Purdue Pharma, based in Stamford, Conn., has appointed Alan Dunton, M.D., as senior vice president of R&D and will report to chief executive officer Mark Timney.

In his new role, Dunton will serve as the company’s lead scientist and will oversee the medical research, drug safety, clinical pharmacology, virtual discovery, project management, and pharmaceutics and analytics teams.

Dunton will be responsible for spearheading the company’s overall scientific development strategy, including management of the pipeline, early clinical development programs, and setting the scientific direction for the company.

Dunton has devoted his 33-year career to the discovery and development of new prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drug products. In 2006, he founded Danerius, a biotechnology and pharmaceutical consulting business, which he led until joining Purdue. Prior to starting Danerius, he held executive-level positions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, including president and chief executive officer of Panacos Pharmaceuticals and Metaphore Pharmaceuticals. Dunton also was the president and managing director of the Janssen Research Foundation, the R&D arm of the pharmaceuticals division at Johnson & Johnson.