2006 Distinguished Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Gayle Crick Fischer joined Montreal, Quebec-based Targanta Therapeutics Inc. this year, following her February 2006 retirement from Eli Lilly Co., where she had a singular 28-plus year career. Targanta is a privately-held, venture-backed biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of new classes of antibiotic drugs for novel antibacterial targets. Fischer’s career at Lilly was distinguished by a series of successes in the areas of marketing and sales, ranging from new product planning through postlaunch of numerous pharmaceutical products, including blockbuster brands. At Lilly, Fischer developed a special expertise in building and sustaining brands in infectious disease, osteoporosis, and attention- deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD). She is now vice president of marketing at Targanta where she is applying her extensive industry experience to help Targanta develop a stronger market presence.

As a pharmacy student, Fischer financed her education by working in community pharmacy practice. She continued to work in community pharmacy for several years after receiving her BSPharm degree before starting her career at Lilly, initially as a pharmaceutical sales representative in Detroit, Mich. In addition to her Michigan Pharmacy degree, Fischer received a masters in management from the U-M in 1984. She is co-chair, Eastern Region, for the College’s Campaign for International Leadership and Excellence, and a long-time member of the Dean’s Advisory Committee at the College of Pharmacy.

In support of Michigan PharmD students, Fischer has established two scholarships, one of which is named in honor of her parents, William T. and Norma J. Crick.