Certara, a global technology-enabled drug development and drug safety consultancy, has appointed Dr. Edmundo Muniz its new chief executive officer.

Muniz joins Certara from Kirax, where he had been president and CEO since 2005. He focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing innovative specialty care therapies for oncology, pain, inflammation and acute and supportive care. Previously, Muniz held several senior executive roles at Eli Lilly, including head of worldwide pharmacovigilance and epidemiology, leader of the cardiovascular business unit leader and vice president of oncology clinical development.

“Edmundo is ideally suited to lead Certara,” said Certara Chairman Dr. Donald A. Deieso. “As a senior R&D executive and CEO, he has managed exactly the problems that Certara’s technology-enabled drug development and safety solutions address. As a physician, drug developer and scientist, he has great affinity and respect for our extraordinary internal scientific community. He also appreciates the fact that our consultants have become trusted, essential partners to biopharma companies of all sizes.”

Muniz’s therapeutic development focus is in oncology. When asked to describe his vision for the company, Muniz said, “Certara is strategically positioned at the confluence of the needs of drug developers, demands of regulators and the expectations of payors. All three stakeholders can be significantly empowered by model-based drug development. They also face the same challenges: how to improve the efficacy and efficiency of pharmaceutical/biotech development and enable the integration of clinical care and clinical research.”