Armen Nazarian, MS

Armen Nazarian is a Medicinal Chemist at the Ellison Medical Institute, where he leads synthetic and medicinal chemistry efforts to expand and support EMI’s early-stage therapeutic pipeline and contribute to candidate development. He oversees the Institute’s internal and external medicinal chemistry operations, including collaborations with contract research organizations (CROs), and works closely with cross-functional teams in data analytics, target biology, and DMPK to advance projects across their lifecycle.

Armen began his pharmaceutical career in San Diego as a medicinal chemistry research associate at Calibr at Scripps, the drug discovery arm of the Scripps Research Institute, where he was part of a successful effort that led to the discovery of CMX990, a COVID-19 antiviral clinical candidate, and CMQ069, a novel non-artemisinin-based antiparasitic. He has since held positions as an Associate Scientist at Cytokinetics, a Senior Research Associate at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and a Scientist at Arena Pharmaceuticals. His drug discovery experience spans multiple therapeutic areas, including antimalarial agents, COVID-19 antivirals, and treatments for gastrointestinal inflammation. His contributions in these areas have resulted in several patents and peer-reviewed publications.

He holds a BS in Applied Chemistry from the University of Tehran and an MS in Organic Chemistry from California State University, Northridge, with a focus on organic synthesis.