Mark S. Kleven, PhD

Senior VP Scientific Operations, COO

Dr. Kleven has spent over 25 years in the pharmaceutical industry with accomplishments in project management, compiling, reviewing, and submitting FDA compliant regulatory documents and NIH/DOD grants. Led teams of Ph.D./M.S. scientists, graduate students, and technicians in small to mid cap organizations. Author/Co-author on ca. 160 publications and presentations at national and international scientific meetings. Prior to Neurolixis, Dr. Kleven was previously Vice President, Product Development at Biousian Biosystems, Inc., Vice President, Scientific Operations at Ceptaris Therapeutics, Inc. and Head of Behavioral Pharmacology at the Centre de Recherche Pierre Fabre, CASTRES, France. Dr. Kleven received B.A. and B.S. degrees with honors in psychology, biology, and mathematics from Bemidji State University. He received a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Minnesota before completing his postdoctoral training in Psychiatry at The University of Chicago.

Dr. Kleven’s research interest has been focused on drug discovery programs for Substance Use Disorders, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and neurological disorders. He has been successful in developing drug candidates in several of these disease areas, and has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals.