., Ph.D. “As a result, we need visionary leaders like Gavin that have experience bringing disruptive technologies to market to help drive our growth. We are delighted to have Gavin join the executive team at this important time.”

“I am excited to be joining Certara; its portfolio of biosimulation solutions and informatics platforms are unmatched in the industry. With big data, predictive analytics and biosimulation approaches now achieving acceptance as complementary methods for bringing therapies to market, I am confident that my experience will heighten Certara’s market impact,” said Mr. Nichols.

He joins Certara from Quintiles where he served as vice president of strategy/enterprise architecture/R&D innovation IT. At Quintiles, he focused on driving company vision and identifying game-changing opportunities in the clinical and commercial drug development areas. Through this focus, and leadership of development teams in the US, EU and Asia, he was instrumental in creating Quintiles’ Infosario product offering, multiple big data platforms, and the company’s transition into the cloud.

Mr. Nichols has more than 25 years of experience in management consulting, strategic development and analysis, project management and thought leadership. Prior to his 10 years at Quintiles, Mr. Nichols worked for Unisys, Collaborex, and Cap Gemini, holding positions ranging from head of the Life Sciences Practice to EMEA general manager.

About Certara

Certara is the global biosimulation technology-enabled drug development and drug safety consulting company. Its customers include hundreds of biopharmaceutical companies around the globe, together with several regulatory agencies. Certara’s solutions, which span the discovery, preclinical and clinical stages of drug development, enable data-driven decisions, leading to more precisely designed trials with a reduced risk of failure and improved subject safety. For more information, visit www.certara.com.