Ms. Devinder Poonian is the President and Chief Executive Officer of DP Clinical, a company she founded in 1994. Ms. Poonian has more than 30 years of experience in preclinical and clinical research and has led DP Clinical in the conduct of hundreds of Phase I-IV clinical trials. Under Ms. Poonian’s leadership, DP Clinical has provided a full complement of CRO services for critical care, dermatology, infectious disease, neuroscience, oncology, and ophthalmology clinical programs, with a particular focus in spinal cord injury research. She managed the largest acute spinal cord injury study conducted with Sygen® (GM1) – considered the gold standard clinical trial in SCI in spinal cord injury treatment – as well as studies using autologous cells, stem cells, and devices. Her work has been published in several reputable journals. Additionally, Ms. Poonian has reviewed a paper for New England Journal of Medicine.
Ms. Poonian has managed budgets over $12M and has successfully brought 14 products to market for various indications. She has also selected DSMB members for various clinical trials. Key Opinion Leaders have referred numerous potential clients to DP Clinical for clinical trial assistance.
DP Clinical holds the following certifications and approvals:
- Woman-owned small business by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)
- Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB)
- Approval by the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP)
Prior to establishing DP Clinical, Ms. Poonian worked for Hoffmann-La Roche as an Assistant Scientist in the Preclinical Pharmacology Department testing CNS and cardiovascular drugs and cardiovascular division as a CRA. In 1987, Ms. Poonian joined Fidia Pharmaceutical Corporation as a Clinical Research Associate where she worked on neurological disorder clinical trials and moved up the ladder to Director of Clinical Operations.
Ms. Poonian holds a BA degree in Psychology from Caldwell College in New Jersey. She served on the foundation board for the Pinkney Innovation Complex for Science and Technology (PIC MC) at Montgomery College as well as the Chairperson for Academics Committee. Ms. Poonian has also represented Montgomery county and Maryland state internationally as part of the delegation with Maryland Governor O’Mally, and the County Executive of Montgomery County’s Economic Development Department. Currently, Ms. Poonian serves on a few of her community HOA committess.
